Sault Ste. Marie’s mayor raises local issues with the Ontario premier

Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker is hoping a recent phone call with Ontario Premier Doug Ford will get the ball rolling on some issues the city is facing.

Ford recently visited the Sault, but was apparently unable to meet with the Mayor due to his travel schedule that day. However, Shoemaker said Ford made good on a promise to follow-up on his visit with a phone call.

One of the topics Shoemaker said he brought to the premier's attention was the centralization of all OLG staff.

"I spoke to him about our community's continued desire to see all OLG jobs located in Sault Ste. Marie, and not split between what they call the head office in Sault Ste. Marie and where all the executives actually work, which is in Toronto," he said.

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Shoemaker told CTV News another issue they discussed during the call was the city's pending application for a Supervised Consumption Site to help with the city's ongoing addictions crisis. Shoemaker said no firm commitments were made, but the discussion was a positive one.

Connie Raynor-Elliott, founder of local advocacy group Save Our Young Adults – also called SOYA – said the facility is needed now.

"A safe consumption site will save lives," she said.

"It should have been here a couple of years ago as far as I'm concerned and a lot of people in the community really want it here because we're tired of our people dying."

Meantime, Shoemaker said, the Sault's application for a safe consumption site will likely be submitted in June or July of this year. After that, he said it will be in the hands of senior levels of government, adding it could be next year before a site is approved.