Bullet News NORTH HURON – Councillors from North Huron are asking their MPP to speak up for rural Ontario.
Council, along with senior administration, spent the better part of two hours recently presenting a shopping list of concerns to Lisa Thompson, who is MPP for Huron-Bruce. They brought forward issues that ranged from reduced transfer payments from the province to the need for more funding to maintain municipal buildings, impact of full-day kindergarten on municipally owned and operated daycare services to effect on programs as a result of recommendations in the Drummond Report, all of which they believe are caused by legislation crafted by Toronto-based bureaucrats who don’t understand rural Ontario.
“We need the provincial government to understand and respond to the specific issues and challenges facing North Huron and other small rural municipalities,” said Neil Vincent, who is reeve of North Huron.
“I know Lisa will continue to raise our concerns in the Ontario Legislature as well as promote North Huron’s strengths and opportunities with key ministers and decision-makers,” he said, noting Thompson’s mother, Winona Thompson, was clerk-treasurer of North Huron for more than three decades. As well, Thompson was raised a mile up the road from Vincent.
They also discussed amalgamations, water and wastewater regulations, physician recruitment costs, rural severances, joint and several liability, hospital redevelopment funding, airport, Emergency Services Training Centre, alternative energy sources, downtown revitalization programs, and funding for arts and culture.
