Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus Advocates for Priorities at ROMA 2023 Conference

July 07, 2023

Featured left to right: Warden Tony Fraser, Warden Harold Hogg, Warden Liz Danielsen, Warden Peter McLaren, Mayor Steve Ferguson, EOWC Chair Peter Emon, Associate Minister Michael Parsa, Warden Normand Riopel, Parliamentary Assistant Amarjot Sandhu, Minister Merrilee Fullerton, MPP Stéphane Sarrazin, Mayor Doug Elmslie, MPP Nolan Quinn, EOWC Vice-Chair Bonnie Clark, Parliamentary Assistant Andrew Dowie, Warden Mandy Martin, MPP Rick Byers, MPP Ric Bresee, Warden Nancy Peckford, MPP John Jordan, Warden Bob Mullin

Eastern Ontario – The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) advocated strongly for regional priorities at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) 2023 Conference held in the City of Toronto from January 22 to 24, 2023.

From across Ontario, the EOWC joined over 1,400 rural municipal colleagues at the conference to participate in meetings with provincial Ministers, Members of Provincial Parliament, and the New Democratic and Liberal opposition parties to

discuss priorities including:

Affordable and attainable housing: The ‘7 in 7’ regional housing plan Health care human resources

Ontario Health Teams’ governance and structure Long-term care funding and support

“The EOWC was eager and ready to represent our region at the ROMA 2023 Conference and meet with provincial representatives. We were able to gain awareness and traction on our ‘7 in 7’ regional housing plan that proposes to build 7,000 affordable community rental housing units in seven years. The conference presents an opportunity for the EOWC to continue to make progress for our municipalities and residents,” stated EOWC Chair Peter Emon.

For the ROMA 2023 briefing package, please visit EOWC’s website:

www.eowc.org/ROMA2023.

Meeting with Minister of Health

EOWC Chair Peter Emon, Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health Dawn Gallagher Murphy, Vice-Chair Bonnie Clark

Meeting with NDP Caucus

Meeting with Minister of Long-Term Care

EOWC Chair Peter Emon, Minister of Long- Term Care Paul Calandra, Vice-Chair Bonnie Clark, Mayor Doug Elmslie, MPP John Jordan

Meeting with Liberal Caucus

The EOWC met with Ontario Liberal and NDP Caucus members to present and gain valuable feedback on the EOWC’s ‘7 in 7’ Regional Housing Plan. The plan was well-received and the EOWC looks forward to working with both parties as the plan moves forward.

Doing our part to increase housing supply: EOWC’s ‘7 in 7’ regional housing plan

The EOWC has come together to address the affordable and attainable housing supply shortage. The EOWC launched the regional ‘7 in 7’ housing project proposal. Our plan proposes to build 7,000 affordable community rental units over the next seven years across the region.

The EOWC wants to do our part to meet the Ontario Government’s target of building

1.5 million homes by 2031. Rural communities must not get left behind and rental housing needs to be considered in the solution.

The EOWC has the expertise of leading large-scale public-private regional projects. This bold solution would bring the private, non-profit and public sectors together to build affordable community housing to address the municipal housing wait lists. The investment could also incent up to three times the number of attainable market rate units across the region.

The EOWC will be working with a consultant over the coming months to develop a strong business case for the plan. The EOWC has met with a variety of provincial and federal elected officials and staff, including most recently during the ROMA 2023 Conference, to share the plan proposal and gain feedback. The EOWC looks forward to bringing more information forward as the plan moves ahead.

About the EOWC

The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) in a non-profit organization comprised of the Heads of Council of 13 upper and single-tier municipalities across rural eastern Ontario. The Caucus supports and advocates on behalf of 103 municipalities and nearly 800,000 residents. The EOWC covers an area of almost 50,000 square kilometres from the County of Northumberland to the Québec border. The EOWC has gained support and momentum by speaking with a united voice to champion regional municipal priorities and work with government, business leaders, the media, and the public. For more information, visit EOWC’s website

at www.eowc.org or Twitter account at @EOWC_ON.