"Capreol, Capreol, where's that?" A silly
question if you live in the Sudbury Basin. Capreol, a small
community at the end of the road in Ward 4, has much to offer.
Everybody knows where Capreol is.
Or do they? It seems the City of Greater
Sudbury doesn't. It seems Mayor David Courtemanche and his
planning committee doesn't know Capreol exists, or maybe they
just don't care.
The city wants input and opinions but doesn't
want to hear from citizens of Capreol. Why would I come to such
a conclusion? Take a look at the information sessions posted in
the newspapers. Let's see, the budget public input and
information session for Ward 4 is Jan. 20 at 7:30 at the Garson
Arena; the fire services information session for Ward 4 is Jan.
22 at the Garson Community Centre; and the transportation and
infrastructure session for Ward 4 is non-existent. The sessions
are scheduled for Azilda, Hanmer and Sudbury. Does anyone else
see a pattern developing here?
If City of Greater Sudbury officials were to
take a look at the 2001 census, they would see that 32.9 per
cent of Capreol's population is 50 + years of age. That's
approximately 45 per cent of Capreol's voting population.
Many of this population find it very
difficult to travel, even the distances to the scheduled
sessions. Also the sessions at night and in the winter add to
this difficulty to the drive. A large percentage of the voting
population of Capreol is being isolated by being unable to
participate in these secessions.
The solution to this problem is simple: hold
information sessions in Capreol.
Gary Gray
Capreol