Wawa Mayor and CAO Bring Municipality’s Concerns To Premier
Mayor Linda Nowicki and CAO, Chris Wray attended the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference held August 17 – 20, 2014 in London, Ontario.
While there were a number of seminars on a host of municipal subject matter, the most important events were meetings held with various Ministers. Pre-arranged meetings included the following:
- Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure, Brad Duguid
- Minister of Natural Resources, Bill Mauro
- Minister of Northern Development Mines, Michael Gravelle
- Parliamentary Assistant for Finance, Laura Albanese
The most important subject matter discussed was the potential clawback of a portion of the Power Dam Special Payment Program. This issue was mentioned to each Minister and was discussed in detail with the Parliamentary Assistant for the Ministry of Finance, Laura Albanese. The subject matter brought forward by Wawa had its effect as a meeting, organized by Wawa, was held with about thirty (30) other communities that were also affected by clawback of this program. Many communities had similar meetings with the Ministry of Finance and a number of briefs had been prepared.
Mayor Nowicki stated; “While the clawback of the Power Dam Special Payment Program affects many communities, we were very appreciative of the assistance of the Association Municipalities of Ontario, NOMA and FONOM for including this matter in their discussions with the Premier and various Ministers”.
At the Ministers’ Question Forum on Tuesday, August 19, a total of 22 questions were asked of the various ministers. Two of these questions pertained directly to the Power Dam Special Payment Program, both proposed by the Municipality of Wawa. Mayor Nowicki was able to ask the second question pertaining to the future of our community if and when the clawback was finalized.
Mayor Nowicki stated she felt the answer to be startling “I was completely surprised that once the Associate Minister was finished suggesting that the Ministry of Finance was working with the affected municipalities, Premier Kathleen Wynne interjected and indicated that she had instructed the Ministry of Finance to again consider taxing power dams as they were prior to 2001.”
The efforts of the mayor, council and municipal staff on this issue have had a positive affect. A meeting is now scheduled for the week of September 16, 2014 to continue discussion.
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