Grey County Warden Andrea Matrosovs is headed to Ottawa with other local reps to meet with provincial ministry officials about local issues.
Matrosovs will join more than 2,500 participants at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in from August 17-20.
It’s an opportunity for municipal representatives from around the province to meet, discuss the issues and opportunities take part in more 50 sessions, workshops and learning lunches.
Conference topics include housing, economic development, resilience through technology and municipal finance, among others.
Grey County delegates will be participating in four delegations with Ministry representatives.
The County says the first delegation is with Ministry of Health on August 18 to discuss base funding for community paramedicine and paramedic services funding for inflation. Delegates will also be asking the Ministry to consider simplifying funding reporting requirements. Grey County currently needs to report to both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Long-Term Care, as well as Ontario Health. Aligning reporting criteria would reduce the administrative burden for both Grey County and the province.
Grey County’s second delegation on August 18 is with the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. Georgian College Owen Sound Campus Executive Director, Dave Shorey, will be joining in the delegation which will discuss the financial crisis facing Ontario colleges. The County says current funding model for colleges doesn’t reflect the true cost of delivering programs in small communities. Providing provincial sustainable funding and strategic investments in rural college campuses is critical to support workforce development and drive economic growth across the province.
Matrosovs tells Bayshore Broadcasting News, “The Owen Sound Campus sits right in the middle of our county, right there where our County seat is as well and we work so closely with Executive Director Dave Shorey and the whole Georgian College team. We have such a relationship, as does Bruce County as well.”
She says “One of the things we’re hearing right across the province is the financial crisis that Ontario colleges are in, and the detriment that it’s meant by not being able to have as many foreign students come and pay full tuition fees which is what uplifts programs that our sons and daughters are able to apply to– at a much more discounted rate.”
She continues, “It is really crucial that we keep the dialogue up with the ministry to say, ‘we’re not there yet, we haven’t solved the issues.’ Colleges provide such a vital workforce talent that we desperately need right across the province and in the case of the Owen Sound Campus we have some pretty specialized programs that we want to see continue. The marine program is something that, people come from all over the world in order to participate in that program.”
Matrosovs notes the county isn’t worried about funding for the marine program, but says other programs are seeing cuts, and tourism and hospitality for example, is something the County feels is vital to the area and needs the support of foreign student allowances.
Grey County’s third delegation will take place on August 18 with the Ministry of Long-Term Care. In this meeting Grey County will be discussing multiple issues including timelines for vulnerable sector screening for staff, new certification requirements for personal support workers, and the phasing out of resident support personnel (RSPs).
The County says RSPs play an important role in County homes in supporting residents and taking some pressure off staff. The final item to be discussed with the Ministry of Health is funding for redevelopment. Grey County is redeveloping Rockwood Terrace in Durham and will ask the Ministry to allow in-progress construction projects to be eligible for the new redevelopment funding model announced in the 2025 provincial budget.
On August 19, Grey County will have its final delegation of the conference with the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade to discuss funding for small business enterprise centres. The County says the Grey County Business Enterprise Centre is the first point of contact for businesses and entrepreneurs in the region who want to start up or scale up their business. Grey County will request a return to long-term permanent funding for the centre. Grey County has more than 13,000 businesses and 99 per cent of them are classified as small businesses.
In addition to the Grey County delegations, Matrosovs will participate in three delegations with the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus. The first meeting is with the Ontario Liberal Party. The second meeting is with the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Rebecca Bligh. The final delegation is with Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.