Norfolk pushes province to pony up for infrastructure at AMO

At new hospital. Urban boundary expansion. Lake Erie’s eroding shoreline. And more money for Norfolk.

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Toss in abandoned gas wells that have been spewing toxic gases for years, and the delegation from Norfolk County had plenty to bend the province’s ear about during the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference from Aug. 18 to 21.

“I’m really pleased. We had a great cross-section of delegations with different ministries,” said Mayor Amy Martin, who was joined in Ottawa by deputy mayor Chris Van Paassen and chief administrative officer Al Meneses.

The trio had 15-minute meetings with several ministries, including Martin’s first one-on-one with Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra.

“That was a really great discussion bringing him up to speed on Norfolk County, some of the projects we’re working on, the urban boundary expansion, which is before him for review,” Martin told The Spectator.

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A springtime homeless encampment in downtown Simcoe brought the long-simmering problem of a lack of affordable housing in the rural county into the public consciousness. At AMO, Martin repeated a plea from Norfolk council for provincial help to address the intertwined need for housing, mental-health and addiction support.

“It’s no longer just an urban center issue,” Martin said.

“My business case, and my argument, has been municipalities are just not equipped with the funding and the resources and the subject matter experts to tackle this. It needs to be a regional, provincially supported initiative. And they are hearing that across the board. Norfolk is not alone in that.”

But Norfolk does have unique needs, Martin contends, including $450 million to fund a new water treatment and delivery system, and more than $1 billion over the next decade to repair and upgrade critical infrastructure.

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The deputy mayor and CAO met with the Finance Ministry to repeat council’s call for what Martin calls a “new deal for Norfolk” that would see the county get more provincial funding to ease the burden on residents already paying through the nose for water and facing staggering property tax increases.

The Norfolk delegation joined other AMO members to stress the need for “a new fiscal framework for municipalities to work under,” Martin said.

“That framework has not changed in 125 years, yet we are expected to pay for more and more.”

As chair of the South Central Ontario Region Economic Development Corporation and a member of the Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus, Martin had added face time with Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, who visited Norfolk in May to learn more about the water situation.

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“It’s continued advocacy,” Martin said of his approach. “Continuing to request more funding and support, and specifically rural funding.”

Delegations at AMO are more relaxed than formal press events, allowing for a freer exchange of ideas, the mayor added.

“You’re in a candid, closed-door environment with these ministers, and you can talk. They don’t need to have a perfect response for us,” Martin said.

“We can just further the dialogue and the narrative, throw some ideas around, and make sure we’re advocating for residents’ needs.”

Martin said county staff will follow up with their ministerial counterparts to ensure Norfolk’s needs stay on the province’s radar.

JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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