Duane Hicks
Local delegates will have the chance to speak with provincial officials on important issues during the 2011 Ontario Good Roads Association/Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference Feb. 27-March 3 in Toronto.
Mayor Roy Avis, Couns. John Albanese and Rick Wiedenhoeft, and Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig will be attending the conference, workshops, and a ministers’ forum.
But perhaps most importantly, they will have the chance to speak face-to-face with various ministers or their parliamentary assistants.
McCaig said while town delegates did not get all of the meetings they were looking for, they will meet with Revenue minister Sophia Aggelonitis, also the minister responsible for seniors, for some guidance as to how communities address assisted living.
While it has been a subject on local residents’ minds for some time, the need for assisted living here most recently has taken shape through the Assisted Living Action Committee.
Local delegates also will meet with representatives from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“We are going to talk about the regional airport concept and how we can get support for it,” noted McCaig.
“We had buy-in from a lot of municipalities in the district in going forward with this and exploring how we can do fair cost-sharing,” he added.
“But the municipalities are interested to see all of the stakeholders in the region participate,” McCaig explained. “There’s a number of unorganized municipalities that can get involved and First Nations, as well.
“We’re just looking for some guidance in regards to trying to find a way to get everybody to participate. . . .
“Maybe there’s government funding, we don’t know.”
They also will meet with Northern Development, Mines and Forestry minister Michael Gravelle about the airport cost-sharing, as well as “Connecting Link” funding—provincial dollars the town used to receive on an annual basis to do road projects connected to the main highway, such as the reconstruction of Central Avenue.
The problem is the town has not received “Connecting Link” funds in a couple years, and wants answers.
“We tried to get a delegation with the Ministry of Transportation, but we were unable to get that,” said McCaig.
“So we’re going to talk to [Minister Gravelle]. He’s been pretty effective for us.
“We haven’t got [‘Connecting Link’ funding] for a couple years, and we rely on that to refurbish our link to the provincial highway system,” he stressed.
As far back as the fall of 2008, the town has eyed rehabilitating Scott Street from Reid Avenue to Colonization Road East as its next “Connecting Link” capital project.
McCaig said he also is trying to get a meeting with MTO regional manager Ian Smith to talk about the “Connecting Link” funding.
While local reps usually have had more delegations when they attended OGRA/ROMA, it still will be worthwhile to go, noted McCaig.
“It gives us a chance to advocate for issues, whether they’re regional or specific to Fort Frances,” he remarked. “It gives us a chance to get our voice in the ears of some of the ministries where things happen.
“Sometimes that’s the tipping point for any one issue to push it in the way you want to see it go.”
