Someone, somewhere, dropped the ball, according to Ward 5 Coun. Ron Dupuis. After celebrating the official unveiling of Leo Gerard Workers' Memorial Park on Labour Day — a project spearheaded by Dupuis — the councillor discovered the documents required to name the park after Gerard hadn't been completed.
Gerard, a native of Sudbury, is the international president of the United Steelworkers union.
Many people criticized the councillor for the oversight.
An emotional Dupuis said he was “slammed” in the media and by colleagues on council for something that was out of his control.
A lot of work went into bringing the project to fruition, and as far as he was concerned, everything was in place for the grand opening of the park, he said.
Since the very start of the project, he had exchanged many e-mails with city staff. He laid the foundation to verify ownership of the lot, and whether he would be able to convert it into a green park.
“That started the ball rolling, and I was in many discussions about the creation of this park,” Dupuis said. “I have had nothing but support.”
He said it isn't a councillor's responsibility to write reports or make recommendations. A councillor's job is to bring (ideas) forward, and they rely on city staff to do the work.
“Unfortunately, the ball was dropped somewhere,” he said. “This is the second time I have taken on a project like this, and I did nothing different this time around. I always cross my t's and dot my i's.”
Dupuis said he is willing to take the blame for the oversight, but he regrets the fact it has put a scar on “such a wonderful piece of property” that had 300 people attend the opening.
“(The final product) is exactly what I had hoped for,” he said. “Donations are still coming in. I have left a lasting legacy in Ward 5, and I'm extremely proud of that.”
Council had prepared a resolution for the Sept. 14 meeting to formalize the naming of Leo Gerard Park retroactive to Labour Day; however, Dupuis elected to defer the matter to a later date to allow the proper process to take place.
“This isn't the first time this has happened,” he said.
“We need mechanisms in place to ensure this doesn't happen again. I don't want to tarnish the name of the park. I did everything I was supposed to, and I hid nothing.”
Dupuis said there is always controversy over the naming of parks and other places, and knew there would be opposition to having the park named after Gerard.
He said perhaps that is the real issue people are taking with this.
“The people who are raising an issue with this are the people who are opposed to the park being named after Leo Gerard, there's nothing else to it,” he said.
The project will now be open to public input as part of the application process. If there is a tremendous amount of opposition, the issue may have to be revisited. However, Dupuis said he doesn't see that happening.
Ward 2 Coun. Jacques Barbeau applauded Dupuis' efforts. He said there have been unfair letters and accusations thrown at his fellow councillor, whom he described as an “upfront, honest and sincere guy.
“Ron does things in the community from his heart,” Barbeau said. “It has never been about Ron Dupuis. We can't control what people think or write, but I support Ron.”
-Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen
