In Sudbury.com’s ongoing efforts to ensure you have all the information you need to make informed voting decisions in the Oct. 24 municipal election, we have reached out to candidates for ward councillor and each of them to provide responses to a short questionnaire.
Besides a photograph, we requested a response from each candidate, limited to 200 words each, under each of the following three categories:
- Tell me a bit about yourself
- Why are you seeking election?
- What are your key platform points?
In the interest of fairness, candidates’ responses have been provided in full, with only minor corrections made for clarity and grammar. In the event a candidate went over the 200-word limit per category, their response was cut off to the end of the nearest sentence. In cases where candidates did not separate their response by the three topics, they were cut off at the 600-word mark to the nearest sentence.
The photographs provided have been included in this coverage, cropped to adhere to Sudbury.com’s sizing requirements.
Candidates were sent the inquiry on Oct. 4, at which time a deadline of Oct. 9 was announced. A follow-up email to those candidates who did not respond was issued on Oct. 11 with a noon deadline the following day.
Ward 6 is a popular ward in this year’s civic election, with six candidates vying for the seat.
This includes Dan Boulard, Michel Lalonde, René Lapierre, Scott Seguin and Ginette Trottier. Lapierre is the incumbent.
Ward 6 includes a northern swath of Valley East, including Hanmer and Val Therese. It has a population of 14,089 and and area of 362.8 square kilometres.
To find out whether you live in Ward 6, click here.
The following is what came in for Ward 6.
Dan Boulard
No response
Michel Lalonde
Tell me a bit about yourself
My name is Michel Lalonde. I am a father, a husband, a business owner, a volunteer, and a candidate for councillor of Ward 6 in the upcoming municipal election. I have worked, lived and played in the Valley for most of my years, and will always call it home.
I have been an employee of the City of Greater Sudbury since September 2020, and have worked in the Clerk’s Services Department, Citizen Services Center, the Greater Sudbury Public Library, and Children Services Department.
I was a member of the Greater Sudbury Public Library Board and the Bell Park Advisory.
I have been the Sergeant-At-Arms for CUPE 4705 since October of 2020, and active with the Sudbury Federal and Provincial Riding Associations in various capacities since 2019.
As a volunteer, I have worked with Valley East Days, the Valley East Community Action Network, the Valley East Youth Centre, the Canadian Professional Disk Jockey Association, among other organizations. I have been fortunate to work with many local charities (such as Neo Kids, Good Neighbours Food Bank, Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer, One Saves 8) assisting with fundraising and raising awareness for important campaigns.
Why are you seeking election?
I am connected to my community. Our neighbours, our citizens want to be heard, and I want to bring their voices to City Hall. Like so many people I have spoken with, I share the desire to see our city move forward. I want to see growth, not just more studies and proposals and ideas, but actual shovels in the ground, actual ideas and projects started … and completed.
What are your key platform points?
I’ve learned that not everyone can be right, but everyone can be wrong. I believe in listening to what people have to say, even if I don’t agree, understand or support what is being said. I believe that a city councillor needs this ability to truly represent his or her constituents. I also believe that councillors need to be easily accessible, and visible too. I believe teamwork is essential to get the job done, and will bring this attitude to the table to ensure our city council works together, but also with our constituents in mind, to move our city in a positive direction.
Affordable housing, access to mental health services, failing infrastructure are issues that are critical; we cannot ignore them, whether people feel it is our responsibility or not.
People want improvement (most call it change) in how things are being delivered, how they are being presented, and how they are being developed. While council may not be able to fulfil every item on these wish lists, it’s important that we remain invested by strengthening our relations with all levels of government and with the private sector stakeholders.
René Lapierre (incumbent)
Tell me a bit about yourself
I am a leader who chooses positivity and inspires others to do the same. I am a caring and courteous person who believes in helping people in any way I can. I take pride in being respectful to others and keeping an open mind. Teamwork is one of my personal strengths and I thrive working in a group setting. I believe in being accessible and providing information and guidance as best I can to anyone who requires it. I enjoy being innovative and am open to learning about new and more efficient methods of technology to assist with various tasks. I consider myself a down to earth guy, and am genuinely interested in people and my community. One of the things I enjoy doing most is engaging with and getting to know other residents in the area. Whether we sit at a kitchen table or at Tim’s for a coffee, listening to your thoughts and concerns, and working together to achieve a better understanding or to come to a resolution of an issue. My wife Melissa and I are going on 28 years of marriage and have the beautiful children together - Kyle, Kassandra, and Karissa. I was born and raised in nearby Azilda.
Why are you seeking election?
Since being elected in 2014, it has been an honour to serve as the representative for Ward 6 residents. I have been involved in multiple boards, groups, and sub-committees at a local and provincial level. I feel, acquiring and sharing information from the various boards, groups and sub-committees with council is imperative for the success of our city council. Overall, I thoroughly enjoy meeting everyone, having interesting discussions and helping residents as best I can to resolve some of the concerns they may have. I enjoy sitting down and having a coffee with whomever. I enjoy learning from people’s experiences, but most of all I enjoy receiving suggestions of what residents would like to see. Although it is not always easy to find that perfect solution for every single concern, I always enjoy the challenge to do my best for everyone. Sometimes the resolution is simple, and others may take time, yet I believe I am a strong voice for everyone equally. I would be honoured to be elected again this year in order to continue being the voice for residents.
What are your key platform points?
Request budget enhancement to increase police presence for Valley East.
