City of Greater Sudbury squares off with community action networks over legal contract

Some of Greater Sudbury's most committed volunteers are squaring off with the city over a legal contract it wants community action networks to sign.

"I wasn't very happy that it was coming out period," says Randy Crisp, chair of the Capreol Community Action Network.

"I'm not signing it."

The contract, which was also sent to community organizations that receive some grant money from the city, lays out the requirements for insurance coverage and reporting how the city tax dollars are spent.

Crisp was surprised since he always thought the community action networks or CANs were part of the city.

"They're just kind of frustrating volunteers and making them not interested in going that extra mile," says Azilda CAN co-chair Richard Paquette.

He points to a recent letter to CANs that prohibits them from hosting developer Dario Zulich, or any other private proponent hoping to partner with the city to build a new arena.

'Completely unacceptable'

"The city can't have it both ways," says Paquette, who has also refused to sign the contract.

"It was kind of like they wanted to throw a wet blanket on any kind of that type of consultation happening with community action networks and I don't think the city should be restricting that kind of open dialogue."

Any CANs that haven't signed the contract have not received the annual operating grant of $2,500.

Paquette says there was an attempt to re-write the terms of engagement for CANs, but that process seems to have stalled.

"Simply just disperse the 2017 operating grants so we can get on with the important work that we do. And my understanding is that some of the CAN chairs are incurring personal expenses to keep their CANs operating, which is completely unacceptable," says Paquette.

The responsibility for community action networks now falls to the newly hired Director of Communications and Community Engagement, Eliza Bennett.

She says the contract was sent out "as an intention to put in some parameters around how money that the city is dispersing is spent."

But Bennett says she is now reviewing the contract and meeting with CAN chairs individually.

"Certainly the CANs are an integral part of what the city does, still they do receive city funding and they are responsible to disperse it in particular ways," says Bennett.

"We are looking at ways that we can make the agreement something that responds more clearly to the specific needs of the community action networks."