DIGITAL TOWN HALL ELECTION 2018: PATRICIA MILLS

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 for Greater Sudbury is one of vibrant communities, supported by a strong local economy, and led by a transparent and visionary City Council. When I came to Greater Sudbury at the age of 28, my daughter and I would spend our weekends exploring all of the communities that made up the Sudbury area. Each community has unique qualities that sets it apart from the rest of Greater Sudbury.

My vision for Greater Sudbury is to recognize the unique qualities of all of our communities, while revitalizing all of Greater Sudbury so that we can grow together. I want to build a city that we all want to stay in. I want to build a city with beautiful and dynamic neighbourhoods. I want to continue to build on our environmental achievements and ensure we are ready to adapt to environmental change. I want to build our economy by matching skills with jobs and enabling our entrepreneurs to start and expand their dream businesses. I want to do all of these things while revitalizing our infrastructure; particularly our recreation and arts infrastructure. I want to do all of this while maintaining fiscal responsibility and keeping taxpayers informed on what’s going on at City Hall.

All of this won’t be easy, but I think through hard work and perseverance, it can be accomplished. I believe I have the track record to bring all of this to Greater Sudbury and stand by my ROI policy (Respect, Openness, Integrity).

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?

Young people in Greater Sudbury participate in community development differently than previous generations. So in order to engage younger people in municipal affairs, we need to clearly communicate what’s happening at City Hall in easily digestible, readable ways.

I recognize that when you’re developing your career, starting your family, and building your networks, you don’t have the time to read lengthy City Hall agendas. It is a priority of mine to ensure the public can hold elected officials accountable, and part of that is making it easier for people to stay informed. People should know what’s going on and what decisions are being made, and should be able to make their own judgments about how well Council is doing. I plan on setting goals and then giving Greater Sudbury regular updates on their progress. We’ll give you our report cards and you can decide our grade.

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?

When I decided to run for Mayor, a friend asked me why I wanted to run, and I told him that I wanted to make Greater Sudbury into a city that young people wanted to stay in.

As a parent, I want Sudbury to be a community that my children want to stay in.

I would like to start tackling this in three main areas: local economy, attractiveness and amenities, and cost of living. During my Listen, Learn, Lead campaign I spoke to many business owners who had vacancies, but were having a hard time filling them.

As Mayor I will do more to build opportunities for graduates, by working with post secondary institutions, the business community and the city’s economic development department to eliminate barriers and to connect those with the skills to employers that need them. Secondly, we need to make Greater Sudbury attractive to young people. That means creating a community where things are going on.

We need to develop our public spaces and recreation spaces. We need to build our artistic and cultural capital. We need to develop our active transportation network. We need to support our vibrant communities across Greater Sudbury and make the quality of life here second to none. This also means championing the things we already have going on. Finally, we need to keep our cost of living under control. I’ve made a commitment to not increase taxes beyond inflation rates, and I mean it!

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?

Greater Sudbury has a communications problem.

We already have multiple programs in place to ease the stress and burden for new businesses. We have the Regional Business Centre, Norcat, The Innovation Mill, and programs like “Win This Space.” We need to start championing these programs and organizations inside and outside of our community. We also need to grow the programs we have right now for business expansion.

Businesses that establish themselves here should feel that their community values them, and City Council should support them in whatever way we can. Part of this is also making it easier to do business in Greater Sudbury. A rising tide raises all boats and that’s how we should treat business in Sudbury. What’s good for existing businesses is good for new businesses, for growing our entrepreneurial community, and for economic development in Greater Sudbury.

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?

I know the struggles of childcare first hand. When I came to Greater Sudbury I was recently widowed with a young child and was returning to school. Everyone deserves affordable childcare. As Mayor, I plan on working with the provincial and federal governments to increase the number of licensed child care spaces in Greater Sudbury so that they are accessible to all who need them.

Parents shouldn’t have to abandon the workforce because childcare is unavailable, and it’s up to elected officials to make sure that social programs are in place to help you and your family thrive.

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 practises. 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?

