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Community adjustment committee members balk at public attending meetings (updated)

Gayle Broad is proposing to hold some meetings behind closed doors in case the people she wants to hear from are daunted by the presence of journalists
HearNoEvil
The committee's first meeting is supposed to happen this week. So far, SooToday is unaware of any public notice of meeting time or venue.

7:30 p.m. update

Sean Greson, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, advises SooToday that the first meeting of Sault Ste. Marie’s community adjustment committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, September 7. 

A ministry staffer will provide training and orientation to committee members, after which Gayle Broad will lead discussions to develop the committee’s terms of reference.

“It is within the terms of reference that the decisions about public or in-camera meetings will be decided,” Greson said. 

“The purpose of the committee is to develop a multi-functional plan for the broader community as a whole. The goal is that the committee will think beyond the worker’s needs to address urgent issues for the whole local economy, including community infrastructure, social development, labor force development, education and training development, and business retention and expansion.”

“Community adjustment committee agreements and reference materials do not provide direction on the expectation of open versus closed meetings. Typically, this is an item that would be discussed by committee members and included in the terms of reference.” 

“Further, I’ve looked into other community adjustment committee agreements across the province, and I have not learned of any other community adjustment committees that hold open/public meetings. That said, each community adjustment committee is community-specific.”

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Original story, 3 p.m.

Right now, it's hard to imagine many things more important than the work of Sault Ste. Marie's community adjustment committee.

That's the group of blue-chip Saultites charged with charting our course out of the current steel-industry crisis, back to economic resiliency.

But Gayle Broad, the committee's widely respected chair, is serving notice that some of the committee's consultations may to be too delicate to be witnessed by members of the public and news media.

Twenty-one months after the election of Mayor Christian Provenzano ushered in a new era of openness in local governance, Broad is proposing to hold some meetings of her committee behind closed doors, in case some of the people she wants to hear from might be daunted by the presence of journalists.

"Quite often, it is very intimidating to say to everybody that we'd like you to come down to City Hall or City Council and talk about your experience," Broad said.

"We recognize that for laid-off workers, maybe they don't want the media present. Maybe they don't want to reveal how tough it's been for them and their families. I think we need to have a combination of public events, private events, where people have an opportunity to say what they need to say behind closed doors, as well as lots of opportunity for them to say it quite publicly."

"Our committee will be meeting in a couple of weeks to lay out that kind of a plan. But from the conversations that I've had with committee members, I know that several of them have expressed to me those kinds of concerns, that that's the kind of engagement that they want to have: sharing them privately or publicly, as they may wish."

Councillor Sandra Hollingsworth

Broad's comments were made at last week's City Council meeting, responding to concerns about closed meetings expressed by Ward 2 Councillor Sandra Hollingsworth.

"Perception, perception, perception.... perception can kill the whole process," Hollingsworth told Broad.

"I cannot emphasize enough and I'm sorry to say this but I'm going to say it. You've got to get out to the people....We've all been through planning sessions before, putting different programs together, if you give the impression that we're behind closed doors," the Ward 2 Councillor said.

"Please promise us that you'll get out to the people. Go to the John Rhodes Centre. Go to the Station Mall. Hear from all walks of life. Because if you give the impression that only certain people are being heard from, perception is going to kill this wonderful process that you are building."

On the issue of optics, Hollingsworth drew on her experience in the banking sector.

"When I worked for CIBC, unfortunately our customer service was very, very terrible," she said.

"We realized perception was important and we went out to the public, our clients, went outside our buildings and went to them where the sports arenas were and we asked, what do you want from a bank?"

"I really hope that we would engage, going to the areas in this community where a lot of people do gather.... Have a white board or whatever process and just ask, what do you want our community to look like?"

Councillor Paul Christian

Ward 1 Councillor Paul Christian expressed similar concerns.

"I think often what happens in this town is, when people don't have information, you hear the rumours starting to be spread in the coffee shops and places like that. They take on a life of their own," Christian said.

