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2012-09-19 at 10:43

Thunder Bay could drop one of its Sister Cities

By Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com
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THUNDER BAY – The city is starting to think one of its Sister Cities just isn’t feeling it anymore.

The Sister Cities program isn’t a monogamous one, as Thunder Bay has partnerships with five municipalities. Those partnerships include Duluth and Little Canada in Minnesota, Gifu City, Japan, Seinäjoki, Finland and Keelung, Taiwan.

But Coun. Aldo Ruberto admits the relationship with Keelung might be heading south. The councilor, who chairs the Sister Cities Program, says the Taiwan city hasn’t been returning Thunder Bay’s calls for the past few years.

Unless something changes, Ruberto says Thunder Bay and Keelung, which has been a Sister City to for 20 years, may have to go their separate ways. 

“The committee has decided at this stage to put everything on hold and go back to discuss this issue,” Ruberto said.

“We may end up terminating the relationship and look for other opportunities. We’re already looking at a city in China to develop a Sister City relationship. Of course we’ll have to come back to council and present it to them to allow them to that decision.”

The last time the city broke up with another municipality was about four years ago when a town in Italy also stopped calling. 


 

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Comments

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Buddy Garrity says:
"Lovers in a dangerous time....alada, da, da, dadda, dad da, dahhhhh...alada da,dadda dahhhh"
9/19/2012 11:31:02 AM
patti says:
Might be heading south ?? NO ~ IT'S SOUTH, duh LOL



"Aldo Ruberto admits the relationship with Keelung might be heading south. The councilor, who chairs the Sister Cities Program, says the Taiwan city hasn’t been returning Thunder Bay’s calls for the past few years."

9/19/2012 11:31:12 AM
Arch Stanton says:
OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9/19/2012 12:12:21 PM
rootbear says:
Keelung got their own probs so let's focus on ours!
9/19/2012 12:30:56 PM
sky high says:
Watch out, Kelung might ask for the ring back and a huge settlement
9/19/2012 12:42:40 PM
vimeo says:
Thunder Bay has changed its relationship status to "single".

Enough time spent on this...let's move on.
9/19/2012 12:56:41 PM
vimeo says:
Scratch that...it should be changed to "It's complicated".
9/20/2012 10:37:46 PM
cfrank says:
I hope this topic isn't something council is wasting too much time on. As a City we have plenty of other important topics to tackle, sorry but someone not calling us back and us breaking up with them; well this sounds more like something a teenager in high school deals with. Let's move forward council and get to the real issues.
9/19/2012 1:06:02 PM
Chief says:
This is a very sad day in the history of Thunder Bay sister cities.... who cares??
9/19/2012 1:16:28 PM
workforaliving says:
One less place to visit with taxpayers money! Perfect!
9/19/2012 1:41:39 PM
jimmyboy says:
This program is nothing short of a complete farce...and look see who is the band leader here is, none other than ALDO...who supports all kinds of non-sense.!
9/19/2012 1:47:11 PM
commonsense says:
From watching Council and reading in the media, I see very little benefit to our City from this program. I think this is part of the program where they 'recruit foreign students" to Thunder Bay.
That is NOT the job of Council. LU can do their own recruiting.
It seems like just a way for Council to travel on tax dollars. Let's direct that money to improvements in our own City, like the upgrades needed to bring the Conservatory up to a higher state of energy efficiency. Then promote it!
9/19/2012 2:33:55 PM
CM Punk says:
Of course leave it to Aldo to head the "sister cities" folder.
Talk about giving a kid homework.
I agree with the others, hopefully not too much time is spent on this, and the city has many other more pertinent things to look into at the present time.

I beat John Cena this past Sunday to continue my reign as WWE champion.

The best in the world.
9/19/2012 2:41:14 PM
tbayzajoketown says:
keelung realized thunder bay was so crime infested and full of filth and litter. It was the best time to sever the relationship between the 2 cities.
9/19/2012 2:45:24 PM
joey joe joe jr. shabadoo says:
Did they try blocking thier phone number? Maybe they will answer then?
9/19/2012 2:57:31 PM
wayne says:
Back on May 13th, Hobbs said the following:

Hobbs admitted he was critical of the Sister Cities program at first until he learned more about it. "For every dollar spent, Thunder Bay brings in $18 in economic development", he said.

Where's the proof to support this awesome ROI?
9/19/2012 3:40:45 PM
Steven says:
"Every dollar spent brings in $18!" - Keith Hobbs

If thats the case, lets take every last tax dollar we have and put it all into sister cities! This city will be an instant boom town! BOOOOOOM!

What a joke.

Hobbs wasn't in support of this program until he realized he got free trips each and every year! Maybe this Taiwanese city council woke up and realized this is nothing but a free trip for councillors and the mayor rather than something real.
9/19/2012 4:18:32 PM
hubbabubba says:
Thunder Bay single? Oh well.. Maybe if it made itself a bit more attractive to the outside world and rich in its local economy, maybe it may attract a mate...
9/19/2012 4:42:23 PM
Just sayin' says:
Maybe they should have tried calling using something other than Tbaytel?
9/19/2012 4:43:03 PM
nucksfan89 says:
It sounds like Thunder Bay just isn't lucky in the ways of love.... haha.
9/19/2012 4:44:17 PM
nvjgu says:
Get rid of Duhluth too, they can't stand us.
9/19/2012 8:46:35 PM
The Badger Mountain Hermit says:
They got wise.
9/19/2012 8:50:53 PM
woodzee says:
Seems like the good old PA FW marriage is not open anymore
9/19/2012 9:58:23 PM
RelaxinginMurillo says:
Did anyone remember to tell Keelung, Taiwan that we have a Casino and a fancy waterfront ?
9/20/2012 7:09:29 AM
MommaBear07 says:
Can't say I blame Keelung, we have had sloppy leadership for years (read: Lynn Peterson) and visually we have garbage in the streets and abandoned buildings littering both downtown cores. We should be concentrating on improving our own first and that will attract cities to partner with us for the right reasons.
9/20/2012 8:55:12 AM
bob hitchman says:
Those of you who are critical of Aldo are the real ones who are wasting everybody's time. He, as Chair, of Sister Cities, is just doing his job by keeping the list current.
9/20/2012 1:03:21 PM
tbayboy says:
Oh no does that mean our city counsellors won't be able to go on a trip there. I see why they are upset.
9/20/2012 2:53:56 PM
Curious says:
Do you blame them!!!!! Take a drive around our city and tell me what is here that would want to make them stay a sister city.
9/20/2012 4:51:51 PM
tsb says:
Keelung is just jealous that our waterfront development went a lot faster than theirs did. Keelung Harbor Revolution is taking forever to complete!
9/20/2012 5:22:02 PM
The Beaver..... says:
Lets sister with Murillo
9/20/2012 5:47:10 PM
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