Perceiving her community of Onaping Falls to have been neglected by the City of Greater Sudbury, Chantelle Gorham is organizing a rally outside of Tom Davies Square for Oct. 4.
Upon learning of the rally, Mayor Brian Bigger dismissed it as part of a broader organized campaign on social media against city council, which has been fuelled by misinformation.
The rally, titled “‘Greater’ Sudbury is Failing us,” has been scheduled to take place from 4-6 p.m., which leads up to the current incarnation of city council’s final meeting before the Oct. 24 election.
“I don’t want residents to feel that this is like a witch hunt,” Gorham said of the rally. “This is a reminder for the incoming council, whomever it may be, that we can’t endure another four years of what we have gone through.”
The rally, she added, is “a place for the outlying areas to show their support that we’re being neglected, whether it’s amalgamation-related or not, our needs are not being met.
“We can’t keep begging for services, and it’s kind of across the board from garbage removal to always fighting for our facilities.”
One more recent issue, she said, has been the neglect the Onaping Falls Community Centre has faced. A water leak was recently repaired after Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier raised concerns at city hall.
Gorham has been making the rounds by promoting an events page for the rally on various Facebook community pages for outlying communities.
Whether it’s just her with a sign or a crowd of supporters, she said she hopes to see city council candidates attend to show their support for outlying communities.
Although she hasn’t drafted a protest sign yet, she said it might read something like, “We deserve better,” because outlying communities “deserve to be a priority rather than one of your projects.”
The origin of at least part of Gorham’s concerns dates back to the amalgamation of area municipalities that formed the City of Greater Sudbury in 2001.
“I’m not naive enough to think we’ll ever be able to be independent again, but (city council) can’t think that the services they are providing are even remotely adequate,” she said.
Listing a number of municipal investments throughout the outlying communities in recent years, Bigger said he disagrees with Gorham’s assertion that they have been ignored.
“We’ve been investigating significantly in splash pads, playgrounds, trail systems across the entire community,” he said, later adding several specific examples of municipal investments.
A therapeutic pool in Azilda, the $35-million widening of Municipal Road 35 between Azilda and Chelmsford, an $1.8-million riverfront redesign in Capreol, the revamp of transit service through GOVA Transit and various other investments highlight Bigger’s list.
“Everyone on council is quite aware of the outlying areas, and all roads, all amenities, all pipes and buildings are prioritized amongst all of the other roads, pipes and buildings across our entire community,” he said.
One of the most significant changes to outlying communities in recent decades has to do with mining companies’ investments in communities ending, including for such things as snow plowing.
Inco, now Vale, used to provide potable water in Onaping/Levack, which became a City of Greater Sudbury responsibility several years ago and carried an estimated cost of $18.5 million.
“People are trying to attribute some of this to amalgamation,” Bigger said. “Everyone on council is quite aware of the outlying areas, and all roads, all amenities, all pipes and buildings are prioritized amongst all of the other roads, pipes and buildings across our entire community.”
Gorham made the news recently for penning a letter to the editor in which she said police presence in outlying communities is so minimal residents have been “forced to patrol the streets” themselves.
Greater Sudbury Police Service Chief Paul Pedersen shot back with his own letter to the editor in which he disagreed with her take that police have been invisible, while also highlighting various challenges police face.
The next city council meeting is at 6 p.m. on Sept. 13. The final city council meeting with the current incarnation of city council will take place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 4, and the first meeting of the new city council elected on Oct. 24 will take place Nov. 8.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
