By Tony Di Paolo
Thunder Bay – Civic Politics – Tuesday evening’s McKellar Ward debate at The Outset on Simpson Street was a powerful reminder of what makes our community resilient. I want to extend my sincere
gratitude to the Simpson Street Mainline Business Association for stepping up, hosting this forum, and giving our local business community and residents the platform they
deserve.
I also want to commend my fellow candidates, Marco Cupelli and Donnalee Morettin, for being there in the room, stepping up to the microphones, and engaging directly with the people who live and work along this corridor.
The room hosted shop owners, operators, and neighbours who work twelve-hour days.
What we heard from them was unmistakable: people in McKellar are tired of being told to be patient. After decades of promises, studies, and seeing downtown Fort William treated as an afterthought, merchants are exhausted from paying for broken glass and watching storefronts sit dark.
McKellar Ward does not need more theories or symbolic gestures. We need practical, hands-on solutions.
That means establishing capped security micro-grants so businesses and alley-adjacent homes can install cameras and lighting tied into the Police CAMSafe network. It means modernizing our Community Improvement Plan by doubling commercial grants to $20,000 and giving property owners the flexibility to fund exterior shutters or interior tenant fit-ups to fill empty spaces. Most importantly, it means directing our economic development resources (including the CEDC) to provide free grant-writing support so hardworking entrepreneurs don’t have to fight municipal red tape after closing their shops at night.
Revitalizing Simpson Street and downtown Fort William will not happen from behind a desk or through another committee report. It requires showing up, listening to the people on the front lines, and putting forward measurable, funded plans to restore safety and pride to our streets.
Thank you again to the organizers and every resident who came out or tuned in online to make their voices heard. I look forward to continuing this conversation across every doorstep in McKellar.
Tony Di Paolo
Candidate for McKellar Ward
Thunder Bay, ON
