Councillors, town representatives and stakeholders from community organizations across the district gathered at the Devlin Hall on Saturday for the 29th Annual Rainy River District Municipal Association (RRDMA) Meeting.
“RRDMA delegates unanimously approved four resolutions that now will be forwarded to the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Associations (NOMA) AGM,” noted Coun. Mike Behan.
The first resolution brought forward by Fort Frances is aimed at addressing the district’s physician shortage.
The town is calling upon the minister of health, Christine Elliot to consider the ever expanding pressures that physician shortages place upon communities across the Rainy River District and northwestern Ontario.
The town’s second resolution looked at publicly funded daily transportation in the district. The resolution calls on the minister of transportation, Caroline Mulroney, to consider the present transportation service offered here.The resolution acknowledges that district residents are required to travel to Thunder Bay or Winnipeg to access medical specialists and there is presently no private or public transportation providers who offer this service on a daily basis to Winnipeg.
It argues that citizens of the district should be entitled to the same level of publicly funded daily transportation services being offered in other districts in the northern region of the province.
The town’s third resolution is meant to address the costs associated with creating and implementing a Community Wellbeing Plan.
Fort Frances is calling upon the minister of finance, Rod Phillips to provide one-time funding for the creation and implementation of a district-wide plan.
In 2018 the province mandated that all municipalities must create a Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan by Jan. 1, 2021.
The plan is meant to create sustainable communities where citizens feel safe, have a sense of belonging, and are able to meet the needs of their education, healthcare, housing, income, food, and cultural expression.
Rainy River District municipalities determined that a plan covering the whole district with individual municipal appendixes would be the most cost effective solution.
The Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board (RRDSB) has been engaged by district municipalities to lead the development of an integrated plan.
The costs associated with RRSDSB contracting a consultant to write the plan will be distributed across the municipalities using current apportionment.
The final resolution at RRDMA, brought forward by Fort Frances, requested fair and equitable property taxation revenue on railway right-of-way’s collected by municipalities in Ontario.
In 2018 the province adjusted the tax rate for railway right-a-ways throughout Ontario, which positively impacted Rainy River, Kenora, and Thunder Bay, the resolution notes.
In other provinces and jurisdictions, railway companies remit a more equitable share of taxes to their local tax base by using a per tonne-mile concept.
The resolution states that railway traffic continues to increase and train lengths have more than doubled which results in rail traffic congestion, increased wait times, noise pollution, and unknown environmental concerns.
It calls on the province to review fees based on inflation and current conditions on an annual basis to ensure Ontario doesn’t fall further behind in their approach to railway property taxation.
It further notes that fair and equitable taxation revenue on railway property will reduce pressure on the Province to provide financial support to municipalities going forward.
The town is calling on the minister of finance or the province of Ontario to undertake ongoing consideration of municipal taxation for railroad right-of-way properties based on a per tonne-mile concept.
During the business portion of the RRDMA meeting, delegates approved the audited statement of revenue and expenditures for 2019 as well as a 2020 levy payment to NOMA, just under $5,350. As of December last year, the RRDMA had a bank balance of nearly $30,000.
As well, at the RRDMA meeting, written reports were received from Safe Communities, Rainy River Agriculture Society, Northwestern Health Unit board, NOMA board, Rainy River Veterinarian Services committee, and local MP Marcus Powlowski.
The RRDMA AGM was made possible through its many sponsors which includes: Gillons’ Insurance Brokers, Dersen Professional Crop, Norbord, Northwest Road Management, McKitricks, Sunset Country Ford, Harold McQuaker Ent., BDO Canada LLP, Rainy River Future Development Corporation, John Gavel Custom Manufacturing, and New Gold.
