Martin Wyant

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BREAKING: Algoma Steel laying off more than 1,000 workers

SooToday

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While this is not unexpected, it's still terrible news for the workers and families who are directly and indirectly affected. At the community level, replacing these jobs and addressing the spin-off job losses that will occur as a result, will be one of the most significant challenges we have faced in many years. While it is good to know that work has been happening with the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition, more will need to be done.It would be helpful to know more about the economic development initiatives that the City has been working on to attract more investment and jobs in our community. The only significant project seems to be the proposed multi-modal port, but the likelihood of the project and details regarding the number and type of jobs created, timelines and other details have been missing.Now would be a good time to share an economic development progress report.

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Algoma residents will pay a bit more as public health budget hits $18.47M

SooToday

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Hard to understand how a 9% increase is characterized as "a couple of cents" by a Board member. An 18% increase over two years? Wow. Why are taxpayers paying for these increases when APH reported a $12,159,580 accumulated surplus in their 2024 audited statements?

'Poor governance' prompted OPP proposal: Shoemaker

SooToday

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Laying all of the problems at the feet of two departing Board members, without acknowledging that City Council represented 40% of the Board, is hard to swallow. it's also concerning that there seems to be no acknowledgement that poor management contributed to the huge deficit.

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Tenaris adds third service centre in Western Canada

SooToday

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Congratulations to Tenaris. Great to see them continuing to invest and create more jobs in Canada!

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Carney announces plan to create 125,000 defence industry jobs

SooToday

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The $345-million referenced in the Sootoday story is not the value of the potential submarine contract; it 's the estimated value of the Hanwha's investment in a new structural steel beam mill at Algoma, along with future purchases of steel product to support submarine construction. Investing in domestic R & D and manufacturing related to defence will help us develop new partners, new markets, good jobs and will decrease our dependence on others. This new approach can also be a significant boon to our local economy.

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‘Excellent’: Pilot project that helps seniors stay out of hospital now permanent

SooToday

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This is a tremendous program. Congratulations on gaining permanent funding!

500 new jobs coming to Algoma Steel next year: Joly

SooToday

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It's good to hear that Algoma will be diversifying its product mix. While I appreciate the support that the federal and provincial governments have been providing, it would be helpful to hear more about how the $500 million contribution of taxpayer funds will be used.

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Are we getting enough bang from our $11.6M Downtown Plaza?

SooToday

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We have more than enough good quality venues to stage events. Spending more and more on physical attractions and improvements to downtown, without addressing legitimate concerns of citizens, will not work. Similarly, taking over the Downtown Association and shifting the tax burden from downtown building owners to regular taxpayers, increases our taxes with no tangible benefits. We need better planning, period. Perhaps it's time to consider a new governance model for our City....

City invites residents to weigh in on walking and cycling strategy

SooToday

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Today I walked down Queen Street, from Kohler to Pine. There are east and west bike lines on both sides of Queen. I counted 11 cyclists. Some were clearly enthusiasts, with all of others seemed to be using bikes as there mode of transportation. Not a single cyclist was using bike lanes correctly. 8 were using the sidewalks and 3 were using bike lanes that were going against traffic.While I appreciate the aspirations of an active transportation plan, the expansion of trails and better solutions for people with mobility challenges should be the focus, particularly with our winter climate. Imposing bike lines at great cost, when they seem to be used by so few people, seems to be pandering to a small group of interests. Perhaps, though, we should focus on updating our entire 1996 officiaL plan, rather than all of the "micro-plans" that seem to ignore the infrastructure, social, health and other issues that have changed over 30 years.

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City council snuffs out Downtown Association

SooToday

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I'm not clear on the merits of the City taking over the DTA, but suggesting that it is following the success of the takeover of the EDC, without providing any data to demonstrate that we are better served by the "new approach", is concerning. If the result of this decision is that the tax burden is now shifted from downtown businesses to the entire tax base, then any member of council who had a direct or indirect financial interest in this decision should have declared a conflict of interest and refrained from the discussion and the decision.

