Platform

There’s always lots of talk in election campaigns. You will hear it from the other candidates in this race; some of their talk will be aspirational and some of it will be angry. You’ll also hear a lot of big declarations and sweeping statements about what Sault Ste. Marie needs to become and how its municipal government should operate.

What you won’t hear will be many specifics about how to accomplish any of those things.

Ever since my first run for City Council in 2014 what has set me apart has been my passion for bringing forward new ideas, ideas that are specific, actionable, and achievable for Sault Ste. Marie. Sometimes I’ve even been accused of having too many ideas. But changing the status quo doesn’t happen on its own; it takes new approaches and new thinking and I see it as the role of Mayor and Council to provide the direction to achieve that change.

Candidates who promise that they will be able to create change by virtue of having the right personality, slogan, background, or by somehow “working harder” than past representatives are—in the end—going to disappoint their constituents. We’ve seen it countless times before in many aspects of life: there is no real change without first having a real plan that is driven by real ideas.

With this platform, I am pleased to bring forward a Plan for Progress. This is a plan for Sault Ste. Marie rooted in community input. Contained here, you will find my specific commitments and ideas to help our community grow and progress. It covers important issues from dealing with Addictions and Mental Health Challenges to Keeping Life Affordable, all the way to improving how City Council organizes its meetings.

I am bringing forward this plan so that I can be accountable to you and so that you will have the opportunity to make an informed choice. As you consider how to vote, you will need to sift through all the talk to determine who has a real plan and who doesn’t. You will need to look at those with prior elected experience and decide who has built a record of significant achievements while in office and who hasn’t.

In 2014, I joined City Council with a promise to bring new energy and fresh ideas. In 2018, I returned to Council with a commitment to be on your side. Today, I am still on your side and as this platform demonstrates, I still have the energy and ideas needed to move our community forward. With this plan, I hope to earn your trust and your vote for Mayor on October 24th.

Sincerely,

Matthew Shoemaker 

A Realistic Approach to Keeping Property Taxes in Check

• Property taxes are the City’s primary source of revenue. As the City must deal with risings costs, property taxes have to gradually increase over time. As Councillor, Matthew has consistently striven for tax increases that are affordable to residents. He has done so by approaching each budget with the fixed-income pensioner in mind. He will continue that approach as Mayor and will not support increases that are greater than the community’s ability to pay.

   

• As Mayor, Matthew will continue to push Council and City staff to consider new ways of doing business to save taxpayers’ money. Since his election in 2014, he has persuaded Council to adopt over $2 million in savings ideas. (See the “Matthew’s Record” section for details)

Tax Relief for Those Most in Need

• If elected, Matthew will champion the adoption of a property tax relief program for homeowners who are affected by extreme poverty or sickness.

Saying NO to Development Charges

• Since joining Council, Matthew has been a vocal opponent of development charges. Development charges impede growth and new development. With housing in short supply locally, Matthew will continue to oppose any effort to implement development charges in Sault Ste. Marie.
  

IN THE MEDIA

“(Councillor Rick) Niro said council was fortunate that Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Shoemaker came up with a plan to reduce the original expenditures, which, in turn, opened the door to get some growth items back on the table.”
– The Sault Star, February 06, 2019

MATTHEW’S RECORD

Below are some of the savings proposals Matthew was able to pass through Council in 2018-2022:

• Changing the repayment schedule for the LED streetlight loan: $440,000 savings

• Changing the 2022 police maintenance expense to a one-time capital request: $210,000 savings

• Adjusting the Capital from Current budget increase over two years instead of one: $131,000 savings

• Amortizing the Public Works Equipment Reserve budget addition over two years instead of one: $125,000 savings

• Eliminating an over-budgeting in non-union salaries: $50,000 savings.

Getting More from Our Waterfront

• Explore the development of beach-like activities at Bellevue Park, such as beach volleyball courts, sand pits, and sunbathing areas. 
• Reconstruct the boardwalk promenade that was removed from the Roberta Bondar Marina.

HUB Trail Expansion

• Pursue an approximately 5 kilometer expansion of the John Rowswell HUB Trail.
• Open up new HUB Trail spokes to underserved neighbourhoods, such as Jamestown.

A Fun, New Way to See and Visit Downtown

• Implement the downtown trolley that has been recommended for adoption as a pilot program for the last several years. The hop-on, hop-off trolley would take residents and visitors between attractions and landmarks in the downtown corridor.

Helping Our Local Community Foundation Become Established

• Help build awareness and support for the Algoma Community Foundation in Sault Ste. Marie. A community foundation distributes grants to qualified recipients in such areas as health, education, arts and culture, social services, and the environment.

