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Abolish territorial wars - Joe Cimino

Politicians and civil servants must abandon their childish, schoolyard territorial pedagogical conviction that benefits or obstacles of economic development are limited to the ward in which a particular initiative is in.

Politicians and civil servants must abandon their childish, schoolyard territorial pedagogical conviction that benefits or obstacles of economic development are limited to the ward in which a particular initiative is in.

Taxpayers from across Greater Sudbury have had to swallow the cruel reality that millions of dollars of their hard-earned money have been lost by council on local economic experiments that have failed. Neureka, co-generation, wind power, the proposed diesel plant and others are examples of the city losing big, both in financial and credibility terms. The citizens in the areas of the city where these schemes were located are not independently responsible for the public dollars wasted. We all are.

Conversely, people and businesses from across this city are profiting from the current surge in the mining and mining service sectors. Those in Copper Cliff or Falconbridge are not merely reaping the rewards of this economic boom. We all are.

That being said, city council as a whole must deal with the Northern Breweries situation. The owner has an obligation to appear in front of  council to discuss, and if need-be, to defend his plans for the Lorne St. brewery. If I were sitting around the council table I would have very specific questions. My queries would be:

• Why is it that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been invested in the Sault Ste. Marie plant, doubling the brewery labour force in that town, while the Sudbury facility has been mothballed?

• Does it sound fair to you that the Sudbury ratepayers have forgiven over $600,000 of property taxes owed to see no jobs created locally?

• What is the new expected completion date for the upgrading of the local brewery and when are "Help Wanted" signs going up?

•  If plans have changed and now do not include utilizing the Sudbury labour force, and you are abandoning the promise to invest in our city, what are your plans to reimburse the local taxpayers for their investment in your company?
 

Joe Cimino
Candidate, Ward 1