Northern solidarity needed now more than ever: FONOM

Northern Ontario municipalities need to work together now more than ever before to make senior levels of government “hear our voices,” according to the president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM).

Alan Spacek said in a press release that FONOM and the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) are working well together. He made that statement at the 52nd annual Conference of the Federation with the theme Building Partnerships – the Northern Advantage.

Spacek, reacting to a speech made by the federal government’s senior Cabinet Minister, Tony Clement, who spoke on the federal government’s plan for the economy and jobs, noted “Tony (Clement) and I do not always agree, but he is always available on short notice for consultation and is a true friend of the north.”

Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Kathleen Wynne spoke on the government’s plan to get Ontario “back on track.”

“The province cannot continue to ignore northern municipal needs,” Spacek said. “Municipalities from across the north are working together to represent our people. We want to work with all levels of government for the betterment of northerners.”

The north has great opportunities to help create wealth, but northerners must move quickly and together to take advantage of international opportunities for mineral and forestry bounty, he said.

FONOM vice-president Tom Laughren gave an impassioned plea to Wynne to implore her Cabinet colleagues to “get back to the table and work with us. We really appreciate you coming here to ‘face the music’ for your government, but we need to work together to get through these difficult, rapidly changing times. Your government needs to communicate with us – more and better - particularly concerning the abandonment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission and the thousands of jobs that are affected.”

Wynne promised to take that message back to the Premier Dalton McGuinty, as well as her Cabinet colleagues, according to the news release.

Other conference highlights included the annual awards presentation where long-serving members Mac Bain, past-president of FONOM and councillor from North Bay, and Franklin Gillis, past-president of FONOM and former councillor of Espanola, were awarded special service awards for their exemplary work with FONOM.

“Our communities are lucky to have such great leaders as Mac (Bain) and Franklin (Gillis) who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Federation and its member municipalities,” Spacek said.

Posted by Arron Pickard