Your monthly news & updates | |
Register Now for the Ontario Municipal Conference |  | |
Returning after a six-year hiatus, the annual Western Ontario Municipal Conference is an opportunity for municipal officials from across the region to work together on solutions to today’s challenges, to learn and to create new opportunities that benefit our communities.
The Conference will feature a keynote presentation by Paul Wells, one of Canada's leading political journalists. For 19 years, he was the lead political columnist at Maclean's magazine, and he's also written for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and the National Post. Paul is a bestselling author and a regular political commentator on both the French- and English-language CBC networks. His new subscription newsletter is already one of the most widely read political newsletters in Canada.
This year’s event features 30 speakers reflecting on the top issues of responsibility for our municipalities. Session topics will focus on the key priorities of the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus including, housing, mental health & addictions, workforce, infrastructure, and economic development, including a fireside chat with Associate Minister of Housing the Honorable Rob Flack and Parliamentary Assistant for Municipal Affairs and Housing MPP Matthew Rae.
Early bird rates available until Labour Day.
Register Here
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SWIFT Fibre Optic Network Build Out Complete in Oxford County
With a combined investment of $10.5 million, SWIFT, in partnership with the municipality and local service providers, has extended high-speed internet service to 1,718 homes and businesses that previously lacked access.
SWIFT Broadband Project Making New High Speed Connections in Wellington County
On May 9th, SWIFT announced high-speed fibre-optic internet service is now available to an additional 1,771 previously underserved homes and businesses in Wellington County.
View the press releases
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Lambton County Supports Early Years Sector Expansion with Career Fair | |
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Employment opportunities in the local child care sector were highlighted at a career fair on Tuesday, May 7 in Sarnia.
The event was open to the public to network, apply for positions, discuss opportunities, learn more about careers in the industry, and gather information for friends and family who may be interested. Employment Ontario partners were present to provide employment-related supports and discuss potential free training opportunities.
“Lambton’s children are Lambton’s future – these events help local child care providers find high-quality staff that help children thrive,” said Heather Forbes, Regional Manager, Children's Educational Services, YMCA of Southwestern Ontario. “By supporting child care workforce growth, we are also supporting overall workforce growth across Lambton County”.
View the press release
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Homelessness Response Steering Committee Housing Individuals and Families in Grey & Bruce | |
The Community Safety and Well-Being Planning Homelessness Response Steering Committee has been working diligently to ensure community members are safely housed. The committee is a partnership with Bruce County, Grey County, and community service providers to further develop approaches to addressing homelessness through a rural perspective. In January and February 2024, 33 households have been housed from the By-Names List across Bruce County and Grey County. Having local data to measure the impact of coordinated services continues to drive changes in service delivery approaches and provides partners with the information needed to continue planning for our communities.
The ongoing work of CSWBP is supported by an advisory committee representing over 74 partners from across Bruce and Grey who are working together to address crime prevention by investing in social development, prevention, and risk interventions. This upstream preventative model focuses on creating protective factors that make individuals less vulnerable to crime and victimization.
View the press release
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Perth County Tourism Launches the 2024 Discover More Tourism Brochure | |
Perth County Economic Development and Tourism is excited to announce the launch of the 2024 Discover More Tourism Brochure: your gateway to unforgettable adventures. Road trip through the stunning countryside, explore charming small towns and experience unique, farm-to-table dining in Perth County – the perfect rural retreat.
Whether you’re embarking on a romantic getaway, family adventure or exploring solo, visitors and residents are sure to experience the magic of countryside destinations in Perth County. Discover scenic hiking trails, indulge in farm-to-table dining experiences, or uncover the region's fascinating history through engaging heritage sites and museums.
This year’s brochure highlights:
- 13 Discover More Adventures Signature Experiences
- Scenic Signature Cycle Routes to explore
- Our top 10 Family Friendly Adventures
- One-of-a-kind food experiences and hands-on culinary adventures
- 13 sweet spots on the Perth County Bakery Trail
- Unique accommodation options, nature trails, small town shops, golf courses, and more!
Take the scenic route through Perth County to discover more.
This year’s brochure is available for download on the official Perth County Tourism website and has been distributed to municipal offices, visitor centers, farm gates, local businesses, and other tourism hotspots throughout the County and beyond. Perth County residents can expect to see them in their mailboxes!
For more information about Perth County and to plan your next adventure, visit www.perthcounty.ca/discover or follow on Instagram at @perthcotourism!
