NOMA brings leaders to the north

News — 28 September 2011

By Ally Dunham

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) held its Northwestern Ontario Regional Conference in Thunder Bay Sept. 21-23, followed by a leaders debate.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce and the Northwestern Ontario Development Network, the event saw a collection of representatives from the entire region, and held the theme of “Collaboration and Partnerships: Steps for the Future.”

“Thursday was what we call Ministry day, where the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has their day for sessions. It was very positive all the way through, their agenda was very good and attendance was good,” said NOMA president Ron Nelson.

Some of the agenda items included communication tips, long-term affordable housing strategies, financial sustainability in municipalities, municipal strategic planning, college in our communities, aboriginal governance, Ring of Fire update, and the Northern Ontario Growth Plan.

Friday’s agenda included economic development successes, strategic plan for Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, regional tourism organization update and concluded with a provincial leaders debate.

“The presentations on the Wednesday through the Chamber of Commerce provided some great insight for a lot of the councillors and what was happening especially in the mining industry and the forest industry and the big picture stuff,” said city manager, Joe van Koeverden.

Van Koeverden commented that the best presentation was regarding the service reviews, presenting where risks lie and things the city needs to consider regarding service reviews.

“He (presenter) show a chart, which according to 2008 statistics show that Dryden was in area on his chart indicating that we are higher than normal income for the region and a lower than normal cost for taxes,” said van Koeverden.

The leaders debate included Andrea Horwath of the NDP Party and Tim Hudak of the PC Party for the leader debate. Dalton McGuinty declined the invitation to attend, citing a conflicting schedule.

“The two leaders were very well received and professional through this whole thing. We acknowledged and thanked them tremendously for their effort and input for the north and we’re just overall pleased that they attended,” said Nelson.

The debate was all prepared questions, and no questions came from the floor, nor from leader to leader.

“I think they both made strong points. Hudak perhaps came across as a stronger leader however Horwath made some good points and was clear on her stance,” said van Koeverden. “I wouldn’t disregard either of them, I think they both did an excellent job stating their positions and being clear. I think their policies for the north are fairly similar in contrast to the Liberal policies.”

Nelson said, “The people of northwestern Ontario were the winners in this debate because they got to hear the platforms of both parties, and also the winners were the two leaders that showed up.”

The debate can be viewed online from the NOMA website at www.noma.on.ca.