Grey County is heading to a conference in Ottawa to advocate for local issues.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference is set to take place from August 16-19.
County Warden Andrea Matrosovs and some members of County Council will join thousands of municipal leaders to share ideas and meet with provincial and some federal government representatives.
The conference program features speakers including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, AMO president Robin Jones, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Edith Dumont, opposition party leaders, Federation of Canadian Municipalities President Tim Tierney and others. Topics will include infrastructure, asset management and municipal finances, leadership, governance and democracy, community resilience and emergency preparedness, Indigenous relations and reconciliation, technology, AI and modernization and economic development.
Grey County representatives will participate in two delegations to discuss local issues.
The first delegation is with the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security to discuss sustainable funding for rural-serving campuses such as Georgian College in Owen Sound.
Grey County says the campus serves the entire region and is a critical workforce development hub for clean energy, healthcare, marine transportation, and skilled trades careers.
They say, “Sustainable provincial funding and strategic investments in rural college campuses are critical to supporting workforce development and driving economic growth across the province now and into the future.”
Grey County’s second delegation is with the Ministry of Education to discuss the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program. Grey County is asking for more CWELCC-funded spaces to expand access to licensed child care for local families. Grey County will also ask the Ministry to consider adjusting income thresholds for fee subsidy eligibility to help support more middle-income families who fall below the local living wage but currently do not qualify for subsidy.
On top of those delegations, Warden Andrea Matrosovs plans to participate in meetings and events as part of the Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.