- In the last 12 to 18 months, there seems to be more “small crime” reported in the Valley. Theft of bicycles, small engines, off-road motocross and things like this. Our police force is working at over capacity every single shift. It is important that we work with the police chief together to find solutions to help reduce this type of crime as best as possible. We will never be able to stop everything, yet I think reducing these events make a community feel safer thus in turn reduces the heavy workload that is currently with the GSPS team.
Introduce a live website for residents to track snow removal process
- Every plow truck in the city has a full GPS system. Currently, when the plows operate, there is a secured website that the managers look at to see the progress of the roads being plowed. My proposal would be to make the website live to the public and all the residents. This would permit anyone to log on and see where the plows are, search their street to indicate what time the plow went by on their street.
Scott Seguin
Tell me a bit about yourself
My name is Scott Seguin I am a resident, business owner, volunteer and community leader in Ward 6. I was born and raised in Valley East and have strong ties to the community. I have spent most of my professional life being a fixer/problem solver. People naturally come to me with their problems because I am a person who will find a solution to the issue and not give up until I do. I am a man of action not words, who will do the work. When my children decided they wanted to join Scouting in the Valley and we found out there was no longer a program, I took it upon myself to resurrect the program. I fought through COVID to help it grow and now we cater to over 50 youth in the community and have a solid foundation in two short years. I run fundraisers for local charities, including the Nightmare on St Mary's Halloween Haunt, which raises funds for local Scouting and collects food for the local food bank.
Why are you seeking election
I am seeking election for Ward 6 councillor because we need a strong voice on council. Ever since the amalgamation, Ward 6 (which includes Hanmer and Val Therese) has been ignored and neglected. Being a resident of Ward 6 and speaking to my neighbors, I have heard the same complaints from everyone I have spoken to. Our services are being cut and our taxes are going up. We reach out to our councillor, nothing gets done and our voice gets ignored. We try to reach out to councillors from other wards to get answers, and oftentimes we are told to address the issue with our own councillor, who seems to have time every four years. It’s time for change and it’s time for a councillor who has the time and devotion to be a voice for our ward. I will fight for the needs of my community, listen attentively to what they are and be available when they need me because of my compassion, empathy and will power to succeed. I have a strong voice which I will use to voice the concerns of my community and work with council to achieve solutions.
What are your key platform points?
My key platform points include:
- A full audit of city spending so we can find the holes and seal them.
- Bringing back line by line budget reports that council will review together annually, as summary reports hide things.
- Making council accountable to the people through transparency and direct involvement with their wards.
- Decentralizing services and giving some power back to the outlying communities.
- Repairing our infrastructure and putting priority back to our basic needs and services which have been neglected for legacy projects.
- Having a stronger police presence in the outlying areas and making our communities safe again.
- Ending red tape and high development costs for new development or home expansions. With the rising cost of living in our city, it should not be so hard to set up an in-law suit for your parents.
- Setting up a tiny home development to tackle the homeless problems of our city.
- Creating more beds for addiction services to get the opioid crisis under control.
- Bringing back youth centres and youth initiatives.
- Saving our campgrounds and promoting tourism in our beautiful outlying city.
Ginette Trottier
Tell me a bit about yourself
My name is Ginette Trottier. I have been a community member of the City of Greater Sudbury for most of my life. I grew up in Chelmsford, lived in Garson, New Sudbury, and now Hanmer. I spent a couple years in Richmond Hill and Newmarket during a difficult time with a long strike. I can tell you it wasn’t home for me. Sudbury is home for me.
Who am I? I am a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. I have worked as a registered nurse for 20 years. Some of you may wonder what does a nurse have that will help our community? Well, let me share that with you. I have a long list of transferable skills. I have built strong communication, leadership, and organizational skills. I have developed excellent critical thinking and prioritization skills.
Probably the most important thing I have to offer is advocacy. As a nurse, I spend my entire day advocating for patients, and their family members. Therefore, I have the capability to fight for us as a community.
Why are you seeking election?
As a registered nurse, I have a professional obligation to continue my education to give the population I serve the most recent up-to-date care. As a result, I decided to finish my BSc in nursing with electives in management/leadership and occupational health and safety. These classes inspired and pushed me to concentrate on bringing about positive changes in my surroundings, including at home and in the workplace. I made the decision to run for council to use my newly acquired abilities and desire to better my community. I am a great advocate for our vulnerable population, and I will be for you.
What are your key platform points?
Parks and Leisure
- Fix existing parks (older neighborhoods)
- Promote Active Living
- Add sidewalks, bike paths, and a dog park
Community Safety
- Increase police patrols
- Bring back a community patrol system with training
- Develop grants to assist community members in obtaining personal security cameras
Community Involvement
- Ask you the community to assist in identifying concerns, and more importantly suggestions
Chamber of Commerce Suggested Platform
- The Chamber of Commerce’s suggestions are essential in identifying where improvements are required from our business owners’ perspective. Supporting our local business is very important. Therefore, the report requires further review and discussion to determine the issues that impact Ward 6.
Leadership
- We need to vote for great leadership
Municipal Red Tape
- Review the process and streamline the process for permits
Homelessness and Opioids
- Discuss options for a long-term Rehabilitation program
Business Development, Attracting New Businesses
- Promote our city’s attractions
- Increase the health and active living
- Assistance with tax breaks for relocating skilled workers
Laurentian University
- Essential for our community
- Discuss with all stakeholder’s possible assistance options
Value For Services and Taxes
- Stop wasting money
Election day is Oct. 24, which will be preceded by two weeks of online voting and advance paper ballot opportunities. For a rundown of voting locations, click here.
