The Independent

Lambton County will be consulting with municipalities about locations of possible shelters.

Sarnia Mayor and County Councillor Mike Bradley says over the Christmas holidays, the city was talking with the county as it tried to arrange another shelter space and weren’t getting answers.

County CAO Stephane Thiffeault says there is communication with municipalities adding there is “always discussion and dialogue that takes place.”

Bradley disagreed.

“There’s discussions, but there’s not disclosure. … I think it’s just a common courtesy, but we are not told. We were dealing with this through the Christmas season, back and forth with the staff, but we weren’t getting disclosure on possible locations, and that’s the issue. It’s disclosure,” he says.

“City council, city staff were not consulted on the shelter at on Melrose neither were we with one at Central United, even though it’s in the heart of our communities. And we are asking that we be consulted and disclosure be made confidentially to us, so we can give our feedback as councillors, as citizens of Sarnia, on any possible locations in the future.

“We’re asking for consultation before a location is selected … we need to be talking before a location (is chosen), because we can tell you the positive and negative things about a possible site…so we can give the county a heads up. We know what we know as a community about modern potential issues in that particular area.”

Sarnia City/County Councillor Bill Dennis said council should have the “final say” on the location of the shelter location.

Warwick Township Mayor Todd Case agreed municipalities should have a say where any shelters be located.

“It would be almost a good thing. I think if they approved the site at the end of the day, it’s within their city boundaries, and at the end of the day that we know that the due diligence has been done, and if they agree with the site selection, then it’s a unanimous,” says Case.

County councillors agreed and approved county staff to speak confidentially to municipal leaders about where any shelters might be set up.