Nicholas Donaldson
Two resolutions passed at the Rainy River District Municipal Association’s annual general meeting Saturday in Rainy River were calls to address the railway tax inequity and the increasing struggle to get building inspectors.
Fort Frances Coun. Ken Perry explained the resolution received from the Town of Fort Frances concerning property taxes paid by railway companies in Ontario.
He argued the provincial government needs to address this inequity based on rates paid in other provinces.
“We are not proposing anything new in the industry, only a fair share of taxation as compared to other provinces,” noted Coun. Perry.
The resolution asks the government to “implement a new system of municipal property taxation for railroad right-of-way properties.”
The other resolution brought forward Saturday concerned the difficulty in obtaining qualified chief building inspectors.
In a letter read by Rainy River Mayor Deb Ewald, the RRDMA was asked to address the problems caused by the province’s ever-increasing requirements for building inspectors.
It also asked for help for municipalities struggling to find qualified inspectors and keeping them in the area.
Other presentations and reports during the meeting, which was held at the Legion in Rainy River, included:
•a report by local MP Don Rusnak;
•a letter from Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro (read by Coun. Perry);
•a presentation on “brownfields” by Chantelle Bryson of Weiler Law;
•a report on the Rainy River Future Development Corp. by Geoff Gillon;
•a presentation of Northern Ontario Heritage Fund programs by Leanne Mose;
•a presentation on services at NCDS by executive director Nicke Paddock;
•a report on the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board by Dan McCormick; and
•a report on winter road maintenance by Wade McMahon of the Ministry of Transportation
McMahon’s report included:
•the difference for response times for snow-clearing based on highway classification;
•a new “snow lion” device for snow-clearing that is supposed to take off ice pack;
•an automated vehicle location system for tracking snowplows and road conditions; and
•the new light system on the backs of snowplows.
“When people see the new lights, they should instantly know its a snowplow,” noted McMahon.
“We want people to recognize a snowplow like they would a school bus,” he added.
