Grey County will be raising a few local issues with provincial officials at the upcoming Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference.
Communications Manager Rob Hatten says the County has been granted at least three delegations.
One will be with the Office of the Attorney General to discuss, alongside Bruce County, the need to appoint additional Justices of the Peace to hear matters at the Provincial Offences Court. The counties want to talk about replacing Justices who have retired.
The court deals with things like traffic tickets and bylaw charges as well as matters relating to animal control and trespassing.
CAO Kim Wingrove says, “It’s become increasingly difficult for us to schedule court times if there aren’t justices available,” noting justices are appointed to sit at a particular court, and the ministry hasn’t appointed justices in Grey County in a number of years.
Wingrove notes, the issue creates difficulties for the public, for police and for the County, explaining, “If there’s not a justice available to sit, then matters have to be rescheduled or in certain cases, there’s an amount of time where eventually they’re not able to be heard anymore.”
Grey County will also make a delegation alongside the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs to ask the province to work with paramedic services to address operational stress injuries or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Director of Paramedic Services Kevin McNab says, “There’s definitely more awareness now and there’s always been a need for support for paramedics and first responders. I believe that the incidents are increasing and that we need to ensure that we’re doing the best that we can for our paramedics.”
McNab says the province should have a strategy or ‘road map’ of best practices and strategies to address the issue based upon evidence and what does, and doesn’t work.
He says, “I think ensuring that we have access to the right care is good, and ensuring that paramedics have the appropriate training, that the management team has appropriate training and our human resources– that we’re able to manage cases and offer the best care that we can.”
The County has also asked to meet with the Ministry of Health to discuss the rising cost of ambulances due to the recent consolidation among manufacturers and a lack of competition with suppliers.
McNab says, “We want safe ambulances for our paramedics and for the system, but at the same time, we want to ensure that we have competitive pricing and availability.” He says says ambulance suppliers have been in short supply of chassis, and he feels it’s important to look at what needs to be done to address the supply issue and get ambulances out to EMS services.
Meanwhile, CAO Wingrove says the third delegation is with the Ministry of Long-Term Care to discuss the current status and funding for the Rockwood Terrace redevelopment project.
She says in November of 2022, the provincial government announced additional long-term care build funding. In February 2023, the County learned the funding was only available if plans were submitted by an August deadline.
At the same time, because of the rising cost of construction, the Rockwood Terrace redevelopment project had to be scaled back this past spring, to remove an assisted living component and cut some costs. Because of the need for a redesign, the August funding design submission deadline will be missed, and the County is looking to the Province (which mandated the long-term care home be upgraded) to accommodate a slightly later design submission.
Wingrove says they hope to put a tender out for the work by the end of October. “We’re very close to those original timelines that the province had set for us, and so we’re hoping that if we can show the province that we’ve done our homework, we’ve kept things moving, we’re really committed to the project, that they might still see thier way through to offer us that additional support,” says Wingrove.
The County says representatives will also be discussing approaches to addressing the homelessness crisis. They’ll be advocating for funding for the operating costs of the new 14th Street supportive housing facility in Owen Sound which is nearly at the end of the construction process. Wingrove says a grand opening is slated for the sometime in the fall.
In addition to meetings with ministers or their staff, the AMO Conference includes talks about various topics of importance to municipal governments. Representatives from Grey County are planning to take part in a few, including one about building more age-friendly communities.
Another notable session is called, ‘An Accessible Ontario by 2025: Will We Achieve It?’ Which looks to check in on the province’s goal of a fully accessible Ontario by 2025.
Grey County will also be represented by as a member of the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus.
The AMO conference runs August 20th to the 23rd in London.
