County delegation interacts with provincial leaders at ROMA

Susan and Robert Quaiff with Indira Naidoo, the new minister of education.

Mayor Robert Quaiff, and municipal staffers were among about 1,000 heads of municipalities attending the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in Toronto this week – the last major meeting before this year’s municipal election.

Nearly 50 sessions and workshops were organized covering the topics of fiscal sustainability, rural infrastructure, economy, emergency services costs, social vitality and recreational cannabis legalization.

The conference allows municipal officials from Ontario’s 444 municipalities to interact with provincial leaders. Premier Kathleen Wynne, PC leader Patrick Brown and NDP leader Andrea Horvath were invited to speak.

Monday, Quaiff met with Indira Naidoo-Harris, the new Minister of Education and with a delegation, spoke about the Sophiasburgh school community hub proposal.

Over Tuesday and Wednesday, he and the delegation from the County also met with the ministers of infrastructure, housing and the Attorney General as well a multiple provincial ministers to discuss broadband and cellular service cap issues in Eastern Ontario.

Jeff Leal, Peterborough MPP and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister, announced Main Street Revitalization Initiative funding allocations.

The County will receive $56,994 of the $26 million fund designed to support capital improvements. Funding is determined by population size.

Association of Municipalities of Ontario president Lynn Dollin, deputy mayor of Innisful, told the conference the AMO will be 120 years old next year.

“If we have learned anything over the past century, it’s this simple truth: municipal governments achieve great things when we work together, and we pay a high price when we are divided.”

With a look to the municipal elections in October, Dollin, said municipalities have been delivering basic services for so long, that many are taken for granted.

“If we were taken seriously, municipal governments would receive a bigger share of tax dollars, and we would have a bigger say in how our services are delivered.”

Dollin also spoke to the importance of provincial and federal governments and told conference participants attending ROMA they should be frank and honest speaking with each leader and their teams.