Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors meet in the Sault
Immigration is spurring growth across the north and Monday’s meeting of Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors (NOLUM) discussed some of the related benefits and challenges.
Four of the five Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors and their chief administrative officers travelled in person to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on May 27, 2024 for the discussions ahead of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual conference in August. Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau (left), Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker, Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre and North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico (right) are pictured here. Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff and his CAO attended the gathering virtually. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)
May 27 marked the first meeting of the year for the group and comes just two-and-a-half months prior to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual conference.
The leaders across northern Ontario view this week’s summit in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. as an opportunity to get on the same page before those meetings with provincial ministers in Ottawa in August.
North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico told CTV News that it is important that the north speaks with a collective voice given the shared crisis municipalities are facing.
“Municipalities, we’re doing health care. Municipalities, we’re doing mental health. We're doing drug control,” he said.
“We're doing, you know, things that we never saw as municipalities, you know, five, 10 years ago.”
Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre echoed many of Chirico’s concerns – adding that municipal services are being over taxed.
“The fact that there's so much demand on our social services and yet we're doing more social services without the funding when it's really a provincial responsibility,” he said.
Four of the five NOLUM and their chief administrative officers travelled in person to the sault for the discussions.
According to the most recent census data, each community saw increases in population size that was largely due to immigration.
Officials with the municipalities said with concerns in fields like mental health and addictions, housing and healthcare, there’s a belief more government action is needed or newcomers may not want to settle in northern Ontario.
Host mayor Matthew Shoemaker said nothing that any northern municipality does individually is going to be big enough to address province-wide problems.
“(One thing) we want is for there to be more physicians across the north so that more of our residents have direct access to health care without having to travel to southern Ontario,” he said.
Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau added that the cost to develop infrastructure in northern Ontario is something that is “quite unique to our region.”
“(It is) also about housing, you know, the lack of funding for affordable housing, different programs that for which our applications were unsuccessful,” she said.
“So talking about some of that (too.)”
Both the provincial and federal governments are now implementing programs to fund housing expansion and the five NOLUM hope to use Monday’s discussions and their joint influence to ensure the programs reflect the needs of northern Ontario.
The next NOLUM meeting is Nov. 2 in North Bay, Ont.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
If you qualify for this tax credit, you can expect a payment in your bank account this week
The next quarterly GST/HST tax credit payment is expected to go out this week, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Section of Alberta highway reopens after being blocked by grass fire caused by pipeline explosion
Police have opened a section of a major highway in west-central Alberta that had been blocked by a grass fire.
These ultraprocessed foods may shorten your life, study says
Eating higher levels of ultraprocessed food may shorten lifespans by more than 10 per cent, according to a new, unpublished study of over 500,000 people whom researchers followed for nearly three decades.
U.S. Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts
The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
WATCH: Ode to Newfoundland rings out at emotional internment of Unknown Soldier
As part of the emotional ceremony honouring Newfoundland and Labrador's Unknown Soldier, the province's national anthem, The Ode to Newfoundland, was sung. Military members received special permission from defence officials to salute the Ode.
Eddie Murphy is still stung by that David Spade joke on 'Saturday Night Live'
Eddie Murphy is reflecting on some of the “cheap shots” he feels he’s taken over the years.
Judge calls Jeffrey Epstein 'most infamous pedophile in American history' as he releases transcripts
A Florida judge released Monday afternoon the transcripts of a 2006 grand jury investigation that looked into sex trafficking and rape allegations made against the late millionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
This 12-year-old memorized the periodic table at age two. He's heading to NYU after finishing high school in just two years
Recent high school graduate Suborno Isaac Bari, 12, plans to start studying math and physics at New York University in the fall, but he’s already got his ambitious sights set on beginning a doctoral program.
Possible indecent gesture at Euro 2024 game under investigation
England star Jude Bellingham is being investigated by UEFA over a potentially offensive gesture made during a European Championship win against Slovakia.