IN THE MEDIA

“Imagine a trolley travelling across the downtown, highlighting Sault Ste. Marie’s history, attractions and little quirks. It’s an idea that could definitely appeal to the growing cruise ship market docking in Sault Ste. Marie and visitors who may not have a lot of time to spend in the city but want to take in as much as they can in a short period of time. Maybe it will entice that tourist to return for another visit.”

– The Sault Star, June 21, 2019

MATTHEW’S RECORD

• Wrote the motion that led to the creation of the Clergue Park Skating Trail.

• Successfully convinced Council to include annual funds for the Skating Trail in the City Budget.

• Advocated for the creation of the summer bus service to Point Des Chenes Beach, which has allowed more residents to enjoy one of the City’s natural jewels.

• Spearheaded efforts – 6 motions altogether – to rebuild the McMeeken and provide a state of the art community facility in the west end

Establishing a Supervised Consumption Site

• Sault Ste. Marie’s most pressing issue is the crisis of overdoses and addictions that have been brought on by the opioid epidemic. As Mayor, Matthew is committed to bringing a Supervised Consumption Site to the community. He is prepared to commit municipal dollars for the start-up and establishment of the site, as several other cities in Northern Ontario have already done.
  
  While support from the Ministry of Health is essential for the ongoing operation of a Supervised Consumption site, the City must be ready to begin work on its own.

Supporting Advocacy and Awareness through a Community Day of Action

• Opioids and addictions affect everyone and creating awareness of the problem is the first step to addressing it. Matthew is proposing that the City—in collaboration with health, social service, and grassroots partners—host a community-wide Day of Action. (See the “In Depth” section for more details)

Lobbying the Provincial and Federal Governments for More Support

• With this platform, notice is being served to Sylvia Jones (Minister of Health), Michael Tibollo (Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions), and Carolyn Bennett (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions – Federal). Upon becoming Mayor, Matthew will be a relentless voice for more badly-needed resources to address mental health and addictions concerns in the Sault.
  
  This will include lobbying for the return of funding for Sault Area Hospital’s Intensive Day Treatment program from the province and for consideration for a safe supply program from the Federal government.

IN-DEPTH: DAY OF ACTION

The Community Day of Action would involve an open-to-everyone event hosted at GFL Memorial Gardens. The City could offer free transit service on the day to help make the event accessible. This centerpiece event would include:

• Presentations from local mental health and addictions providers about how to access their services;
• Education on how to recognize the signs of an overdose and what to do in response;
• An overview of naloxone and how to use it;
• Information on where and how to obtain a free naloxone kit;
• Stories from persons with lived experiences of opioids and addictions.

A Partnered Approach to Creating Affordable Housing

• The rapidly-growing city of Barrie has found a winning approach to encouraging new affordable housing development. Called the New Foundations Program, Matthew is proposing to bring a “made in Sault Ste. Marie” version of the program to our community. (See the “In Depth” section for more details)

Taking Action against Negligent Landlords

• Landlords and property owners who allow their properties to descend into disrepair create hazards and diminish the aesthetics of entire neighbourhoods. Keeping our City beautiful and safe is a shared responsibility. As Mayor, Matthew will seek a Council mandate for strict enforcement of property standards for landlords and would-be developers. He’ll also seek to change the complaint system for repeat offenders from a reactive inspection system, to a proactive inspection system.

Increasing the Annual Allocation to the Community Development Fund

• Sault Ste. Marie’s Community Development Fund (CDF) (formerly the Economic Development Fund) has received an annual allocation of $500,000 for many years. To keep pace with changes in purchasing power, Matthew is committed to increasing annual funding to the CDF in order to help more businesses start-up, expand, or relocate to Sault Ste. Marie.

Creating a Fund for Building Demolition and Property Rehabilitation

• The unfortunate truth is there are many structures in Sault Ste. Marie’s urban core that are severely deteriorated. Matthew is proposing to create a municipal fund to pay for the demolition of derelict buildings and to remediate properties in urban core neighbourhoods. In the long run, clearing the way for new housing in dense areas on already-serviced parcels of land will be cost-effective and will assist with neighbourhood revitalization.

IN DEPTH: NEW FOUNDATIONS PROGRAM

The development plan would be partially funded by the City, with a $20,000 contribution to each project. The funds for such plans would come from the Community Development Fund, up to a total allocation or $200,000 for the concept.

More Meetings and Collaboration with Peer Governments

• Pursue annual joint Council meetings and sessions with Councils of Batchewana First Nation, Garden River First Nation, the local Councils of the Metis Nation of Ontario, and the Mayor and Council of Sault Ste. Marie Michigan.