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Bruce County Takes Home Two BIA Ontario Business Improvement Area Awards | |
Community partnership recognized! Bruce County has been awarded two 2024 Ontario Business Improvement Area (OBIAA) ‘Awards of Excellence’. The OBIAA recognizes innovative programs in revitalization, support and improvements for downtowns. The Municipality of Kincardine, The Municipality of Arran-Elderslie, and Bruce County, won two awards at the OBIAA Awards Gala during the 2024 Annual BIA Conference on April 29, 2024.
The Municipality of Kincardine and Bruce County won the ‘Award of Merit,’ award in the ‘Streetscape and Public Realm Improvement’ category for the “Here for You,” Vandalism Incident Downtown Kincardine in 2023.
The Municipality of Arran-Elderslie and Bruce County won the ‘Award of Merit,’ award in the ‘Communications’ category for the development of the Tara and Chesley Community Branding Guidelines and Façade Guidelines.
The OBIAA Awards Gala recognized these two programs that were developed through Bruce County’s Spruce the Bruce Program and the program’s leadership role in strengthening and promoting downtown physical improvements and revitalization.
View the Press Release
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Plan to Double Production of Life-Saving Isotopes at Bruce Power | |
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An international collaboration between Bruce Power, Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), Isogen (a Kinectrics and Framatome company) and ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE (ITM), came together to celebrate the installation of a second production line that will double the production capacity of the Isotope Production System (IPS) on Bruce Power’s Unit 7.
The ambitious program timeline is on pace to deliver commissioning of the IPS upgrades later this year to meet forecast demand increases for cancer-fighting isotopes.
Premier Doug Ford was on hand May 27 for the expansion announcement at the University Health Network’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
The upgrades to the IPS will add a second production line to the existing system in Unit 7, which became the first commercial power reactor in the world to produce lutetium-177 in October of 2022. This second production line, designed and installed by Isogen, will enable Unit 7 to increase production of lutetium-177 to meet increasing demand for the medical isotope, which is used in precision oncology for targeted therapy of a growing number of cancers including neuroendocrine tumours and prostate cancer.
View the Press Release
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Team Ontario Federal Infrastructure Funding | |
On On April 18, Minister Calandra sent a letter to AMO’s President proposing a collaborative, “Team Ontario” approach to federal infrastructure funding agreement negotiations. AMO strongly supports municipalities working collaboratively with the province to achieve the alignment needed across all the levels of government to get housing built in Ontario.
Ontario's municipalities are planning $100 billion in growth-related capital expenditures over the next decade. New federal infrastructure funding could be an important contribution, but the funding requirements need to make sense for Ontario. While details remain unclear regarding eligibility for upper-tier municipalities, the potential impact of the proposed development charge freeze is a definite concern for all municipalities with populations over 300,000. A potential three-year freeze on development charges on these municipalities could actually reduce their ability to keep pace with anticipated growth.
For a broad overview of key infrastructure funding programs, AMO has developed this helpful resource to give our sector a full picture of its infrastructure funding.
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Ontario Appoints Skilled Trades Special Advisor | |
The Ontario government is appointing Dave Cassidy, former President of Unifor Local 444, as a Skilled Trades Special Advisor (STSA) to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The new advisor will assess the workforce needs in Ontario’s skilled trades, focusing on the manufacturing and automotive industries, including electric vehicles (EV). Over the last few years, the manufacturing and automotive sectors in Ontario have been rapidly growing and the province is expected to require over 500,000 additional workers in skilled trades-related occupations over the next decade.
As part of his new role, the Skilled Trades Special Advisor will work to ensure Ontario is well positioned to respond to the rapid development and expansion of our manufacturing and automotive sectors. His expert advice will be complemented by ongoing and robust stakeholder consultations which will serve to identify issues, challenges and areas of improvement within Ontario’s skilled trades and apprenticeship system.
To meet the labour demands of Ontario, Mr. Cassidy will help deliver a final report informed by research and stakeholder feedback that includes recommendations on how to improve the skilled trades system.
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Joint Statement from Ministers Fraser and Calandra | |
Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and Paul Calandra, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, released a joint statement:
“Canada and Ontario recognize that our collaboration is imperative to solving the housing crisis.
That is why we are pleased to share that an agreement has been reached on a revised action plan from Ontario that will unlock $357 million of federal funding under the National Housing Strategy (NHS).
Ontario has submitted a revised Action Plan under the bilateral agreement, which provides more robust data and insights as to which housing projects benefitted from provincial investment.
Ontario has also included new measures in its Action Plan which better reflect Ontario’s funding delivery model, as the only jurisdiction which flows the funds through municipal service managers. These measures include: establishing provincial supply targets with service managers, directing funding toward new projects, setting annual goals, and implementing robust data collection and reporting mechanisms.
Read the full press release
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New Date: Community Futures Western Ontario AGM | | | | |