Greater Sudbury’s land reclamation efforts and reputation as the City of Lakes makes me proud: our citizens, community groups and business community have worked hard to re-green the ecosystem. We need to build on our successes and keep doing more to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Climate change is an issue that we didn’t know about in the 1970s when regreening started, but now we cannot ignore it. Reducing the city’s own greenhouse gas emissions, by implementing efficiency and small-scale retrofits at our community facilities, is a first step.

I support ongoing efforts like the City’s Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP). As Mayor, I will work with city staff and council to enact change in our operations that reflect the priorities and direction of the CEEP. There are a lot of local businesses and groups in Greater Sudbury that are already making excellent progress to reduce their waste and energy use – and even produce their own alternative energy! We need to champion their efforts and bring attention to these achievements so that others may follow suit.

When I am Mayor, we will celebrate our green citizenship, lead by example at City Hall, and encourage all residents and business owners to make cost-effective reductions to their emissions and waste.

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?

Recognizing that Greater Sudbury is built on Robinson-Huron treaty lands, within the traditional territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Wahnapitae First Nations, as Mayor I will work with leaders of those communities to develop appropriate educational and awareness strategies for our City.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission revealed a lot of difficult details about relationships between First Nations and Canadian governments, including the horrific legacy of residential schools. Some of the lasting impacts of these experiences continue to affect citizens in our community today. Acting on the recommendations of the TRC is an important part of reconciliation and building a community dedicated to respecting our rich cultural heritage.

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?

The opioid crisis is nationwide and is affecting Sudburians and people in Northern Ontario every day.

Addressing this crisis is a complex issue. There are many things we need to take into consideration. First is addressing the symptoms. I believe that needle exchanges and safe injection sites are very important for treating these symptoms, but they don’t address the root causes of this crisis. In order to address the root causes, we should work with other communities to identify best practices and implement those that we can here in Greater Sudbury.

In Greater Sudbury and across the country we have countless smart people working on these issues. Once I’m mayor, I’ll listen to them, listen to those in the healthcare field, listen to those working in social services; I will learn from their experiences and their expertise; and I will implement the most successful strategies and the most impactful advice in order to make a positive impact for those struggling with addictions and their loved ones.

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?

I have been a low income single mother, widowed in my 20s. I understand the importance of supporting people in need. One of the things Sudbury needs most to help vulnerable citizens is an economy that welcomes their participation.

A strong economy with jobs at all levels creates opportunities for everyone and creates wealth in the community so we can pay for sorely needed social services. Our social services, including mental health services, need to be available in a timely manner and throughout Greater Sudbury’s communities to better meet people’s needs. I will work with Greater Sudbury’s social and community services staff, as well as other experts and professionals in the community, to help build sustainable programs for our people.

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?

When it comes to transparency and accountability for expenditures, communication and accessibility are key. We want the community to be able to access and understand reports quickly and easily.

How will I accomplish this? R.O.I! In this case, I’m referring to Respect, Openness and Integrity.

For me, a big part of respect is listening. I will hold town hall meetings in each ward in my first year as mayor. This will allow me to bring back meaningful information for staff and council. It will also allow me to demonstrate transparency from the top down; ensuring the Council Code of Ethics is being enforced and that councillors are being held to the highest level of integrity and transparency when reporting to their constituents.

In terms of openness, benchmarks and metrics will be posted on our website in a manner that is easily understood by everyone. Tax rates, job rates, new jobs, spending, roads. The city collects these statistics and unlike we’ve seen over the past four years, they will be published, good or bad.

Finally, integrity. I will ensure responses to the Integrity Commissioner are delivered within the 15-day allotted time limit, every time. We will publish the official results of the Wrongdoing Hotline. We will publish the number of Code of Conduct complaints on a year by year basis, and work towards reducing them. We will also work to reduce the number of Freedom of Information appeals. If one is denied, we’ll hold a news conference to explain why. If the media wants publicly available information, we will work to provide it, without making them go through the FOI process.

For additional information on Patricia Mills and her platform visit: www.patriciamills.ca

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