Could the OPP chopper moved from Sudbury to Orillia ever return?

There's an effort underway to bring an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter back to Sudbury.

The organization relocated the chopper to Orillia in the spring to save more than $250,000, but one Sudbury man says the move was bad one.

Former provincial police auxiliary officer Michael Brown said he is worried northerners won't get the help they need in time.

"It's an extra hour flight time between Orillia and Sudbury, and that hour could mean a lot to somebody who's lying there injured or lost."

Brown recently launched a Twitter and Facebook campaign to bring the chopper home.

His efforts have attracted the attention of Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas.

"They took that resource away from us in the middle of the night. When they were caught doing it, they promised a review. And this review, to me, has never happened because I cannot find any evidence, factual evidence, that it took place," she told CBC News.

"It's been eight months. We haven't heard nothing. The helicopter has not been back."

Weather worries

Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault said he remains hopeful that the helicopter will return.

"The lease is still in the hands of the OPP at the hanger base here [Sudbury], so no final decision has been made as of yet," he said.

But, he and Gelinas are stuck in a waiting game, anticipating a provincial government review that could ultimately decide the fate of the chopper.

The OPP's media liaison Sgt. Peter Leon said the helicopters "are a multi-purpose provincial resource deployed where and when they are needed to best support public safety and security.

"The helicopter was brought down to Orillia for operational reasons prior to the PanAm Games and it has been maintained here since," he said. 

Having two helicopters in the same hangar does not make sense to Brown,. "because, I think, if one can't fly because of the weather, the other one can't. And putting all your eggs in one basket is not necessarily a good thing."

Brown added he was told by a pilot and a former pilot that the helicopter in Orillia can't always fly because of weather considerations.

"They can't always respond because they're in the snow belt," he said.