"It's just as important to allow the community to buy into any successes that we've had and any progress that we're making. Because if we don't, despite the attempts of the committee, there's going to be negativity out there if they don't have the information."

The Sault's community adjustment committee is funded by $200,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, under a program that works with communities to develop strategies to cope with company downsizings or plant closures.

David Orazietti

"The purpose of a community adjustment committee is to develop a multi-functional plan for the broader community as a whole," Sault MPP David Orazietti said, announcing the provincial contribution on April 25.

"This committee, in addition to identifying worker’s needs, will focus on urgent issues for the whole local economy, including community infrastructure, social development, labor force development, education and training development, and business retention and expansion."

The committee's first meeting, a full-day workshop at which a vision statement and objectives will be established, will occur prior to August 31 according to a written report to City Council by Don McConnell, the city's director of planning and enterprise services.

In verbal comments at last week's City Council meeting, McConnell said at a meeting will be held the "first week in September" to set objectives and further define the committee's role, timing and work plan.

SooToday is unaware of any public notice given so far of meeting dates or venues.

Membership

The Sault's community adjustment committee has been designed as an independent, non-political committee, with representation including business, economic development, education, employment services, labour, social services and the municipality.

Members include:

  • Gayle Broad (chair)
  • Aldo Greco (McDougall Energy)
  • Dan Fryia (Sault Ste. Marie and Area Community Development Corp.)
  • Donna Hilsinger (Algoma's Water Tower Inn)
  • Laurie Zeppa Boston (Algoma Public Health)
  • Linda Ryan (Employment Solutions, Sault College)
  • Mayor Christian Provenzano (City of Sault Ste. Marie)
  • Michele McCleave Kennedy (Sault Ste. Marie Labour Council)
  • Michael Burtch (arts sector)
  • Mike Nadeau (District Social Services Administration Board)
  • Patti Moreau (Metis Nation of Ontario)
  • Paul Johnson (Chamber of Commerce)
  • Robert Reid (Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp.)

Assisting the committee members will be a number of senior resource persons including:

  • Sandra Wise (Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development)
  • Don McConnell (City of Sault Ste. Marie)
  • Jonathan Coulman (Algoma Workforce Investment Corp.)
  • Tom Dodds (Economic Development Corp.)

Councillor Frank Fata

"There isn't really a lot of confidence in this thing really accomplishing anything substantial," Ward 5 Councillor Frank Fata told last week's city council meeting.

"We've got a bunch of bureaucrats trying to make something of this," Fata said.

Broad countered by pointing out that the only bureaucrat on the committee will be a representative of the funder -  the provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development - who will act in an ex officio capacity.

"We need to have representation from the broad sectors across the city," Broad said.

"The people who have agreed to serve on the committee are all individuals who come from the mandate of the committee itself, in terms of what the province has given us. The funding conditions under the provincial funder have been that we must have strong representation both from businesses that are affected as well as from labour and individuals that are affected by the layoffs."

Members will be asked to support both the adjustment committee meetings and also meetings within their sector, she said.

"Gayle Broad has worked in various areas of community development for over 20 years, and recently retired from teaching the Community Economic and Social Development program at Algoma University," said the city last month in a news release announcing Broad as committee chairperson and executive lead.

"She is the recipient of the 2015 Executive of the Year - Influential Women of Northern Ontario and the 2014 City of Sault Ste. Marie Medal of Merit Award."

Steve Butland

Last month, Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland  was sharply critical of the city's slowness in getting the new adjustment committee started.

"I'm still frustrated with the timing of this," Butland said.

"It's six, seven months later and now we're saying April's our deadline. But we're here now and I have no issues at all with the group that has been put together. I have no issues with Gayle Broad leading it."

Butland questioned whether the committee's focus will really be a community adjustment program, or something else.

"Is this an economic development committee?" he asked.

Broad responded: "Under terms of the funder, we are not in any way replacing the Economic Development Corporation's mandate or its responsibilities or the role that it plays. I wouldn't like to to be thought to be trying to take over that."

The committee has until April of next year to conclude its work.

 


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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