Notebook: On the road to the mayor's chair

The following items come from press releases issued by candidates for mayor during the campaign:

Kern on side with the experts on pressing issues:

In a recent news release mayor candidate Tobin Kern said,  “I’m in league with the experts” when it comes to tackling addictions and climate change.” More from his release follows here:

Kern endorsed a pledge put forward by the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, advocating for the decriminalization of simple possession of drugs, as an effort to tackle the addictions epidemic. According to the RNAO pledge, “decriminalization of simple possession of drugs is an effective way of preventing overdose deaths..”

Kern admits this is not a cure-all, but a first step of many needed to turn the tide on the addictions epidemic:  “Will this measure solve all of our problems?  Probably not. But I’m in league with the experts. If the experts in the field think it’s a step that could save lives, I’m for it. Just like I’m for safe consumption sites, expanded local rehabilitation options, expanded community supports and exploring Safer Supply models that are doing some good in many communities.  During a crisis, you get direction from the experts, and roll out their strategies until things turn around. Later on, you review what’s working, and do more of it.  It’s just that simple”

Kern goes further to explain how this approach should be employed to address other crises as well: 

 “I’ll continue to say it until I’m blue in the face: On climate change, there are Ontario cities, like Guelph, who are doing a lot more with the resources they have, and a little smart investment.  The experts in this field have told us what we need to do, and the communities that are further along have employed their direction, and are now benefiting from their efforts. They’re even attracting federal funding for their ambition.” 

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Platform important, but leadership crucial, says Hilsinger:

Candidate Donna Hilsinger recently put out a release which said that while a platform is important, leadership is crucial. Some of her release follows here:

I want to urge voters in Sault Ste. Marie to think carefully about the kind of experience and leadership abilities they need to see in their next Mayor. 

Every candidate has a platform. Mine is readily available on my website. 

But the Mayor’s mandate is never to simply implement their own platform or impose their personal vision. Municipal government just doesn’t work that way. Bylaws are passed and motions are adopted not because the Mayor says “make it so,” but because the eleven members of City Council come to a decision through discussion, informed debate, and a democratic process in which the Mayor, like every other councillor, has just one vote. 

The city is governed by a Council, not by an individual, and we should be wary of anyone who attempts to take full credit for decisions made by that council, or who implies that becoming Mayor will give them a mandate to implement a specific agenda. 

Sault Ste. Marie needs a Mayor who knows how to create consensus, and facilitate decisions rooted in the needs and desires of the entire community, as voiced by the councillors elected to represent that community. 

This process – bringing people together to drive results – is exactly the kind of work I’ve been doing in this community throughout my entire adult life. 

I have been immersed in the hospitality industry since I was very young, where I’ve gained real-world experience in managing finances, keeping costs down and achieving tangible efficiencies. But I have been doing much more than that over the years. 

I have volunteered literally thousands of hours with the Sault Area Hospital, the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation, the Welcome Friend Association and Rainbow Camp, and the Children’s Aid Society. I’ve chaired the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board, and I’ve helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Algoma University’s John Rhodes Scholarship, for Cancer Care in Sault Ste. Marie, and many other worthy causes. And I worked tirelessly with the Sault Trails Advocacy Committee as Chair to create the John Rowswell Hub Trail, a signature amenity in this city utilized by thousands of people throughout the year. 

I believe I am the one candidate who can lay claim to this level of experience or this history of community leadership. I urge voters to consider all of this when choosing your next Mayor. 

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Ozzie lays out his vision:

On Oct. 3 mayoral candidate Ozzie Grandinetti outlined why he wants to be your Mayor in a news release, some of which follows:

I share the concerns of many of you about what is happening in our city and your thoughts on what critical issues need immediate attention (out of control spending, high crime rates, a drug epidemic, and a lack of affordable housing to name a few). Now, I’m running to be your Mayor so that we can collectively move forward to address these issues and to get back to the basics.

We need to think differently—more equitably, more inclusively and more responsibly. I don’t think that Sault Ste. Marie has been moving effectively in that direction over the last eight years and we cannot go another four years with the status quo.

Many people don’t feel safe in our neighbourhoods or in our downtown. Our roads are in bad shape and full of potholes and speeding of vehicles has become a real problem.

It has become all too often that if residents go to Bellevue Park or to City sports fields early in the morning that they find the washrooms are closed. The Pointes Des Chenes portable toilets have been a disgrace, most often dirty and full.

