Oxford County Politicians Return Home From ROMA Conference

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Wednesday, 22 January 2020 14:56

Oxford County was involved in seven delegations with different Ministries at the ROMA conference in Toronto this week.

OXFORD COUNTY - Local politicians have returned home after spending two days in Toronto for the 2020 Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference.

Oxford County was involved in seven delegations with the following Ministries.

- Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks:

- OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs): To speak to the need to continue to promote expansion of high-speed broadband internet in rural areas through SWIFT. Also to advocate for Oxford’s participation in the review of farm biogas production, which is already a part of Oxford’s local economy and recognized as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions locally.

- Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines: To advocate for virtual net metering, farm biogas production, and ultra-high energy efficiency requirements in the Ontario Building Code.

- Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing: Update on Oxford’s work to respond to the housing crisis.

- Ministry of Transportation: To continue to seek support for the SouthwestLynx plan for an integrated transportation plan for the region that includes southwestern Ontario-centric governance. A letter to the Minister was brought to the delegation.

- Ministry of Health: To learn more about plans for the Ontario Health Teams; to share Oxford’s success with the Family Transition Program in long-term care; and to advocate for an equitable regional model for delivering public health services.

- Solicitor General: To raise awareness of the 38% increase in court security and prisoner transportation costs Oxford’s municipalities have experienced over the past six years, and to advocate for the full funding of these services by the Province.

Heart FM will be taking a deeper dive into all of these delegations starting with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Warden Larry Martin says they were looking for clarification on the Province’s direction to implement a circular economy to manage waste and reduce Ontario’s waste disposal demands.

"We wanted some clarification on what it is going to look like with the new blue box program that they are going to be implementing and how it is going to rolled out. We also needed to reiterate to them too, that this is going to factor into our committed to zero waste policy, we already have a 60 percent diversion rate from our landfill and we are shooting for 90 percent or 100 percent."

Martin says they also wanted to share Oxford’s own research and findings in using emerging technologies to reduce waste to landfill.

"We are above the provincial standard with our 60 percent diversion rate, they look forward to working with us as well to better our environment, better our climate and better our Province. One thing we did emphasis though and Minister Yurek did as well, is that we have to maintain a constant flow of conversation and collaboration with each other, in order to move forward. If we all work together, it is quite achievable, I guess is the best way of wording it."