Sudbury's mayor on 2023 priorities for the city

Sudbury's new mayor, Paul Lefebvre, is heading into the new year with a list of priorities for the city, issues such as homelessness, addiction, and a new arena.

One of the first items on the list to tackle is infrastructure and make sure there is enough money set aside.

"How do we address that, make sure that there’s enough capital set aside for not only for this year, but having a plan for the next five to 10 years, and how to tackle that. So, I think it’s very important to articulate that to the community as well," Lefebvre said.

And with the municipal budget coming up, Lefebvre said it’s going to be a challenging one due to the $17 million deficit.

"That’s certainly one of the first things that we’re going to tackle as a council," Lefebvre said.

"As well as there’s major projects that we’re looking at that we’ve actually financed over the last few years, so what are we looking at for that? How do we approach that."

When it comes to the arena -- which has been a controversial topic of discussion for years -- Lefebvre said he thinks it should stay in the downtown core.

"I really believe that it’s important to have a strong, attractive place to be, that is downtown," he said.

"So, an arena, whatever form it takes. Is it a renovation? A retrofit to a new arena? What can we afford? There’s money set aside for that, so what can we do with that money? What can we accomplish? And I know that’s what the staff is working on at this time, to explore those options."

One growing issue in the city is homelessness, but the mayor said there will be plenty of positive changes coming this year in the way of new housing.

"We know we received federal funding a few years ago and that’s going to be built in the spring. As well as there’s other funding that we have been approved from the feds, again for housing, on this transitional housing," Lefebvre said.

"So, I really believe that by the end of 2023, 2024, we will be having around 60 to almost 80 new shelters, apartments for people that are in transitional housing needs, which is huge."

The mayor said he will not stop advocating for more when it comes to the homelessness situation.

In regards to the opioid crisis, Lefebvre said he is hoping to identify the gaps and address the services the city needs.