Ward 7 candidate Frank Mazzuca says the communities surrounding the core of Greater Sudbury feel left out of the decision-making process when it comes to the large projects like the Kingsway Entertainment District.
In a news release, Mazzuca said the only interest the City of Greater Sudbury seems to have in communities like Capreol is come tax time.
Beyond that, the needs of the outlying communities are not taken into consideration.
“Many of us feel left out of the decision-making — it seems the city only includes Capreol and the other formerly independent towns at tax time!” Mazzuca said. “How, exactly, will the people of Garson benefit from a new art gallery? What good will a downtown Sudbury convention centre do for the businesses of Skead?
“These big projects are pork barrel politics for the old city, at our expense!”
Highlighting the closure of the ski hill in Capreol, fears of closing Capreol Arena and what he sees as poor management of the community’s cemetery, Mazzuca said is evidence of big city incompetence and how the outlying areas are ignored.
The full text of Mazzuca’s release appears below.
A lot of ink has been spilled over the KED and the hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars being thrown at Greater Sudbury’s many “big projects”. Is it needed? Is it legal? Is it yet another white elephant?
As a lifelong citizen of Capreol, and a candidate in Ward 7 for city council, I would like to point out that a lot of that money is coming from the so-called “outlying region”. Many of us feel left out of the decision-making—it seems the city only includes Capreol and the other formerly independent towns at tax time! How, exactly, will the people of Garson benefit from a new art gallery? What good will a downtown Sudbury convention centre do for the businesses of Skead? These big projects are pork barrel politics for the old city, at our expense!
Greater Sudbury doesn’t need more spending. It needs smarter spending. That, and a council willing to stand up for the hardworking taxpayer and say, “No. That’s just not cost-effective.” We must get back to identifying “Needs” versus “Wants”. Do we need another money-losing arts centre? The city is already subsidizing the ones we have! Sure, a fancy new arena would be nice, but it still falls in the “Want” category—the current rink could last another decade or two with just a bit of work.
I look around Ward 7, at towns like Falconbridge, and see how they’ve been ignored by the city. Our wants and needs have been lost in the shuffle. Simple fixes are ignored, local efforts are quashed by red tape, and we are being choked into bedroom community obscurity. How hard is it to run a small ski hill? Capreol managed it for decades, by keeping costs low and relying on volunteers—Greater Sudbury took charge and operated it at a loss, until giving up entirely.
Each and every town in the region has stories of big city incompetence. Capreol’s arena used to be one of the busiest, but now that the city runs the bookings and sets the prices, we fear the city’s first double-pad rink might be closed! Our cemetery was pristine. Then amalgamation came and things changed. I could go on, but the point is: it’s time for Greater Sudbury to quit navel-gazing!
This city is big and beautiful. We’re comprised of many distinct and diverse communities—each with its own downtown, desperate for some of that “big project” money. Spend millions in downtown Sudbury and it’s just a drop in the bucket. Spread it around the outlying region and you change lives for the better.
Visit Frank Mazzuca’s election page on Sudbury.com.
