St. Thomas Delegation Attends 2024 ROMA Conference
St. Thomas,
ON — Mayor Joe Preston, Councillor
Gary Clarke, Councillor Jim Herbert, City Manager Sandra Datars Bere, and over
1,600 participants from municipalities and organizations from across Ontario are
in attendance this week at the 2024 ROMA Annual General
Meeting and Conference. This year’s event is being held from January 21st
to 23rd in downtown Toronto.
The 2024 conference theme,
Closer to Home, speaks directly to ROMA’s advocacy work over the past year.
ROMA Chair Robin Jones will present the Board’s latest research paper, Fill the
Gaps Closer to Home, that focuses on solutions to accessing equitable primary
healthcare services in rural Ontario.
Key presenters for the 2024
conference include Ontario Premier Doug Ford, opposition leaders, and
provincial and federal ministers. Keynote speakers at this year’s event include
social entrepreneur Shane Feldman, speaking about the future of work, and
award-winning journalist Althia Raj, discussing the impact of polarization on
local decision-making.
Today through delegation
meetings, City Council members, supported with information from city staff, met
with four provincial ministers to discuss municipal updates and current and
ongoing challenges faced by the City of St. Thomas for which provincial
collaboration and support would be beneficial. These delegations also provide
an opportunity for the City to highlight its recent successes and achievements.
On Monday January 22nd,
the City of St. Thomas delegation team met with:
- Hon.
Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health
- Hon.
Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education
- Hon.
Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Hon.
Andrea Khanjin, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
As part of these delegations, discussion
topics and municipal requests this year included calls for advocacy and support
for physician recruitment, increased resources for withdrawal management and
residential treatment in the community, and brownfield remediation funding.
Additionally, the City continues to advocate for affordable housing supports,
specifically related to Project Tiny Hope and the ongoing successful partnership
with Indwell. The City also presented information related to overcrowding at
local schools and the need for better collaboration around capacity planning,
as well as the need for support for additional capital funding to support new
builds and the expansion of the early years system, including resources and advocacy
for retaining and recruiting staff.
The City’s delegation team had
great success in showcasing the ongoing priorities and directions of Council as
they relate to working with the elected Provincial government to realize our
strategic plan goals of being compassionate, vibrant, and thriving community.
For further
information contact:
Mayor
Joe Preston
[email protected]
519-631-1680
ext. 4131
About ROMA
ROMA takes pride in promoting, supporting and
enhancing strong and effective rural governments. About 270 of Ontario’s 444
municipalities have populations of less than 10,000, while scores more are
rural in character. The rural arm of the Association of Municipalities of
Ontario, ROMA advocates for policies and programs that will help build thriving
rural Ontario communities.
For more information about ROMA or the 2024
Conference, contact:
Brian Lambie, ROMA Media Contact, 416-729-5425,
[email protected]
Follow the conference on X: @ROMA_Ont, Hashtag:
#ROMA2024
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