Two Sudbury city councillors have issued a public letter hinting that three fired volunteer firefighters did more than just speak out publicly against the controversial fire optimization plan. (The full letter is printed at the end of this story.)
Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo and Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh released the letter at 11:30 p.m. Friday, an unusual time for politicians to release public statements.
They were addressing the controversy surrounding city staff's decision to fire three volunteers and discipline another eight for violating city rules governing how employees conduct themselves.
While Mayor Brian Bigger has issued two vaguely worded statements on the issue, the union representing the volunteer firefighters, the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), has said it was for their public opposition to the optimization plan.
Presented in the spring, the plan would have harmonized response times across the city, but was very expensive, required hiring dozens more full-time firefighters and reducing the number of volunteers.
It was rolled out at a series of public meetings last spring led by Fire Chief Trevor Bain. Both volunteer and career firefighters attended the meetings, and many volunteers were vocal in opposing the plan.
While it was rejected as too costly and controversial by city council, an investigation into the actions by some of the volunteers began in June, said CLAC's Gord O'Coin.
Disciplinary meetings started Sept. 28, O'Coin told sudbury.com in an earlier interview.
In their letter, Jakubo and McIntosh said many volunteers spoke out against the plan but weren't disciplined.
“If the union’s statement, ‘that 11 VFFs were disciplined solely for disagreeing with the optimization plan,’ were true, the many other VFFs who spoke with us about optimization would also have faced some form of reprimand,” the letter said. “The fact that only three out of 267 VFFs were terminated tells us that 99 per cent of our VFFs understand the responsibility that comes with being a public servant.
“The same duty embodied by over 2,000 upstanding employees who serve our great city with pride and dignity -- from the summer student in the engineering deptartment and the snow plow driver in roads, to the people who drive the zambonis in our arenas and senior management.”
“At the end of the day, this is politics, and the public discussion of politically charged issues leaves few unscathed. We all want our community to be successful but this can only be achieved by working together toward an even better Greater Sudbury. We cannot change the past, but we can decide to move forward together and continue building a city that our children and grandchildren will be proud to call home.”
City councillors held a closed-door meeting last week to discuss the issue, and have scheduled another later this month to review a report – presumably on the firings – that staff is preparing.
Meanwhile, the city announced Friday that it's launching a volunteer firefighter recruitment drive in areas where there aren't enough volunteers: Beaver Lake, Dowling, Vermillion Lake, Levack, Val Caron, Falconbridge, Skead and Red Deer Lake.
Residents can apply until Oct. 27. Information sessions will be held to help potential candidates understand the application process and the requirements of the training process and the position:
-- Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. At the Garson station for Falconbridge/Skead/Red Deer'
-- Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. At the Dowling station for Levack/Dowling/Vermillion Lake'
-- Oct. 14 at 1p.m. At the Val Caron station for Val Caron; and,
-- Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. At the Whitefish station for Copper Cliff and Beaver Lake.
Further information can be found on the Greater Sudbury Fire Services website.
Full text of the Jakubo/McIntosh letter:
To: The Media
From: Councillors Mike Jakubo (Ward 7) & Deb McIntosh (Ward 9)
Date: October 6, 2017
As city councillors, we take very seriously the duties entrusted to us to serve the people of our wards and all of Greater Sudbury. That includes ensuring that city employees follow the direction set out by council, that facts are communicated to our constituents, and that opinions regarding decisions are welcome and encouraged.
When making decisions, one of our responsibilities is to look at all the facts and all the options while taking into account the wishes of the people we represent to ensure that the most responsible decisions are made in the best interest of our wards as well as the entire City of Greater Sudbury. This is important not only for the residents and taxpayers of today but for the millions that will call our beloved crater home over the decades and centuries to come.
At times like this, it is important to ensure that our city’s actions are clearly communicated so that the facts can be heard and used to inform opinions.
Mayor Bigger’s latest letter to the public regarding the disciplinary actions taken in our community safety department, reminds everyone that human resources (HR) decisions are the responsibility of senior staff. Council does not make HR decisions for any positions below that of the chief administrative officer (CAO) and auditor general. His worship has also asked us to look at all sides of this sensitive issue and to be patient with the disciplinary process.
Some members of the public may not be aware that volunteer firefighters (VFFs) are part-time employees of the City of Greater Sudbury, and so they must abide by the policies and procedures that apply to all city employees. They are also represented by a union, the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), and they can access the grievance process laid out in their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
CLAC (VFF Union) is publically stating that the discipline and resulting terminations were based solely on those 11 volunteer firefighters (VFFs) expressing a difference of opinion over the fire and EMS optimization report. (On August 11, 2015, Council unanimously directed the Fire Chief to undertake the optimization study.)
If the union’s statement, ‘that 11 VFFs were disciplined solely for disagreeing with the optimization plan’, were true, the many other VFFs who spoke with us about optimization would also have faced some form of reprimand.
The fact that only three out of 267 VFFs were terminated tells us that 99 per cent of our VFFs understand the responsibility that comes with being a public servant. The same duty embodied by over 2,000 upstanding employees who serve our great city with pride and dignity - from the summer student in the engineering deptartment and the snow plow driver in roads, to the people who drive the zambonis in our arenas and senior management.
Our council has set out a clear strategic plan for staff to implement, and for the first time in a long time, you can see staff in all departments working together, working with councillors, working with the community and communicating with all to fulfill that plan.
At the end of the day, this is politics, and the public discussion of politically charged issues leaves few unscathed. We all want our community to be successful but this can only be achieved by working together toward an even better Greater Sudbury. We cannot change the past, but we can decide to move forward together and continue building a city that our children and grandchildren will be proud to call home.
