To the editor:
You will hear a lot in this election campaign from incumbents about the figure $600 million. That's the value of the building permits issued over the last decade or so in Thunder Bay.
The current council says it's because business is booming. But what's not said is that the vast majority of this construction is institutional, paid for by tax dollars.
By comparison, growth in the private sector is minimal. A city report two years ago says the private sector, the real wealth generator in an economy, only took out about $30 million dollars worth of permits over the previous decade.
Over the next 20 years, Thunder Bay must spend $200 million to renew one of the oldest water distribution systems in Ontario. You can look that up on-line (Thunder Bay Water Authority Financial Plan 2013). People in Northwood ward are telling candidates their priority is re-building the storm sewer system that caused so much flooding earlier this year.
The city manager says we have a significant backlog of road construction that needs attention.
These are my infrastructure priorities, not a new event centre in a city that's already well-served by existing facilities.
Shane Judge,
Mayoral candidate
