The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Question: Is it true that the city has/is discussing locating a proposed new recreation complex at Queen's Park? If so, why is this not a public debate, and why this particular location? Mayor Therien: First and probably foremost, a new recreational complex is a long way from being a reality. However, your council has been discussing several possible locations for a new complex as well as many other developments. The question was if Queen's Park has been brought up, and the answer is yes, it has. It has been brought up several times in the 15 years I have been on council as an excellent area for development, including potential retail space. Just because it has been suggested as a perspective site does not mean it will actually happen. There are still lots of questions that would need answering before anything happens here or anywhere else for that matter. Part of your question suggested public meetings for items such as this. Although public meetings have great value, it can and usually does slow the process down. You have to weigh the pros and cons about using this type of approach. Are you suggesting this is of a controversial nature to warrant a debate? * * * Question: I believe I read that our council feels that our provincial government is handing out far more goods to The Pas and Thompson than to Flin Flon. Is this so, and why do you feel this way? Moreover, why would council not then use their influence to endorse candidates that would, in fact, bring the goods home to Flin Flon? Mayor Therien: You have probably read this a number of times over the years, as this is a pet peeve of council and has been for a number of years. Every time Flin Flon gets anything from the provincial government, it is not long after that Thompson and The Pas have announcements regarding grants far exceeding the value given to Flin Flon. Is this fair? Your council does not think so but, in fairness, we have to look at the makeup of each community to see why we seem to get the short end of the stick. For example, UCN has or will be developing campuses in The Pas and Thompson, both of which have drawn serious dollar support from the province. Millions of dollars have or will be coming to these communities as a result. We did get a Mining Academy, but this pales in comparison to our friends to the east and south of us. Why were we left out of the bigger picture? UCN was developed to attract First Nations students to attend a post-secondary institution without having to venture too far from home to do so. Having campuses closer to their home makes sense, and I cannot fault that. However, this is just one of several examples that seem to suggest a serious discrepancy in funding dollars from our province. In response to the second part of your question, I am not sure the issue would resolve itself by endorsing specific candidates. Currently, our MLA sits on the side of the government giving out the money, yet we seem to have this perceived unfairness. The problem may be that The Pas and Thompson have MLAs who are or were cabinet ministers and can get closer to the purse strings as a result. Maybe not, but it still leaves you to wonder. Again, in fairness, our MLA does a great job for his riding. Gerard has the largest riding, in terms of area, than anyone else in the province and I believe he represents every one of his constituents to the best of his ability and should be commended for doing so. * * * Send your questions for Mayor Therien to The Reminder by phone at 687-3454, fax at 687-4473, e-mail at [email protected] or standard delivery at "Ask the Mayor," C/O The Reminder, 14 North Avenue, Flin Flon, Man., R8A 0T2. No names are required. Ask the Mayor runs Mondays.
