Sault mayor building relationships with neighbours

It’s been six months since Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker took his seat at the head of the city council table.

Shoemaker is using the occasion to release a progress report outlining various commitments made and kept since taking office late last year.

Shoemaker said the ongoing push for a supervised consumption site in the city remains a top priority, while acknowledging there is still work to be done.

"We aren't at the end of that process yet, but we did start it,” he said.

“We've got the ball rolling and hopefully it will continue to roll until we see the opening of a supervised consumption site or consumption treatment services locally."

Shoemaker said he’s also making good on a pledge to collaborate more with local peer governments, such as neighbouring Garden River and Batchewana First Nation.

Chief Andy Rickard and Chief Dean Sayers say their respective relationships with Shoemaker and the City of Sault Ste. Marie are moving in a positive direction.

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Meantime, Shoemaker said he has scheduled a meeting with his Sault, Mich., counterparts -- the first meeting between the two governments since the pandemic.