Mayor Peckford and Council colleagues joined more than 1,600 participants from across 300 municipalities at the 2024 Rural Ontario Municipal Association’s (ROMA) Annual Conference, January 21 – 23, 2024 in Toronto.
Council met with the Honourable Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, Parliamentary Assistant Robin Martin to the Minister of Health, and Parliamentary Assistant Trevor Jones to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Additionally, Mayor Peckford participated in several more Ministerial meetings in her capacity as Warden to discuss access to childcare, family health teams, paramedic services and affordable housing.
“As a Council, and in my capacity as Counties Warden, we seized the opportunity to highlight the pressing needs for hospice beds in our community, increased funding to support North Grenville’s newly launched municipal‑wide transit system, and investments in the modernization of the Ferguson Forest Tree Nursery,” said Mayor Peckford. “Our partnership with key Ministries enables the Municipality to support key investments in important municipal assets, and the overall quality of life for our residents and businesses.”
The annual conference is an opportunity for municipal officials to attend key workshops, engage with key stakeholders and foster relationships across the sectors while advocating for policies and funding to support the unique needs of rural communities.
“At the ROMA conference; the seminars, the speeches, the hallway chats and especially the delegations with Provincial Ministers and staff are definitely time well spent. As a Council, we leave with fresh perspectives and ideas that will help shape our approach to local governance. I want to extend my thanks to the organizers, fellow municipalities and guest speakers who made this year’s conference a success,” added Deputy Mayor John Barclay.
For more information on the ROMA conference, please visit: www.roma.on.ca.
