COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT

We live in a society that uses technology in order to make our life better and to be able to accomplish so much more than ever before. Hence, when a Candidates debate is called for a certain place and time, it just may not fit into one's busy schedule. Northern Life recorded the entire two hour Sudbury Riding debate by the Ontario Provincial Candidates on video and has posted it so that "everyone" in the riding has the opportunity to become informed about the party platforms and to see their candidates in action "on demand" whenever they have time. They can even "fast-forward" the video so that it will take much less than two hours.

I host a weekly radio show called The Learning Clinic Meet The Candidates Radio Show, every Monday at 12 noon. Since a lot of people are unable to tune in to the live broadcast, I video record the interviews and keep them archived so people can access them at any time,

This is the world in which we live. We must accept and use technology to our advantage.  I look forward to using technology to communicate with my constituents and to help improve the opportunity for local residents to become truly engaged in their community.

I think that each member of City Council should have their own Facebook Site and even a web site where the Councillor can keep in touch with constituents and answer questions. This will be archived over the four years so that it becomes a source of education for all voters. It will be like an on-going history of the term.

I will also be continuing with my Monday afternoon live talk radio show at Lauentian University. I will be inviting fellow Councillors and the Mayor to join me at least once a month to discuss issues that we are dealing with at City Council. This will hopefully become a call-in show where local residents can ask questions. The radio show is streamed and is also video recorded so that people can watch the show at their convenience.

The next ten years is going to be all about communication, education and engagement. We must embrace modern technology if we are going to be a successful community.

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