Education top issue in Orillia

Mayoral candidates answer questions at Lakehead University
By NATHAN TAYLOR THE PACKET & TIMES October 20 2010
A bright, new element was brought to what has become a routine event this month.

Orillia’s three mayoral candidates took part in a discussion Wednesday night at Lakehead University’s new Orillia campus. It was the first event to take place in the large lecture theatre at the University Avenue facility.Ralph Cipolla, Tim Lauer and Angelo Orsi first answered health- and education-related questions that were solicited through Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and Lakehead University — the two organizations that co-sponsored the event.
They were first asked how the growth of post-secondary institutions in Orillia would impact the city and how, as mayor, they would support it.
All three referenced a shift in the city toward a “knowledge-based economy.”
Lauer said that change would help replace the manufacturing and other jobs that have been leaving Orillia over the years. He also noted Lakehead’s enrolment is projected to eventually hit 7,000.
“These numbers are enormous and the impact on our economy will be significant and, in my mind, will define the city’s economy” for years to come, he said.
Orsi said he would work with student bodies at Georgian College and Lakehead to address the schools’ needs. The immediate issues, he said, are student housing, parking, transit, healthcare, recreation, jobs and “social interaction.”
Cipolla proposed setting up a post-secondary advisory committee that would include representation from Georgian and Lakehead student governments.
The city needs to rethink its economic development strategy, he added.
“Despite hard work and all of our best efforts, it is not working for us because it is grounded in the past, not the future,” Cipolla said.
Candidates were asked what they would do to improve Orillia’s low post-secondary participation.
Orsi said the city must first determine why participation is so low.
“There is no one solution, but different solutions,” he said, suggesting the university and city hold seminars and encourage “business sponsorship programs.”
Cipolla said Orillia’s 14% post-secondary graduation rate was not good enough.
“Getting post-secondary students more involved in the community would be a good way to improve,” he said, noting it would also set a good example for high school students.
Lauer’s “two-pronged approach” to address the problem would be to increase the economic base and commit to both Georgian and Lakehead on an ongoing basis.
“Whether it’s busing, whether it’s housing, whether it’s financial support, we have to get behind these (schools),” he said.
Diabetes and obesity are impacting local children, and it’s expected to continue to be a problem, candidates were told before being asked what they would do to combat it.
Cipolla suggested affordable recreation opportunities and more gym space and an aquatic centre.
Lauer said the city could look at offering healthier menu choices at concession stands.
“An active kid is both healthier physically and mentally, and when someone is not healthy, they are a cost to the community. We have to attack it and attack it aggressively,” he said.
Active transportation is an effective option to help combat childhood health problems, Orsi said, but added the appropriate infrastructure needs to be in place first.
“The best solution for Type 2 diabetes is prevention, and that is through exercise and (making) sure there is access to exercise…” Orsi said.
Addictions and poverty are also creating problems for local residents, and the candidates were asked what they would do to address problems with smoking, alcoholism and poverty.
Lauer added gambling to that list.
He said he was glad to “lead the charge” in the city in 2003 to ban smoking in the workplace.
“That is the kind of action we need to carry on with,” he said, adding the provincial government has obviously not taken the no-smoking issue seriously enough.
Orsi said the solution to poverty is jobs. He said he would push the economic development committee to fast-track job creation and partner with the hospital to address mental health issues.
Cipolla wants to establish a police office in the downtown core to help combat the city’s drug problem.
“We need to keep our community safe,” he said.
From post-secondary to preschool, the focus shifted somewhat when questions were taken from the floor, from those in attendance.
The candidates said they would maintain support for early education and daycare in the city.
Shannon Daggett, program supervisor at Orillia Central Preschool, asked where the candidates stood on that operation being in the historic Orillia Central School, a city-owned building on Coldwater Street.
Lauer said he would commit to the idea of the city being “actively involved” in finding an alternative site for the preschool when the time comes.
Orsi said he wanted to keep the preschool in that building “for as long as possible.”
Cipolla noted the downtown fire hall building would become available when a new hall is built. Hopefully, the preschool could use the old building, he said: “We need you to stay downtown.”