Dealing with dealers

Retirement took the mayor away from the police force, but it appears you can never really take the police force out of the mayor.
 
Mayor Keith Hobbs tried to make a drug bust recently. The former police officer turned mayor said he saw a drug deal going down at Victoriaville Mall and chased the dealer. Unfortunately for the mayor, the suspected drug dealer got away.

"He took off," Hobbs said. "Substance abuse is just prevalent (in Thunder Bay)."

Substance abuse was just one of the things discussed when Hobbs, city manager Tim Commisso, Coun. Joe Virdiramo and city Aboriginal Liason Anna Gibbon flew to Webequie First Nation.

"We talked about alcohol and drug abuse not only in Thunder Bay but up there and how we’re going to fix it together," Hobbs said Thursday after his return.

Hobbs called the trip a real eye-opener as drugs going into remote First Nations communities also affect Thunder Bay.

"There’s gang members, there’s gang affiliations between Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and these northern communities. We have to come up with a strategy," Hobbs said.

Hobbs said the high cost of living in First Nations communities also needs to be addressed. A bag of milk costs $13.50 in Webequie while a box of Cheerios costs $16.

"It’s just absolutely ridiculous. I think municipalities need to step up to the plate and assist these Northern communities in coming into the 21st century," Hobbs said. "The (federal and provincial) government has to start coming to the table and fixing these issues."

The trip was also about making sure the First Nation community, near the Ring of Fire, knows that Thunder Bay wants to win the fight with Sudbury and Greenstone, as Hobbs calls it, for a ferrochrome processor.

With 25,000 Aboriginal people in Thunder Bay, Hobbs said the processor would help all citizens in the city.

"We want jobs for our people and Aboriginal people," he said.