Meet the Candidates: Robin Rickards wants to see a blue collar job strategy for the city.
The Canadian Forces veteran and married father of four is hoping to capture an at-large seat in the upcoming municipal election to bring a different perspective to city council.
While in the military, Rickards, 38, has travelled around the world and said he hasn’t found anywhere else like Thunder Bay.
“There is nowhere like our city on the planet,” he said, adding that although the city has problems, they are manmade and can be solved.
For Rickards, the main issue in Thunder Bay is the high tax rate for citizens, which he attributes to a large physical footprint from the city and a lack of a blue collar job strategy.
“A big part of the reason the taxes have gone up for residents is because of the loss of our industrial tax base. Look at the elevators we’ve lost, look at the mills we’ve lost. They were significant taxpayers. Now that additional burden is being shouldered by residents,” he said.
“What we need is a strategy to try to re-establish industry back in the city in a serious way.”
Rickards would also like to see the city stop supporting an “albatross” like Victoriaville Civic Centre while simultaneously cutting social and youth programs.
“It’s issues like that I look at and say ‘we need some change,’” he said.
Rickards also believes council has spent too much time and focus on the event centre; the project has dominated the agenda when there are more important issues at hand.
While he agrees Fort William Gardens is aging and a plan to replace the facility needs to be developed, he feels the current plan is being rushed.
“There’s a feeling that stimulus funding is going to collapse and we’ve got to get in while the getting’s good. It’s leading to a lot of decisions that are being hastily made and we have to be looking at a 75 to 100-year time horizon for a centre like this and I don’t’ think that’s being taken into consideration,” he said.
Rickards was born and raised in Thunder Bay and after his time in the military, chose to move back to the city because this was where he wanted to raise his family.
“I think there is value in this city. I think there is value in the history of the city and it’s something worth fight for and preserving,” he said.
Find Robin Rickards on Facebook; or follow him on Twitter @RickarddsAtLarge
