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Oxford Warden Recaps AMO Conference

Wednesday, 23 August 2023 10:53

By Marcie Culbert X @marcieculbert

Photo Credit: Oxford County website

Oxford County Warden Marcus Ryan met with several provincial ministers in hopes of finding solutions for homelessness, mental health, and addiction.

LONDON - It's the final day of the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) Conference in London.

Several municipal leaders were able to meet with provincial ministers during the three-day conference, including Oxford County Warden Marcus Ryan. His ultimate goal was to find ways to address homelessness, mental health, and addiction in Oxford.

"I was in several meetings with several ministers talking about what we can get done locally and what we need the province to do as a partner in this. There are a lot of services that they either fund or provide through partners that we need them to do a better job of than they are in order to help our residents in Oxford who are struggling with those issues."

He was frustrated leaving those meetings, because he didn't feel the sense of urgency he was hoping for.

"There was a promise from the province on housing but not specifically for homelessness. They did give us a lot more homelessness prevention money in the past year, but it's nothing near what our community is actually experiencing in terms of need."

Ryan would also like to find a solution for affordable housing in Oxford, adding it ties right in with the homelessness issue.

Warden Ryan is also happy that Oxford County and Zorra Township were not included on the list of municipalities now eligible for Strong Mayor powers. He believes Strong Mayor powers are undemocratic and it doesn't give the residents the full value of the councillors they elect. The City of Woodstock is now eligible for Strong Mayor powers, if it commits to reaching a 5,500 housing target by 2031.

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