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Mayor Andrew Poirier, Councillor Kelsie Van Belleghem, Councillor Robert Bernie and Councillor Barbara Manson will join more than 1,200 participants from across the province at the 2023 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference in downtown Toronto, from January 22 to 24, 2023.
The conference comes six months after the Ontario Government was re-elected. It will be the first time Premier will address municipal leaders since the fall legislative session. In response to the housing crisis, the Government of Ontario has made swift and significant changes that impact on land-use planning, public infrastructure financing, environmental protection, and municipal governance.
The conference theme, Breaking New Ground, focuses broadly on ROMA’s advocacy work completed over the past year, including ROMA’s action plan: Opportunities for Rural Ontario in a Post-COVID World. Additionally, ROMA’s Attainable Housing Task Force published an in-depth report in 2022 featuring practical steps to address Ontario’s rural housing crisis.
Key presenters for the 2023 conference include Ontario Premier Doug Ford, opposition leaders, and provincial and federal ministers. Keynote speakers include Jesse Wente, broadcaster and Indigenous advocate, speaking about the current state of truth and reconciliation in Canada and what can be done to further the process, and award-winning author Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon, who will discuss why our planet is in crisis, and the powers we possess to renew our imperiled world. Rural Ontario Municipalities Association Chair Robin Jones and Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) President Colin Best will also speak.
The City’s delegation will meet with Ministers and Ministry staff to focus on topics of policing costs, dedicated infrastructure funding and addressing supports for mental health and addictions for our community. The advocacy meetings are important discussions to help advance imperative issues facing the City of Kenora.
About ROMA
ROMA takes pride in promoting, supporting and enhancing strong and effective rural governments. About 270 of Ontario’s 444 municipalities have populations of less than 10,000, while scores more are rural in character. The rural arm of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, ROMA advocates for policies and programs that will help build thriving rural Ontario communities.
Contacts
For more information about ROMA or the 2023 Conference, contact Brian Lambie, ROMA Media Contact, 416-729-5425, lambie@redbrick.ca. Follow the conference on Twitter: @ROMA_Ont, Hashtag: #ROMA2023
City of Kenora contact is Mayor Andrew Poirier, 807-466-2495, apoirier@kenora.ca
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