Greater Sudbury should capitalize on an existing training centre that houses police, fire, and emergency medical staff by establishing a provincial training centre.
Ted Callaghan, mayoral candidate, proposed turning the Lionel Lalonde centre, a training centre for all three emergency services located in Azilda, into a "centre of excellence" for training emergency services staff from all over Ontario, not just northern Ontario.
He spoke to media from his campaign office, located in the Montrose Mall, on Sept. 28.
“The 9/11 event showed the world that training is needed for emergencies,” Callaghan said. “The recent G20 event in Toronto brought that home to us in Canada, where 150 agitators were able to best all the security plans that had been developed.”
He also referred to the severe weather events that have taken place in the past years, from heavy rainfalls to high winds.
“Fire, police and EMS departments need to work together to face these events together,” he said.
“Greater Sudbury is the place where this training could happen," Callaghan noted in a press release. He also said the centre is one of the few that houses all three emergency services branches.
Mayoral candidate Ted Callaghan said the city needs to capitalize on the under-utilized Lionel Lalonde Centre in Azilda by establishing a provincial training facility for fire, police and emergency medical services. That would increase revenue to the city and add dollars to local businesses who supply lodging and meals for trainees from out-of-town. Photo by Bill Bradley.
The site, a converted school, has a high temperature fire tower and functional training centre. It generates about $212,000 annually, collected from usage fees. In 2005, $7 million was invested in the facility, Callaghan said, which means the capital investment to ready the centre for more users would be low.
Not enough groups have been using it, he said.
“It is a great opportunity for our city,” he said. “It needs a champion to make it happen. As mayor I will make it into a first-class training facility for local fire, police and emergency service departments and for the entire province.”
That would increase the annual fees coming into the city, and bring added business to those housing and feeding outside user groups, he added.
For more information, visit www.TedCallaghan.ca or phone 705-507-7884.
