In January, Councillor Claude Berthiaume introduced a notice
of motion asking for a referendum on de-amalgamation and every
councillor except two voted to waive the normal two-week
waiting time for the motion, and the idea was defeated at this
meeting.  In other words, they pulled the rug from under
his feet. 
Mayor Dave Courtemanche tabled a motion "to take a proactive
approach" to the concerns of disgruntled citizens.  Why
has it taken almost three months to do something?
Courtemanche says it is time for council to recognize
residents in outlying areas who have expressed a desire for the
city to be more responsive to their needs.  Shouldn't
council have been doing this all along? Why did it take several
ward meetings and a petition campaign for Courtemanche to
propose forming a volunteer "community solutions team" to
identify issues and recommend solutions to city council by
January 2007?
I wonder if the outcome would be different if this had been
debated in January instead of waiting for a citizens' crusade
to gain momentum.
Nothing will be gained by going back to eight of
everything.  What we need to do is elect a council that
can work together as a team, something this council has failed
to do.  This council seems to forget that they were
elected to represent all residents.
Fran Nault , Greater Sudbury