Candidates running for mayor staked out their positions on the Kingsway Entertainment District on Thursday morning at a debate held at Laurentian University.
Of the 11 people running in the Oct. 22 election, eight candidates showed up to the event, held by LU's political science department. Opposing the KED were Bill Crumplin, Jeff Huska, David Popescu and Bill Sanders.
Cody Cacciotti and Patricia Mills were more or less neutral, with Mills saying Sudburians want a new arena, but aren't happy that it went from a Triple P plan that was a good deal for taxpayers, to a $100 million project they have to pay for.
She criticized city council for changing the structure of the project and not communicating the change to taxpayers, something that sowed division and confusion.
Cacciotti, for his part, said residents he's talked to have convinced him the KED is popular, “but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.”
Only Dan Melanson and Mayor Brian Bigger declared their support, with Melanson saying, however, no more money should be spent on the project until a legal appeal is dealt with.
Candidates struggled to say how they would heal divisions the project has created in the city, with Crumplin suggesting holding “a vegan barbecue downtown.”
Sanders countered with a meat barbecue downtown, telling the vegans to hold their event on the Kingsway.
Melanson said the healing process will be difficult, because no one is going to change their minds about the project.
“It will take time,” he said.
For his part, Bigger said it's not accurate to tell residents they could have had a new Sudbury Arena with no cost to residents. Such facilities are a community asset, he said, and public money was always going to be involved because they are not money makers.
“If they were, people would be building them all over the place,” Bigger said.
David Popescu, the perennial fringe candidate who advocates an extreme version of Christianity at these debates, called the city hypocritical for looking for ways to address the opiate crisis, while building a casino that will cause more addictions.
Popescu's remarks during the debate led the moderator to apologize to the crowd at the end of the event if they were made to feel unsafe by Popescu's comments.
On a question about bilingualism, he reminded everyone that speaking different languages is “a curse from God.”
The moderator cut him off before he could give his position on First Nations issues, but other candidates said they'd consider looking at ways to give them a seat at the council table.
Reconciliation is “long overdue,” Crumplin said, and as mayor he would work with the community to see what sort of role they could play in local government.
Mills said Laurentian University had led the way in the reconciliation process (the debate was held in the Indigenous Learning Centre) her First Nations friends have told her they want a government who listens, “not that tells them what to do.”
She agreed with Sanders, who said he'd work to give them a seat at city council, which they don't currently have.
“Maybe that needs to change,” she said.
Melanson said the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Inquiry should form the basis for action in Sudbury.
Bigger said he always opens his public remarks by reminding everyone they are on traditional First Nations lands, and said that's not “tokenism” it's an important acknowledgement of history.
He said the city has worked successfully with local First Nations groups, and praised Greater Sudbury Police for their successful efforts to change their relationship with indigenous communities.
Listen to the entire debate rebroadcast this weekend on CKLU.