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Letter writer who used a pen name says he regrets it

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Previously, media would name and address check letters to the editor before publishing them. Not sure if this happened in this case. Too many people publish anonymously, as we see every day in posts to Sootoday, Facebook and other social media platforms. Anonymity often leads to bitter, angry finger-pointing, name-call and conspiracy-mongering that simply amplifies our differences. We should all be encouraged to share informed, respectful opinions, even when they run counter to those who hold positions of power. If you really believe in something, have the courage to put your name on it.

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Sault Police Services approximately $2.5 million over budget

SooToday

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If this was known in February, why is it only coming to light now? This is a huge amount of money. How could the Chief and the Board be unaware of the finances of the police service? The silence from the Board is deafening. There should be an audit of the last 5 years to determine if there are similar problems and to assign accountability.

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Virtual home waiting room aims to ease ER congestion in the Sault

SooToday

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This is a fabulous initiative!

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Algoma Steel commits three per cent of sales from proposed beam mill to Korean sub builder

SooToday

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Interesting approach to bring badly-needed investment to help Algoma diversify it's manufacturing capacity. In the face of increasing US trade protectionism, cultivating and strengthening global relationships with new partners makes sense.

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Businessperson has big plans for Steelton and Jamestown

SooToday

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What a terrific example to set. It's wonderful to see this type of investment in Steelton and Jamestown, particularly from people with such a strong connection to our community!

Sault Police Service receives 'code of silence' award for its 'transparency tax'

SooToday

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If the Police Service did a better job of releasing information to the public, there we be a decrease in the volume of Freedom of Information requests. There does seem to be an increasing unwillingness to share useful, digestible information from local institutions and government. When this occurs, many people lose trust and presume that there is "something to hide". It's too easy to say "we're not releasing information because it could jeopardize an investigation" or "it's a sensitive HR issue". Too many reasonable information requests are stonewalled behind such excuses. Imagine if better information had been released regarding recent, large budget deficits, before they became such a problem? There are very real costs associated with a lack of transparency.

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Algoma Steel layoffs may impact 1,600 more workers

SooToday

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The role of economic development, according to A.I.: to improve a community's economic well-being and quality of life by creating jobs, supporting businesses, increasing tax revenue, and attracting investment. Seems like a reasonable definition. The 2026 budget earmarks $826,481 for economic development (a 4.47% increase) and $1,340,216 for Tourism and Community Development (a 12.08% increase). It would be easier to justify these expenses if we saw specific results from the efforts of our economic development department, such as:How many jobs did they create? How much additional tax revenue did they generate? How much private sector investment did they secure? With respect to the port, Sootoday ran a story in October 2024m announcing a $400,000 port study. I may have missed it, but I don't recall ever seeing the results of the study. How much would the port cost? How many long-term jobs would it create? What investment would we need to make to bring it to fruition?

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25 years in the Sault, Tenaris eyes growth as Canada boosts energy ambitions

SooToday

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Tenaris is a terrific success story. Wonderful to hear about their expansion plans. We should be doing everything we can to support their efforts, including welcoming the employees and family members that are relocating to our community. Their international scope and relationships could also help us identify supply chains and markets for many of our local mall/medium sized manufacturers.

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Could the city hire its way out of the family doctor shortage?

SooToday

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Excellent leadership from Orillia. Innovative thinking is required. A year ago, we had 40+ internationally trained Physicians attending post-secondary schools here. A simple project to provide them with intensive language support, mentoring from local Physicians, work experience and assistance in securing their Canadian certifications was discussed, but did not receive the support required to proceed. Others, like BC, have done this work and achieved success. Why not us?

Council backs mayor: King Charles' portrait won't be hung at city hall

SooToday

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Whether we support the relationship to the monarchy or not, I just don't understand why the Mayor and Council picked this fight. What is the upside within our community? How does this debate and this decision improve our relationship with senior levels of government or businesses that may have an interest in investing in our city?With the state of our roads, our terrible opioid mortality rates, massive (apparently unchecked) overspending by our Police Service and significant tax increases to residential ratepayers, surely there are other issues that should be discussed at Council meetings?

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