Sudbury activists talk ways to 'make council listen'
The day after the new mayor and council were sworn in, Sudbury activist groups met to discuss how to bring about the change they want in the city.
Some have very different approaches.
The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty says disrupting the workings of city hall is one of the best ways to bring about change.
Group member Anna Harbulik said interfering with council meetings and even the work days of city employees is one of the big reasons Sudbury now has an Out of the Cold shelter.
"We make them listen, because otherwise they won't."
But other groups presenting at last night's event, billed as Challenge the City, see a different way to get things done.
Naomi Grant from the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury said they've built a respectful partnership with the city, where her group is seen as a good source of information.
"But that's not as exciting. So, you might not get in the media for being a reliable source of information."
Grant does believe the conversation around the city council table has changed, with the rise of community lobby groups over the last six years.
But some city councillors in the last term came to see them not as partners, but as the "official opposition" or a "shadow cabinet,” especially the right-of-centre Greater Sudbury Taxpayers Association.
Labour Council president Jamie West is rethinking his group’s tactics around the store hours referendum.
"I would change our approach. We were very silent and quiet and under the radar,” he said.
“And that was an approach that came sort of provincially. So, I think we should have been more vocal and open."
But West said the labour council is now hoping to convince the newly elected city council to not scrap the bylaws governing when stores can open and close.
While a clear majority of Sudburians voted for deregulation, not enough voted for the results of the referendum to be binding.
The issue is now going back to city council, which is expected to vote on store hours at its meeting next week.