County of Essex Advances Regional Interests at ROMA Conference
Delegations from the County of Essex met recently with Ontario government officials to advocate on three issues of importance to the County of Essex and the region as a whole.
The presentations were made in Toronto at the 2024 Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference, which was attended by more than 1,600 municipal leaders, government officials, public servants, sponsors, exhibitors and media. Premier Doug Ford and multiple Cabinet Ministers attended the conference this year as did the leaders of the Liberals, NDP and Green Party.
County officials delegated to three ministries about three separate priorities. The specifics of each presentation are highlighted below.
Delegation #1: Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Warden Hilda MacDonald, County of Essex CAO Sandra Zwiers and Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority General Manager Michelle Bishop met with John Yakabuski, the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
The delegation highlighted the concerns of municipalities, particularly rural ones, associated with the exclusion of certain properties, like municipal facilities, not-for-profit organizations, places of worship and industrial, commercial and industrial properties from a looming regulatory change to the Blue Box recycling program.
“If left as it is, the regulation will perpetuate inefficient collection practices, loss of economies of scale to support financially efficient contracts and likely result in the disposal of recyclables into municipal landfills,” said a summary report to Council. “The unintended consequences of the current regulation will mean a financial, operating and environmental burden to municipalities.”
View the County’s infographic!
Delegation #2: Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Warden Hilda MacDonald, CAO Sandra Zwiers and Director of Infrastructure and Planning Allan Botham met with Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. They highlighted the immense infrastructure pressures facing the County as it prepares for historic growth associated with the construction of a new battery plant, regional hospital and international border crossing.
“The Windsor-Essex region is on the cusp of historic economic growth, driven by transformative projects that promise to generate tens of thousands of jobs, inject hundreds of millions of dollars into government coffers, and ignite an unprecedented surge in residential, commercial, and industrial growth,” said the County’s submission to the Province. “An historic infrastructure injection is urgently required to ensure the region and province can reap the full benefits of these transformative economic opportunities. Priority enhancements, such as road expansions and enhanced arterial routes, are essential to accommodate increased traffic and spur residential, commercial and industrial growth.”
View the County’s map of critical infrastructure links!
Delegation #3: Ministry of Health
Warden Hilda MacDonald, CAO Sandra Zwiers, Ken Blanchette, CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, and Margo Reilly, Executive Director of the Windsor Family Health Team, met with Sylvia Jones, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
A chronic physician shortage and a lack of primary and urgent care clinics with evening and weekend hours creates an unsustainable strain on local health care resources, resulting in residents using 911 and emergency departments for non-urgent issues. The County delegation highlighted this issue and the pressing need for continued provincial support for team-based models of care that deliver the right care at the right time in the right place.
“Health care providers in Windsor-Essex have experienced tremendous success leveraging provincial funding and support to roll out innovative, inter-disciplinary models of care that improve patient outcomes, particularly for marginalized communities, and relieve systemic pressures by taking a wholistic, team-based approach that eliminates traditional silos of care with an emphasis on preventive medicine,” said the County’s submission. “Our diverse and growing region, with its mix of rural and urban municipalities, is a microcosm of Ontario and an ideal location to launch pilot projects that can be refined and rolled out across the Province, improving patient care and satisfaction.”