Interview with the Warden - November 12th, 2026

Thursday, 12 November 2026 at 10:10

In his last interview with Heart FM, Warden Marcus Ryan talked about landfill legislation and the final meeting of the current Oxford County Council.

OXFORD - Oxford County Warden Marcus Ryan appeared on the Heart FM Morning Show for the last time.

He stopped by the studio shortly before today's Oxford County Council meeting, which was the last meeting of the current term.

With that being said, Ryan will continue to serve as the Warden until the next county council is sworn in and his successor is chosen.

"You kind of have to have a head of council. If there was need for a declaration of a state of emergency or something like that, somebody has to be able to that stuff and phone a minister or a premier. So there are certain functions that are rarely used that you always have to have somebody, so until they choose a new one it's still me even though I won't be the Mayor of Zorra Township anymore and I won't be on Oxford County Council."

Warden Ryan is stepping out of the spotlight to spend more time with his family. During his interview today, he also thanked his family for all of their support throughout his political career.

However, it has not been a relaxing ending for Warden Ryan and the rest of the current county council. They have been hard at work lately, after hearing about some proposed changes to the province's landfill legislation.

Local politicians stopped a new landfill from coming to our community back in 2020, after a bill was passed that gave municipalities the right to say yes or no. However, Warden Ryan says that could change.

"Now they are proposing that they want to take that right away from municipalities and we would not be able to say yes or no. They are suggesting we could do it through the Planning Act, but I think anybody who is familiar with how that goes knows that probably wouldn't actually happen. You might vote no to it, but then it would probably be overturned on appeal, and it would probably happen."

All of Oxford County's municipal leaders have sent a joint letter to the province in response, and they have also been advocating behind the scenes. Warden Ryan is encouraging everyone to reach out to their local councillors, Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman, and the Ministry of the Environment to make sure their voices are heard on the matter.

With one council leaving and another about to be sworn in, Warden Ryan says it will be a stressful, especially for the new mayors and councillors stepping joining county council for the first time, but they will do the best that they can.

Some of the big topics on today's Oxford County Council agenda included a Road Safety Strategy and a Paramedic Services Master Plan. You can read the full agenda and find a video of the meeting online here.

You can listen to the full interview below: