Colleen Arnold
Colleen Arnold still remembers the warmth and kindness she and her family felt upon moving to Flin Flon in 1999.
Flin Flonners welcomed the newcomers from Yellowknife with open arms, helping to foster Arnold’s passion for the community.
“This is the first community [where] I feel such a part of the community, and pride, and running for city council is a way for me to give back to the community,” said Arnold, the long-time executive director of the Women’s Resource Centre.
Arnold considers seniors’ housing a priority, calling Flin Flon “an aging community.” She said the community’s infrastructure and roads also require upgrades.
Promoting services and tourism is important to reduce the community’s reliance on Hudbay, she said. And she shared her view that sports and recreational opportunities must be available for families, especially newcomers.
Arnold said “arts and culture is thriving in Flin Flon” and needs continued support. On the flip side, the problem of homelessness “is becoming a bigger issue every year.”
She endorsed greater cooperation with Creighton and Denare Beach, declaring “we’re all one community.” She said she’s interested in monitoring the progress of the Tri-Council cooperative economic development initiative in and around The Pas.
Arnold stressed the importance of partnerships, saying she “would love the opportunity to help build partnerships with businesses, organizations and community members to ensure Flin Flon thrives.”
“I have a vision of hope for our community that includes all members having an equal voice being heard and represented,” she said.
Asked for her thoughts on the future of Flin Flon following the eventual closure of 777 mine, Arnold said city council is already promoting tourism and looking to make Flin Flon more service-oriented.
She said the city needs to look at other areas of economic development, adding that a year-round road link with Pukatawagan would bring more shoppers to the community.
Arnold said upgrades to Flin Flon’s recreational services would also attract people, but she returned to the theme of cooperation.
“The biggest thing is we need to stand together as one and work towards that and then Flin Flon will thrive,” she said. “We can’t lose hope. We need to know that there is some other route to go – we just need to work together and get there.”
Asked whether she would be “militant” in advocating for provincial investments in Flin Flon services, Arnold said she has some learning to do in that regard but would have no problem pushing for funding.
She said she has worked with provincial ministers and has an easy time talking to them and advocating for Flin Flon, adding, “I’m not scared to speak my mind.”
Should Flin Flon and Creighton amalgamate their municipal offices to save money? Arnold said she agreed with fellow candidate Guy (Beastie) Rideout’s answer. Rideout said an office merger “would be nice” but added it would be difficult to do without strong cooperation from both provinces.
Arnold added she would like to investigate how the area can best “work together for one big community” and reiterated she wants to monitor the Tri-Council initiative in and around The Pas.
In terms of the biggest strength she would bring to council, Arnold cited her experience on boards and committees, working in partnership with others and motivating people behind initiatives.
Guy Rideout
Born and raised in Flin Flon, Guy (Beastie) Rideout is now in the process of retiring in the community.
“I am a proud ‘Flonner’ and love what this community has to offer all residents!” he said in his campaign pamphlet.
Now Rideout, the long-time Whitney Forum manager, is taking a crack at municipal politics with the belief he can give voice to ideas and concerns that matter to residents.
His priorities include affordable seniors’ housing, support for local culture and events, sustainable recycling and beautification initiatives, and crime reduction through engagement of community partners.
Rideout wants to grow opportunities for businesses and attract more entrepreneurs and investment. And he favours expanded and improved recreational options.
“Recreation for all ages of life in town is a big thing,” he said.
“We have all sorts of problems. We don’t have a money tree, we all know that. We have to figure out ways maybe to do our patchwork and keep the city going, but…recreation has bumped up its value as far as being essential services.”
Like fellow candidate Colleen Arnold, Rideout said he is concerned about homelessness in Flin Flon.
“I travel through town at varying hours of the night and I do see [homeless people],” he said. “Some of them are in pretty bad shape. What the answers are for that is something that would have to be discussed at a different level, to find them someplace to rest their heads.”
While Flin Flon relies “on the mining industry quite a bit,” Rideout said there are “other areas we can look at to keep viable.”
Asked for his thoughts on the future of Flin Flon following the eventual closure of 777 mine, Rideout said “it’s a very difficult situation” but the community will endure.
He said he has not personally researched the concept of bringing other industries to the community, but he knows others have talked about it.
“Sometimes we’ve got to hope for the best, which is maybe another mine popping up,” Rideout said, adding that different communities can rally together to “try to make it work.”
Asked if he would be “militant” in lobbying the provincial government for more service-related support for Flin Flon, Rideout said the issue of government funding is one he has to learn more about.
Should Flin Flon and Creighton amalgamate their municipal offices to save money? Rideout said he believes that question has been discussed for many years.
He said he has talked to friends in Lloydminster about the situation in that Alberta-Saskatchewan border city.
“You can go on one side of Lloydminster and see a brand new skate park and you go a quarter-mile away and there’s another brand new skate park, because of the border,” Rideout said, adding that there is “a little bit more cooperation” in Lloydminster.
Rideout said the subject is a difficult one because people don’t want to give up their identity.
“I really feel it would be nice, but I really feel it would be very, very difficult to do without both provinces working hard together,” he said.
In terms of the biggest strength he would bring to council, Rideout said he is local, has been involved with Hudbay and other employers, and is a person people should feel comfortable talking to and trusting.