Bringing Indigenous Knowledge and Teachings to City Hall

• Consult with Indigenous partners about the appropriateness of developing an Indigenous Elder-In-Residence position within City Hall.

Establishing an Indigenous Fish Market

• Assist Batchewana First Nation with their longstanding effort to establish a fish market near the Sault Ste. Marie Canal and Canal District.

Ensuring Cultural Competency at the City of Sault Ste. Marie

• Work with City staff to identify appropriate Cultural Competency training for City employees and ensure it is offered to all senior leadership and full-time customer-service staff.

Conduct Due Diligence on a Potential Downtown Police Station

• Sault Ste. Marie’s Police Services building is nearing the end of its lifespan and will have to either be rebuilt at its current site or at another location. Matthew has worked both at City Council and as a member of the Police Service Board to explore relocating an eventual new Police Services building downtown.
  
  A downtown police station would bring a greater police presence closer to areas of the City that need more public safety support. It would also bring a considerable number of workers and visitors downtown each day, benefiting nearby merchants.

Supporting the SSM & Area Drug Strategy

• As Mayor, Matthew will be ready to become an enthusiastic supporter of the Sault Ste. Marie and Area Drug Strategy developed by the Algoma Leadership Table. Matthew will work with partners to explore ways to use City facilities and communications tools to spread awareness and bring people together to share ideas.

Creating Collaboration to Bring More People Downtown

• Matthew has long advocated for more frequent street closings and on-street events that will give people more reasons to visit the downtown commercial districts. He will continue looking at new ways of building collaboration amongst the City, Downtown Association, and other partners to bring more energy and people to the downtown.

Improving Traffic Flow

• Continue to work on having unnecessary traffic lights removed.
• Advocate to have advanced arrows turned off during late night and early morning hours at most signalized intersections.
• Work with the City Traffic Division to see what is needed to better synchronize traffic lights in the City.

A Citizens-First Approach to Service

• Explore the adoption of a 311 service to help citizens navigate City services and find the assistance and information they need.
• Simplify the building permit process with a “one-window” approach to customer service.

IN THE MEDIA

“He (Shoemaker) has the energy and drive that council needs to bring the Sault into the future and to get it onto the map.”

– Sault This Week, November 27, 2017

Adjusting Council’s Start Time to Accommodate Working People

• Moving back the start of Council meetings to 5:00 p.m. will make it easier for Councillors and members of the public with day jobs to attend the start of the meetings. The same will be true for viewers who watch the proceedings at home.

  To accommodate the adjusted start, proclamations will be moved to a separate day. This will allow proclamations and the delegations speaking to them to be afforded proper time and consideration, instead of rushing through them in a perfunctory manner to get to other Council business.

An Earlier Public Release of the Council Agenda

• Matthew is committing to releasing upcoming Council Agendas and meeting materials to the public and media on the Wednesday prior to meetings.

  Currently, Agendas are released publicly on Friday for Monday meetings, which leaves little time for the public and journalists to review it, or for interested parties to request to speak to issues prior to the Council meeting itself.

Weekly Release of the Mayor’s Schedule

• As a Councillor, Matthew has always held himself to a high standard of transparency. As Mayor, he would have his office release his schedule to the public on the City website each week, so that citizens will have a better awareness of his work and activities.

Incorporating a Youth Voice on Council

• Pursue the addition of an ex-officio (non-voting) youth member to Council who would attend meetings and provide advice and insight.

MATTHEW’S RECORD

• Advocated for the reduction of City Council from 12 Councillors to 10.

• Persuaded Council to adopt a motion to video record closed session meetings. (Meetings that the public cannot attend)

• Pushed for electronic recording system for Council votes.

• Fought to limit the City’s use of sole-source contracts in procuring goods and services.

• Maintained a detailed record of his voting history, expenses, and Council motions on his public website for the last eight years

Increase the City’s Annual Tree Planting

• On Council, Matthew has championed increasing the City’s annual tree number of trees planted. As Mayor, he will look to increase City tree planting to 500 trees annually.

Continued Electrification of City Small Engines and Vehicles

• Moving away from internal combustion engines makes sense, both environmentally and economically given rising fuel prices. Matthew will continue his advocacy for the City to retire gas-powered lawn mowers, trimmers and vehicles, replacing them with clean and modern electric models.

Examine Feasibility of a Downtown Theatre Centre

• Sault Ste. Marie has long been a hotbed of local theatre and performing talent. As Mayor, Matthew will work with stakeholders from the community to see if it would be feasible to establish a dedicated theatre centre in the downtown area.

IN THE MEDIA

“Coun. Matthew Shoemaker is certainly making a name for himself at City Hall as an endless fountain of ideas…”

– The Sault Star, January 3, 2018