On Oct. 21, residents of Fort Simpson will head to the polls to elect their next mayor and council.
Ahead of the election, SA国际影视传媒 sent a set of identical questions to both of the village's mayoral candidates SA国际影视传媒� incumbent Sean Whelly and his opponent Les Wright SA国际影视传媒� to learn more about their backgrounds, their platforms, and their plans for the community and its roughly 1,100 residents.
What is your professional background?
"I started out surveying the highway to Wrigley during my summer break from school, but spent my summers before I started work in Hire North camps, where I watched and learned how to build highways.
"I also did some bridge building and breakwaters with the Department of Infrastructure in the Dehcho and Eastern Arctic. I have been a plumber for about 30 years and currently work for the GNWT."
What motivated you to run in this election?
"I put my name forward to run against the current mayor because I couldn't sit back and watch him get acclaimed again. I feel that given a choice, the community will vote for what's right for the community. Everyone who knows me knows I have no ulterior motives to being the mayor and that what's best for the community will be what comes first and foremost."
What do you intend to do about the drug and alcohol problem in Fort Simpson?
"It is too late to prevent the drug and alcohol problems in the community. Had the drug problem been addressed six years ago, we may have had a chance at curtailing the problem. We now have to promote healing and aftercare. We have to promote treatment and create a safer community to return to after treatment. I have heard the current mayor say things like we wouldn't have so many dealers if we didn't have a need for the drugs, or when we asked for a public meeting months ago saying it was not a problem we as a council created so it wasn't our place to call a meeting. That's... blaming the addict and passing blame. The community as a whole is the only way we will beat these problems. I would promote a tri-council approach to looking for the solutions and addressing the problems."
What facilities are most needed in your community, and how do you intend to procure them?
"The most important facility we need in the community is the new hospital/long-term care facility that has been postponed because of no suitable land being available. We just cleared the trees during our fire-smarting of the community between the golf course and Antoine Drive and that would be the perfect location for the new facility. Having this engineered to be flood-proof will be my first order of business. The replacement for the golf course club house is built on the same grade and is protected by a three-foot berm.
I propose a walking trail similar to what Peace River has protecting their low-lying infrastructure. This would also protect all the homes and businesses that were affected in the 2021 flood in that area. I would have it paved and it could become a barrier between the golf course and LTC [long-term care] centre as well as a walking/jogging trail. This would be the most cost effective and far safer than building in the middle of the forest under threat of wildfire. Imagine the elderly getting lost up there."
What other issues do you consider most important for Fort Simpson, and what do you plan to do to fix them?
"The lack of competition in the community when it comes to groceries. I would support a tax break for any of the local governments to build a competitive store. I would also support any initiatives that support affordable housing. We need small houses that are not for market rent. I priced a 720-square-foot house this summer and it could be built for far under $100,000 locally while creating work for the community..
"I've seen millions spent on market rent housing in the past few years and we could end a lot of problems if we started building them locally as opposed to out-of-town contractors doing the work."
