Manitoulin-Sudbury District Social Services Administration Chief Administrative Officer, Donna Stewart and Espanola Mayor Douglas Gervais, who also sits on the board, are in Ottawa over the next three days to take part in the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference.
According to Stewart, the conference brings municipal and provincial officials together as Ontario’s communities continue to face economic uncertainty fueled by the trade and tariff dispute with the United States.
She says this year’s event features more than 60 speakers, sessions and workshops, reflecting the broad scope of municipal responsibilities including Premier Doug Ford, members of Cabinet and others.
Gervais adds key session topics will include affordable housing and growth, homelessness, infrastructure, property reassessment and artificial intelligence.
He says rising homelessness rates in Northern Ontario is a significant issue that many municipalities face and it his hope that the government will commit to a multi-year allocation of Homelessness Prevention Program funding designed to provide flexibility for service managers to plan and respond to local needs.
Both Stewart and Gervais will report back to the community upon their return through council and board meetings.
In addition to the conference program, municipal staff and officials will take part in hundreds of municipal delegation meetings with provincial ministries.
Gervais will be meeting with several ministries during the conference to advocate for the needs of the Manitoulin-Sudbury district residents.
Delegations are planned with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.
