Municipality seeking residents’ input as Community Safety and Well-Being Plan is developed

Tim Brody- Editor

The Municipality of Sioux Lookout is seeking residents’ input as a Community Safety and Well-Being Plan is developed for the community.
The Municipality shared that the provincial government has set-out a requirement for all Ontario municipalities to create and adopt a Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.
The Municipality began the development of a Community Safety and Well-Being Plan for the community in early 2020 with the formation of an Advisory Committee and by retaining the firm LBCG – Consulting for Impact to assist with the process.
“After many months of data collection and verification, interviews with various stakeholders and stakeholder groups, and meetings with the Advisory Committee, the next step in the process is to seek public input which will further help shape the priorities of the Plan and identify key issues,” explained Municipal CAO, Michelle Larose, adding, “as each community is responsible for developing a Plan tailored to its unique needs, we are advising that the survey is intended for Sioux Lookout residents.”
Residents can provide input by participating in a survey at: https://survey.alchemer-ca.com/s3/50093059/Sioux-Lookout-CSWB-Community-Survey. Responses will be received through January 31, 2021. Residents can also request a hard copy be mailed to them.
The Municipality shared that, “Community Safety and Well-being Plans combine the strengths of partners in the community with the unique needs of the area to work towards creating a safer, happier and more cohesive community. This type of planning requires less dependence on reactionary, incident-driven responses and re-focusing efforts and investments towards the long-term benefits of social development, prevention, and in the short-term, mitigating acutely elevated risk. It necessitates local government leadership, meaningful multi-sectoral collaboration, and must include responses that are centered on the community, focused on outcomes and evidence-based.
“LBCG in partnership with Keesic Strategies is supporting the Municipality of Sioux Lookout in creating our Community Safety and Well-being Plan. LBCG is a Toronto based firm with experience working in the Sioux Lookout area. Donna Williams, president of Keesic Strategies is an Anishinabe-qwe member of Lac Seul First Nation.”
“LBGC is very pleased to be partnering with Keesic Strategies and the Municipality of Sioux Lookout to develop this important community Plan. I invite any member of the community of Sioux Lookout to contact me should they have any questions about the survey,” stated Nick Chauvin of LBCG. Chauvin can be contacted at nick.chauvin@lbcg.ca.
More information regarding the provincial mandate to municipalities to develop Community Safety and Well-Being Plans can be found at https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Publications/MCSCSSSOPlanningFramework.html.