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Why did you recommend a referendum at the public meeting? And why did you go ahead with a petition to stop the OPP coming in?
a) To answer your first question; because, after being aware of the costing and seeing the council meeting of November 14, 2017 (OPP presenting their proposal), looking at the materials pertaining to the costing, the financial analysis, the decision to have only one public meeting on November 22,2017 and the rush for a vote decided even before the public meeting to happen (set for December 5,2017), it was, in my opinion, a done deal. I wanted to propose a referendum, to at least provide the residents of West Nipissing, one, the opportunity to seek more clarity to ambiguous responses and two, to let them decide what seems to be an almost 20 year old political debate.
b) To answer your second question; I would like to begin by making a clarification on the following “ a petition to stop the OPP coming in”. Since I have tremendous respect for the men and women wearing the uniform, I have clearly stated on many occasions that the referendum was not based on which police force would be best to serve our community (OPP or the West Nipissing Police Services). The petition was: to show disappointment on the process, for the lack of public input, for the financial outcome based on assumptions and projections and for the rush on which council wanted to make the decision. The following is the Press Release that was sent to the media to explain the reasoning behind the petition: press release
2. How do you see your role or responsibilities as a councillor representing Ward # 1?
My first statement in my platform, if elected as councillor in ward 1 reads as follows;
“I will be accessible and attentive to the people I represent, which means that;
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I will make sure that your concerns are brought to either council or the right department.
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I will return your calls or emails within a timely manner.
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I will participate actively in all budgetary deliberations if physically able to do so. Winter vacations (if planned) will be booked before or after the budget is approved. I will also participate actively in any other committees assigned during my term in office.
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I will work diligently to follow the guidelines of “Roles of Mayor and Council” as posted on The West Nipissing web site under Administrative Office. AND;
“I will work to develop standards that make the council accountable to our constituents,” which means that I will propose to council to develop policies and procedures to make all council members’ municipal activities transparent to the residents of West Nipissing.
3) Two parts questions (June 30, 2018 by Paul Herbert)
A. Ms. Senecal, do you believe it is appropriate for an appointed Police Services Board to use tax payer monies for the purpose of legal action to overturn the decision of our democratically elected Council? – My position has been clear since the beginning, I had concerns on the process that Council utilized in choosing the policing services for West Nipissing. I brought those concerns (which was shared by many residents) at the November 22,2017 public meeting. I initiated a petition after the December 5, 2017 meeting because many people were frustrated with the process being rushed without valuable reasons. On January 9, 2018, I provided a petition to council with 1504 signatures requesting a referendum for the citizens to have a voice and decide on his or her choice for policing West Nipissing. If granted, the petition would have given (council) time to provide the residents of West Nipissing answers to their legitimate questions. The cost of doing a referendum was 50,000.00 $ (approx. one-time fee of 6.05 $ per households or 3.48 per person, census 2016). A referendum would have not only avoided unnecessary legal fees by the West Nipissing Services Board and the West Nipissing Council, but settle an almost 20 years political debate.
B. Secondly, if you are successful in delaying the present Council's decision to bring in the OPP until a new council can overturn the decision, will you advocate in favour of raising taxes, or cutting services? - I am afraid, I cannot answer this question since, I am not the one responsible for asking for a Judicial Review (request was made by the West Nipissing Police Services Board ) and furthermore, I am neither a member of the West Nipissing Police Board of director or an elected official on the present West Nipissing Council and obviously, not an elected councillor of the 2019-2020 council. If elected as a councillor in October 2018, my actions will be guided as described in my political statement’s section on this web site.