The City of Greater Sudbury is officially shifting away from the Community Action Network system which has been in place since shortly after its 2001 amalgamation.
The volunteer-run system of community members was created “to provide a two-way line of communication between the community, City of Greater Sudbury staff, and city councillors to help with the planning and implementation of community initiatives.”
“A lot has changed in the City of Greater Sudbury since the CAN program was established; however, the CAN program has not been updated to keep pace,” according to a report by Stuckless Consulting Inc. which the city commissioned.
Following through on a staff recommendation in keeping with the Stuckless report, the city’s elected officials voted on Tuesday to effectively end the Community Action Network (CAN) system by 2027, following a months-long transition period which staff said will allow existing organizations to set up a new framework.
In the meantime, they’ll remain eligible to receive the $2,500 annual grant they currently receive.
The transition, city Parks and Recreation Services director Jeff Pafford said, is a means of evolving “the way the city supports community organizations and volunteerism while improving inclusivity, strengthening communication and streamlining processes.”
During her remarks, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh took umbrage with the notion the city is “scrapping” its CAN system, arguing, “We’re not scrapping them per se, we’re reimagining these community groups.”
Although the city is effectively ending the CAN system, McIntosh argued that existing groups “can continue to meet and they can register under the community registry affiliate program and they can continue to apply for microgrants as well” under the replacement program.
There are currently 20 CANs operating throughout the city, which consist of a small board of community members who oversee meetings. They focus on community issues, including public education, and organize community events.
Minnow Lake CAN chair Richard Charette attended Tuesday’s city council meeting at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre in Azilda, after which he told Sudbury.com that he welcomes the changes city council members had freshly approved.
“We need change,” he said. “We’ve got to make things better, we’ve got to include other people.”
Alongside ending the CAN system, the city plans on starting a Community Registry/Affiliate program, which would include year-round volunteer training and skill-building opportunities to support non-profit volunteer-based community groups.
The city would also shift the $50,000 they currently spend to operate the CAN system toward “a new, simplified stream of funding” through the Healthy Community Initiatives grants fund.
Charette told Sudbury.com that these are welcome changes, and that although the current CAN system has done great things, he’s looking forward to seeing what else community groups can accomplish.
“I’m burning myself out,” he said, adding that under the current system, he feels as though he’s on his own a lot of the time and has been told he’s trying to take on too much in his volunteer role as CAN chair.
With more municipal support, including training opportunities for volunteers and easier-to-access grants, he hopes more people join in organizing community events and feel empowered to take on the work.
Although the Minnow Lake CAN is coming to an end, he said he’d like to see it continue as a new organization, whether it’s under the same name or a different one.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti relayed support for the changes on behalf of the Ward 1 CAN, whose leadership shared that the current grant application process “has proven to be cumbersome,” and they look forward to doing away with the governance requirements which fall under the CAN structure to transition toward a more grassroots format.
In the shift to the new format, the Ward 1 CAN letter said, “We can alleviate the stress associated with spending limited time on routine governance and requirements solely pertaining to the existing CAN structure.”
For her part, McIntosh tacked a successful amendment to city council’s decision, asking the city to put together “a strategy to engage current CAN leadership and other stakeholders during the development of the Community Registry/Affiliate program and micro-grant stream.”
“Who better to advise on the CANs than the long-term CAN executives who have been there for years and years and years,” Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann said in support of McIntosh’s amendment.
One attempted amendment which didn’t get adopted came from Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent, who wanted city council members to have greater say over what becomes of Healthy Community Initiatives grant funding.
Harking back to the 2014 election cycle, Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier cautioned that the Healthy Community Initiatives grant funding became a “large focus” of the election cycle, throughout which it was referred to as a “political slush fund,” which is why divvying out funding has become more of a bureaucratic exercise among city staff.
Although Parent withdrew his motion, some context around associated issues and options for how funding can be dispensed will be fleshed out in a future report.
As of Tuesday’s meeting, CAN standard operating procedures and terms of engagement have ended. City staff will recommend revisions to the Healthy Community Initiatives efforts by June, and a detailed plan for the Community Registry/Affiliate program will be drafted by March 2027.
Once the Community Registry/Affiliate program is launched, the existing CAN program will dissolve.
Aside from the city spending approximately $26,000 on a report by Stuckless Consulting Inc. recommended the changes city council greenlit on Tuesday, there are no financial implications to the city, with existing CAN funding shifting to the new Community Registry/Affiliate program.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.