Roads, red tape and a new arena top of mind at chat with Sudbury's mayoral candidates

Red tape, roads, growth and whether to build a new arena were the hot topics Thursday evening as the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce hosted a fireside chat with select mayoral candidates.

The chamber said it recently polled members to find out which mayoral candidates they wanted to hear from during the event, with the top five candidates invited to take part.

Taking part were Evelyn Dutrisac, Don Gravelle, Paul Lefebvre, Miranda Rocca-Circelli and Mila Wong. Incumbent Brian Bigger withdrew from the race earlier this week and was not present.

The chamber and members of the audience had the opportunity to ask questions through moderator Jessica Pope.

Over the summer, the chamber outlined its municipal election platform naming leadership, municipal red tape and growth as some of the top priorities.

"We need to increase our talent base and our workforce -- and in order to do that, Sudbury needs to be attractive," said the chamber's Anthony Davis.

"We need affordable housing. We have the work … we have the jobs. Our businesses need to grow. Our businesses want to grow, but we need people here to help fill that void. So in order to grow a city, we need to attract good, skilled, talented people."

Taking part were Evelyn Dutrisac, Don Gravelle, Paul Lefebvre, Miranda Rocca-Circelli and Mila Wong. Incumbent Brian Bigger withdrew from the race earlier this week and was not present. (Alana Everson/CTV News)

All five of the candidates taking part in the fireside chat agreed red tape is a major barrier at city hall.

"It's stopping our businesses from developing and what's happening is we are losing a lot of businesses," said Dutrisac. "They find that we are not working with them."

"Maybe we can have a specific department that is for these people," Gravelle said.

"We can encourage them and guide them through the whole process."

"What's going on in North Bay is that it's easy to do business there," said Lefebvre.

"It's easy to bring your business there and to expand on the lands there. So I think what we need to do in the City of Greater Sudbury is (have) more industrial lands available and serviced."

The moderator of the chat called the arena and Kingsway Entertainment District issues divisive. CTV News asked some candidates their thoughts on the arena.

None said they currently supported building a new rink.

"Definitely I will refurbish (Sudbury Arena) based on the experience of North Bay," said Wong. "There is good bones in there and it will be not as costly."

"Everyone would love a brand new amazing facility," said Rocca-Circelli.

"I think right now we really need to focus on what we need in order to survive as a community and looking at what we have and what we can do with what we have."

"The arena should be downtown," said Lefebvre.

"Now with respect to a new arena or refurbished arena, we need to see what we can afford."