Voters want to know where the candidates stand on the issues and so does Sudbury.com.
To that end, we’ve created this election special feature: Where Do They Stand? We reached out to the council candidates and invited them to participate.
Each candidate has 250 words or less to stake out their position on each of these issues: the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED); downtown Sudbury and the urban-rural divide in our amalgamated city and; the top three issues facing the ward in which they're running.
We’ve been rolling a new story on a new ward for past week, as we work our way through all 12 wards, save Ward 2 and Ward 3 where the incumbents (Michael Vagnini and Gerry Montpellier, respectively) have been acclaimed.
From Ward 10, only incumbent Fern Cormier responded to our invitation to tell us where he stands. Candidates Denis Ferron and Steve Ripley chose not to participate.
The three questions we asked are:
1. Kingsway Entertainment District
People want to know: Do you support the construction of an event centre / casino / hotel complex on The Kingsway east of downtown? Do you support using taxpayer dollars to build a $100-million arena that will be paid off over a generation? Do you support expanded casino gambling? Explain your position.
2. Downtown and the urban-rural divide
The prevailing wisdom is that a healthy downtown equals a healthy city. Great downtowns attract new residents and new businesses (to the community, but not necessarily to the downtown core), and are a measure of a community’s economic health. But in our amalgamated city, municipal spending downtown is unpopular in rural parts of the community, which feel the urban areas receive more spending and more services. Are rural concerns legitimate? Are we doing enough for downtown? What should we do? Explain your position.
3. Ward issues
Thinking about your ward, what do you see as the top three issues facing your area of the city? How do you propose to address those issues?
Fern Cormier (incumbent)
1. Kingsway Entertainment District
My vote was for a new arena to be developed downtown. While I did not vote in favour of the Kingsway location, I respect the will of council on any vote that I might personally disagree with. I also respect the appeals process that is currently on going. It is a legal process that is valid and is part of the system.
My first question after council prioritized the building of a new arena was “How is it going to be paid for?” I wanted to ensure, as best I could, that there would be a financial plan in place that would mitigate the tax impact for such a large project. Regardless of the location, there is a cost to building and having a financing plan in place that mitigates the impact on the tax levy is crucial.
The Provincial Government made decisions with respect to gaming operations that I would not have agreed with. While Greater Sudbury currently has a casino, I feel the process to expand operations was not well thought out and the implementation of the plan left a lot to be desired. Having said that, I feel that if private operators wish to operate and expand at their own expense that is their choice. The deal for expanded gaming was between the Provincial Government and the operator. The decision to “remain a gaming center” was made and the private operator is moving that process forward. Whether it is built on the Kingsway or somewhere else that zoning laws would permit they currently have the right to build and I suspect that they will move forward in one way or another on that project.
2. Downtown and the urban-rural divide
We have expended and improved the Community Improvement Programs to include not just the downtown in the former City of Sudbury, but other downtown centres where Community Improvement Programs would be helpful. I agree that having a healthy downtown contributes greatly to the overall success of our city and have supported those improvements and investments in our Community Improvement Plans.
While we continue to address the challenges with respect to our downtown by funding cleanup programs related to things like used syringes and getting increased police presence in the downtown core, these measures will only aid in addressing the symptoms of a larger problem. We need to continue advocating for increased co-operation from senior levels of government when it comes to serving the most vulnerable in our society.
Protecting the funding for treatment programs that currently exist and fighting for increases in that regard is essential as it will take all three levels of government working together to address the underlying issues that lead to many of the social problems we see in our community. I understand that an urban / rural split exists to some degree and believe that it is incumbent upon council to address the needs of all of the communities that make up Greater Sudbury.
3. Ward issues
As with all areas of the city, infrastructure improvements are still an ongoing priority. Specific to Ward 10 is the need for affordable housing. With a very densely populated area and a high number of older adults and senior citizens living on fixed incomes access to affordable housing is vital. We have some new affordable housing units being developed now and I will continue to work with the private sector, city staff and senior levels of government to secure more for our area.
With Lake Ramsey being the source of drinking water for so many of our residents it is important that we move forward on the recommendations that will come from the watershed study that is currently underway. I will work to ensure that the implementation of the study findings is made a priority.
Ward 10 is home to many of the cities attractions such as Bell Park, the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre and Science North just to name a few. As such, maintaining our public spaces to the highest standard is of importance. Community pride matters and much like “curb appeal” for one’s own property, our residents want to see the city do the same. I have been working with my colleagues and staff on work plans to move this forward and will continue to advance this.
