Thank you to the 385 people of Red River Ward who voted for me in the municipal election.
I am very disappointed that you didn’t get more for your decision. I was shocked and extremely disheartened by my results in the Red River Ward election. I will remain politically active.
How many of those who voted for Councillor McKinnon or Candidate Noonan truly knew the platforms they supported?
Those who voted for name recognition, for peer voting, or not at all got exactly the government they deserve and will deserve what they will get in return. Unfortunately the rest of us will get the same.
Provincially, I am the president of the three Northwestern Ontario provincial ridings of the Northern Ontario Party. The NOP is expanding through the eleven ridings of Northern Ontario. The party’s goal is the best solutions, regardless of political ideology, for Northern Ontario.
These are some municipal issues on which I will be working:
1) Fundraising $150,000 to $300,000 to save the Trinity Church manse (minister’s house) on the corner of Park Ave & Algoma St S. This project is not about helping Trinity United Church but about bettering Thunder Bay.
This is a desperate situation. Your support is required. Start contacting city council or donate money to a restoration fund if you care about the impending demolition of the 100 year old registered heritage building or historical architecture in general. On Facebook: Save the Trinity Church Manse
2) Combating popular racism and discrimination toward Aboriginals and the political opportunism arising from such. This needs to be dealt with now or it will grow larger.
The battle is primarily online and will unfortunately not be won with an appeal to intellect. Thunder Bay is nationally the primary location where online communication has converted to on the ground success for ERBL (End Race Based Law). ERBL steps towards fascism with its efforts.
3) Improving security, reliability and auditing of the municipal vote. Andy Wolff of Current River Ward, among others, leads the electronic voting issue locally and is correct with his concern.
A Superior Court judge previously recommended that Thunder Bay’s vote tabulation machines be audited with random hand counts. Vote tabulation machine error is common and human error is possible. City council never implemented the recommendations.
4) The event centre is certainly not going away. Citizens need to become aware of the city government’s entire share of the cost of the project, beyond the 1/3–1/3/–1/3 municipal, provincial, federal government split of the so called “guaranteed maximum price”.
5) Supporting the Ontario government’s Bill 8, reintroduced in July. “It has passed first reading.
The bill will give the Ontario Ombudsman direct oversight of municipalities, universities and school boards. It will also create a new Patient Ombudsman for complaints about hospitals and long-term care homes, and give the existing Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth the power to investigate children’s aid societies.”
6) Supporting the city budget being balanced below the $17 million nonguaranteed TBayTel dividend. Not doing so is a danger to future balanced budgets and taxes, TBayTel remaining competitive and unsold, and regional telecom competition.
Sincerely,
Paul Sloan
