My vision for the communities of the Donovan, Elm-West and Azilda are wrapped in my vision for a progressive Greater Sudbury, a place where all citizens prosper and experience a satisfying quality of life.

Inspired by the possibilities, we must plan for the future and then have the audacity to follow our best ideas to fruition.

I like to envision our community as a garden with a city within it, where we must enhance the environment, grow local businesses, and cultivate our arts, culture and recreational opportunities.

We must continue to enhance the environmental health of our community by improving the quality of the air, land, water and living systems. We must foster environmental responsibility through local actions that contribute to community sustainability particularly when it comes to transportation.

The municipality needs to grow smarter by promoting brownfield redevelopments, protecting and enhancing publicly accessible green spaces and actually supporting sustainable mobility options.

One thing surprisingly similar in the nature of both the Donovan and Azilda is the predominance of small local businesses. We must focus economic development in Greater Sudbury on local companies, and pursue strategies to keep ownership local by embracing the concept of economic gardening.

The key in both the Donovan and Azilda is to re-establish the core business districts as the commercial and cultural heart of their neighbourhoods. We must also promote the unique character of the businesses in these communities to the city as a whole.

We must cultivate innovation and creative expression by supporting the further development of the arts and culture community, maximizing Greater Sudbury’s reputation as cultural center for festivals and events.

We need to strengthen the arts and culture sector through increased resources for infrastructure improvements and sustainability to position Greater Sudbury as the music, film and television industry leader for northern Ontario.

Accessible recreational opportunities are important for a good quality of life. Recreational facilities are the centerpiece of many communities, as a community of communities; we need to ensure that not only are new facilities developed but that our existing community centers are maintained and improved.

I believe government has an important role to play in shaping our community and contributing to greater social equality.

Municipalities are the most important of the three levels of government, initiating, executing or overseeing the important projects that shape our community.

For too long we have looked at our surroundings as something to be conquered. It is time to look at our community as a garden with a city within it where we must enhance, grow and cultivate the world around us, instead of simply consuming it.

Richard L. Paquette
Ward 4 municipal election candidate
Greater Sudbury