A municipal government’s prime responsibilities are to provide decent services and affordable to its citizens, keeping them safe and ensuring that our facilities are adequate, accessible and clean. That is what I mean when I talk about getting back to the basics.

I make the commitment to listen to Saulites. I will hold bi-weekly “Fridays With The Mayor” and have an open-door policy where anyone can drop in and talk to me.

In the first few months I want to seriously have staff and Council consider some of your ideas that came to me during this campaign, such as lowering the speed limit to 40 kilometers per hour in residential areas and re-opening Pointes Des Chenes so that our residents and visitors can have a place to camp and enjoy the beaches during the summer months.

One of my key priorities is to ensure that people can afford to live here. I will push for the sale of surplus city land with the condition that such land be used to build more affordable housing. I will seek to reduce or remove the city application fees to rezone single family properties into multiple units, where appropriate. I will support policies to protect renters safe from evictions and unfair rent increases. I also want to review some building fees for standard home renovations, with a view to providing an incentive to improving our housing stock.

These ideas would not cost the City a lot of money and could have easily been covered by the millions that are currently being wasted this year alone, such as the $15M on the downtown plaza, $375K on the Studio 10 property and $600K on Passchendaele Lane in the p-patch).

As much as I would like to stop these projects from continuing, doing so would be a costly matter for taxpayers. I can, however, promise that I will not support any further cost overruns with the downtown plaza project or approve any other major projects that the taxpayers are not in support of.

I am a blue-collared ordinary working person, who works hard and pays taxes. I love this City, I regularly go biking all around town, on the hub trail and the waterfront. That’s when I see everything that I love about Sault Ste. Marie, but also when I see and get reminded of the things that need our immediate attention, such as crime, the homelessness and drug issues and the failing roadways and other infrastructure.

If you are interested in learning more about how we can work together and make our City better, please visit www.Ozzie4mayor.com 

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Peace addresses homelessness, fire department staffing:

Earlier in the campaign mayoral candidate Robert Peace issued statements on the pressing issues of homelessness and fire department staffing. Some of the releases can be read here:

After meeting with and listening to frontline workers and community advocates, it is clear that there are solutions to our mental health and homelessness crisis,” says mayoral candidate Robert Peace. We just need to make paradigm shifts and think outside the box.”

“Social and mental health agencies can make significant differences. They must treat the situation of addiction, mental health, food insecurity and homelessness as the collection of complex, overlapping crises it is,” says local advocate Margo Dale who has written extensively on the matter and provided Peace with valuable input. 

“The District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSMSSAB) has been extremely prudent in starting construction of one building which will house the various agencies/supports needed to address the causes of the problems,” says Peace. 

This is a huge step forward, as it will allow each client to have a treatment plan geared to their needs and their barriers to success addressed in the same building. Counsellors would create and manage an individual treatment plan for each client. The counsellors could have direct access to the network of 42 agencies already established by The Algoma Leadership Table and the Social Equity Action Team in its Municipal Community Safety and Well Being Plan 2021-2026.

”“Currently, there are 10 supportive housing units in Sault Ste. Marie. Mr. Dufour, whom I have spoken with before I entered the Mayoral race, believes we probably need significantly more for Sault Ste. Marie to really start seeing a difference in that on-street visibility of these folks who are struggling and not getting any of the help that they need. We need monetary support to those agencies. We need more police officers. We need our police officers trained in mental health issues, racial sensitivities. We need mental health workers to travel with officers for domestic violence/mental health concern calls. We need monetary support for this. We need city-run/city supported homeless shelters,” says Peace.

“A homeless shelter for those still on the streets needs to be created immediately," says Peace. It need not be fancy or cost millions. This is where we gather around the table and each agency and citizen volunteer groups offer up what they can and the mayor and council provides the political leadership and is the political voice required to deal with other levels of government and the bureaucracy”

“One group finds the location, another group comes up with a staffing resource plan, another begins negotiations to get heat and water supplied, another, basic furniture, blankets and food and another, security. The community and its agencies need to step up now!”

“Each councillor also has a role in mobilizing their neighbourhoods to band together to help volunteer and educate their constituents about the plan so the community is on board.”

“The bigger picture could be looking at four to five supportive housing locations to provide the 24/7 supports we need to address all the mental health and homelessness issues.”

“We need a truly wrap-around service delivered to clients who need it,” says Peace. It will be 100% more effective, significantly less expensive in the long run and will make the community a safer and healthier place.”

