Regional chair takes his A team to Queen's Park to state the Halton case and squeeze some dollars from the province to pay for the growth they expect.

News 100 greenBy Pepper Parr

February 25, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON

If you ever wanted to know how networking is done effectively – read on.  Regional Chair Gary Carr along  with members of Regional Council spent three days meeting with Provincial leaders in Toronto to discuss critical issues facing Halton Region at the annual conference for the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) and the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA).

“The Provincial Places to Grow Act mandates that Halton Region’s population must grow to 780,000 by the year 2031,” said Gary Carr, Halton’s Regional Chair. “To ensure that taxpayers are not responsible for the cost of growth, there are a number of critical supports including long-term funding and legislative amendments which are required from both the Provincial and Federal Governments.”
The Province mandates that Halton Region’s population must grow to 780,000 by the year 2031: who is going to pay for that growth?

Chair Carr and a Regional delegation consisting of Mayor Rick Bonnette, Town of Halton Hills; Stephen Tanner, Chief of Police; Regional Councillors Colin Best, Allan Elgar and Sean O’Meara and Regional Councillor and Second Vice President for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Clark Somerville, met with the following Provincial leaders:

It was one of those thinmgs the politicians had to be on hand for - they were the ones that made the funding possible - so Ted McMeekin, the Liberal Minister of Agiculture from a riding next to us, was on hand to tell us what the government had done for us and to thank all the volunteers who made it possible. The volunteers were the imnportant part. of the event.

 Ted McMeekin, the Liberal Cabinet to the west of Burlington is often the go to guy when Burlington needs help.

• Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ted McMeekin to discuss creating affordable housing solutions and conforming to Provincial growth legislation.
• Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, to discuss Halton’s community infrastructure needs now and for the future.
• Attorney General, Madeline Meilleur, to discuss Halton’s immediate need for court resources and infrastructure including enhancements to Legal Aid funding.
• Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Glen Murray, to discuss adapting and responding to climate change.
• Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and Burlington MPP, Eleanor McMahon, to discuss Conservation Authority funding and approval.

Halton Regional Police Services Chief Tanner wants to tweet with you.

Halton Regional Service chief of police Steve Tanner was part of the delegation – did the Region need the muscle to make their point?

• Ontario NDP Caucus Members, Cindy Forster, MPP and Municipal Affairs and Housing Critic and Community and Social Services Critic, Catherine Fife, MPP and Finance and Treasury Board Critic, Jagmeet Singh, MPP and Government and Consumer Services Critic and Attorney General Critic to discuss an overview of the issues facing Halton Region.
• Interim Ontario PC Party Leader, Jim Wilson and Ernie Hardeman, MPP, to discuss an overview of the issues facing Halton Region.

• Minister of Heath and Long-Term Care, Dr. Eric Hoskins, to discuss cost-sharing for Public Health programs and services, ambulance off-loading delays and enhancements to the Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC).

During the ROMA OGRA Conference Premier Kathleen Wynne addressed municipal leaders, as did the PC Interim Party Leader, Jim Wilson and Ontario NDP Leader, Andrea Horwath.

“Meeting with Provincial leaders allows Halton Region to reiterate the importance of a continued partnership with the Province to address the many pressures we are facing as a result of mandated growth,” added Chair Carr. “We will continue to advocate for change from all levels of government in order to ensure that residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life in Halton Region.”

McMahon at Up Creek - side view - smile

Burlington’s MPP Eleanor McMahon took part in the three day networking event at Queen’s Park – she was the only voice from Burlington: was she loud enough – and if not loud was she effective enough?

Through the support of Regional Council, Halton Region has developed an Advocating for a Strong Halton campaign which identifies specific needs and requirements from the Provincial and Federal governments.

Carr, who was once Speaker of the Legislature at Queen’s Park knows his way around that building.  Does he know it well enough to pull out the dollars that are going to be needed to manage the growth the province is calling for?

And is Burlington going to see enough of whatever Carr gets to manage its growth?

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February 25th, 2015 | Category: Budget 2013, Government All, Headlines, News

1 comment to Regional chair takes his A team to Queen’s Park to state the Halton case and squeeze some dollars from the province to pay for the growth they expect.

  • Colin Best
    February 26, 2015 at 6:48 am

    Thanks Pepper for the article. Yes Eleanor was both loud and effective expressing Burlington and halation’s concerns as she also attending the MTO delegation with us regarding a number of transportation concerns. Also MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris who represents Burlington north of QEW attending the Ministry of Health delegation where we raised concerns about offloading delays, EMS communications and program cutback concerns. WE should see the results of this advocacy in the spring budget. As regional councillors we represent all the region including Burlington.