DIGITAL TOWN HALL ELECTION 2018: BRIAN BIGGER

Check out the rest of the Digital Town Hall responses here: Our Crater Digital Town Hall Municipal Election 2018

At the present moment we find ourselves at quite a crossroads in Greater Sudbury with many plans hanging in the balance that could change the future of our city. What is your vision for the future of Sudbury?

My vision is a City that is finally working together to grow, modernize and continue to offer reasons not just for young people to stay in Sudbury, but to come here as a destination to visit, a place to find a good paying job and a community to start a family. We are finally seeing progress where we have a new arena in the works. An entertainment district for locals, visitors and tourists alike. A downtown with a cultural purpose. And that’s all happened in the previous few years. We need to look forward, grow beyond the standard expectations and be proud of where we live. When you have a mayor and council that changes nothing – nothing ever changes. We have overcome that mindset in the last four years – I believe under my leadership we can continue to move forward.

It is often criticized that the millennial generation does not show up to vote or participate in the democratic process. As the older generation decreases we are slowing finding ourselves to be the new majority population. Many of the decisions being made at the municipal level today will have a direct effect on our future. How do you intend to engage with millennial voters to ensure their voice is being represented in council?

Like I said above – by working together. By modernizing. By working with local leaders at places like NORCAT and the GSDC along with the province and the federal partners in town to diversify industry that will stem outmigration and even attract people to come to work in Sudbury. We need to look at the tech sector for options. As well, we need to keep up our culture. We have so many festivals, so many things to do and we’re transforming our downtown. Sudbury needs to be the reason people stay or come here – we’re on track with making that a reality.

It has been an ongoing trend for many years that young people feel that in order to be successful they must leave home. The employment opportunities they are looking for are in larger cities, job openings for recent grads are minimal or contract based, rent rates continue to rise making it more appealing to live in a bigger city for a similar price with access to more attractions. How would you take action to encourage young Sudburians to stay in the area strengthening and reinvigorating our workforce?

Better jobs. Modern options and looking at every sector – tech, mining, film, health care and the public sector to encourage them to invest more, set up shop and build our city. We’ve got the best of both worlds up here in the North. We just need to keep selling that option and opportunity.

Part of a thriving economy includes new businesses entering the market place. There is great risk in starting your own local business, the costs associated with starting up are enough to make many entrepreneurs think twice. Likewise when an outside shop is considering opening a location in Sudbury they must assess if our markets buying power will outweigh the upfront costs. What programs would you like to see put in place to make Sudbury a more enticing place to do business and ease the burden on new business owners?

We’ve got great programs already in place like the GSDC, the Regional Business Centre, FedNor, NORCAT and the NOHFC. What we need to do is find a way to make sure everybody knows how to access those programs and how to leverage potential assistance and funding. I’ll make it a priority to work with the City, province and federal government to find a one stop shop or destination to help with that.

Childcare for many families can be an enormous financial burden. As a result many families are forced to make the decision of whether or not they can actually afford to go back to work. Wait times for childcare can be quite long and finding a provider who has space within the desired age bracket can be a guessing game. How would you propose to make childcare more accessible?

We’ve already done a lot by offering some City assistance for those who need support and financial help. As well, there are lots of options for those working shifts or non-traditional hours in City supported facilities. This is also an issue where we need to work with the province to make sure Queen’s Park knows how important child-care is to any city. There is no easy, one quick fix solution to child care – but we always need to be advocating, searching and listening to options and ideas that exist elsewhere that can help us here locally.

Our historic mining industry has certainly taken its toll on the environment. Great lengths have been taken to re-green our city over the years and we continue to work towards initiatives to reduce green house gases and environmental impact of industrial business practices. On a smaller scale, what initiatives would you like to see put in place to urge the general public and local business owners to do their share in reducing waste and emissions?

Our mining industry has been a world leader in change for the better. Vale just completed a project that cost over a billion dollars to reduce emissions and run a cleaner, more efficient operation. They no longer need that historic superstack. They’re a great example of leading the way. On a smaller scale – it’s not quite as simple as saying waste means wasted profit – but it is close. As a City we need to make it easier for businesses to recycle, dispose of waste and be a more environmentally sound operation. We need to better promote local programs as well as work with provincial and federal programs that offer incentives, partnerships and assistance. We all need to do our part.

Sudbury is home to a large First Nations population with many reserves in surrounding areas of the city. There is much work to be done to bring Sudbury to a place of truth & reconciliation and integrate Indigenous culture into our society at large. What is your commitment to locally increase awareness, education, resources and understanding following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada?

I believe we need to further work with our local First Nation communities to understand, educate and become more diverse and aware. We have great organizations like Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre, Gezhtoojig Employment and Training, Laurentian University and Cambrian College that have done such great work within the City and I do believe we need to follow that lead and ensure Sudbury is an inclusive, informed and accepting city for everybody.

Sudbury is not exempt from the opioid epidemic sweeping Northern Ontario. It is reported that in 2017 three Ontarians a day fell victim to a fatal opioid overdose. In our community specifically we lost 30 to overdose by September of the same year. What steps would you like to put into action to restrict access and educate Sudburians about the risks of recreational opioid use?

We’re already doing that. Our Community Drug Strategy led by Dr. Penny Sutcliffe and Chief Paul Pederson has almost 50 community partners and agencies working together to combat this situation. We have some of the best people and leading experts working on this, it’s not easy and it takes a lot of work – but it is a problem that occurs within every level of society, and all of us need to be aware, and keep working together.

Protecting vulnerable citizens is at the top of many peoples agenda. Those living in danger of homelessness, low-income, on the streets, living with chronic mental or physical illness need more resources integrated into the community to allow them to access the help they need with dignity. Safe injection sites, needle exchange programs, emergency shelter services, affordable housing, accessible health services/resources have been ongoing ideas to address these issues. What initiatives would you like to see put in place? How will you ensure action is taken to develop sustainable programs to provide these urgently needed services?

No response provided.

Like any paying customer, tax payers want to see their hard dollars put to good use. Roads continue to require maintenance, many new builds are in development, transit, facilities upkeep, tourism and attractions spending – keeping a city going isn’t cheap. How will you ensure transparency and accountability for expenditures on new development projects and operation costs within council?

You’ll notice, roads under construction and those repaired are lasting longer now. We’ve incorporated accountability measures withinthe system at Tom Davies that has seen greater oversight and higher quality standards delivered by contractors. Each project is publicly posted, bid on and those working on the projects are posted online and even on signage on-site of the project. For example, Maley Drive is under budget by millions. The last four years have seen a more accountable, responsible and effective government and administration at the municipal level. I’ll continue that standard and only increase the level of expectation wherever the City or tax dollars are concerned.

For additional information on Brian Bigger and his platform visit: www.biggersudbury.ca

Check out the rest of the Digital Town Hall responses here: Our Crater Digital Town Hall Municipal Election 2018