On the staffing issue:

Currently, the City of Sault Ste Marie Fire Services has a minimum level of staffing per shift of 16 - including dispatch (15 firefighters available to combat any type of incident). They have 19 Staff per Platoon and a tight vacation schedule. This leaves them without any buffer for sickness or injury before paying overtime, “says Mayoral candidate Robert Peace after receiving a briefing from the Firefighters Association.

“The overtime budget is currently very high and it is burning our members out,” advised Michael Fowlis, Firefighter with the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services and Executive Board member of the Sault Ste. Marie Professional Firefighters Association. 

Peace explains, “The city is running 3 firefighters out of two stations and 4 firefighters out of the other two stations.  The minimum standard for staffing frontline fire pumper trucks in Ontario specifically is 4 firefighters, composed of 1 driver, 1 officer, and 2 firefighters. This standard is in place for community and firefighter safety and is not being met on half of the trucks, “says Peace.

Prior to 2014 the city had a team of 22 per platoon with a minimum of 18 on shift per day. The Fire Master Plan, approved by council in 2018 set a new level of service with fewer firefighters on shift based on the Comprehensive Risk Assessment performed by Dillon Consulting,” says Peace.  The following excerpt contains information on staffing guidelines and why NFPA standards were utilized to set the staffing levels.”

 “For the purposes of providing Council with the most applicable and consistent assessment of fire suppression performance this FMP has utilized the NFPA 1710 “Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments” as the applicable benchmark for assessing the number of firefighters required for initial response and depth of response to fire suppression incidents within the defined urban area of the City.”

Council set the new staffing minimum in conjunction with NFPA 1710.

“In 2020 the NFPA updated its Standard to add 2 more firefighters necessary for a standard residential house fire, the city did not and now we are closing in on a potential $1 million dollar overtime bill because of that, “says Peace. “The city also no longer meets the standard that the council of the day set staffing levels at.”

“Do the math, “says Peace. While two additional firefighters would not guarantee zero overtime, I have no doubt it would lead to a significant decrease in overtime costs and better health outcomes of our firefighters”

“Last year we had four fire fatalities in our community and annually we are seeing close to 7-million dollars in property losses despite having an average response time of just over 3 minutes, we need to ensure we are upholding the values of Sault Ste Marie fire services, public safety and employee safety,” says Peace.

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Lobbying feds and provincial governments key to mayor’s job, says Shoemaker

Matthew Shoemaker stressed the importance of lobbying and working with the federal and provincial government in a recent press release:

Candidate for Mayor, Matthew Shoemaker, believes that a productive working relationship with the Provincial and Federal governments, combined with active lobbying on areas of focus, will be the key to a successful term and to making progress on critical City issues.  

“After declaring my candidacy in May, the first meetings I set were with MPP Ross Romano and MP Terry Sheehan. I have worked with both our provincial and federal representatives in their previous roles as Councillor and they are aware that I’ll be aggressively lobbying them if elected Mayor on October 24th,” said Shoemaker.

Shoemaker’s lobbying efforts will include items set out in his platform, A Plan for Progress, like a supervised consumption site. It will also take direction and cues from council initiatives, like lobbying for Sault Ste. Marie to become the seat of the Canada Water Agency, an idea spearheaded by Councillor Corey Gardi during the last term and endorsed by all of council.  

“I have the most experience of any of the candidates in this race in lobbying our upper levels of government. For much of my first term with Council’s support, I aggressively lobbied the provincial government to change the law to break the costly construction employer monopoly the City had been stuck in for 30-plus years. Those efforts, which were part of a coordinated campaign with Kitchener-Waterloo, the union CLAC and the Progressive Contractors Association, led to a change in the provincial law in 2019,” said Shoemaker.

A study by non-partisan think-tank CARDUS found that affected Ontario cities could expect to save between 10 and 40 per cent on construction costs thanks to the change in the law. This analysis suggests that Sault taxpayers have likely saved over $4 million on major capital projects that are now underway with the West End Sewage Treatment Plant build and the McMeeken reconstruction project. 

“It took tenacity to get the construction employer designation changed and I will bring that same tenacity to all issues involving the provincial and federal governments. Ross and Terry are aware that I will be a cordial but persistent voice in their ear if I’m elected this fall. I will make sure that our City’s needs are known and acted upon both at Queens Park and in Ottawa,” concluded Shoemaker.

For more on Matthew Shoemaker and his plan for Sault Ste. Marie, please visit www.matthewshoemaker.ca.