Downloading on the minds of Northern Mayors

Photo supplied by NEOMAG. Mayor Vic Fedeli and Mayors from the Highway 11 corridor joined the Honourable Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, at his office in Sudbury. The North Eastern Municipal Action Group (NEOMAG) meets quarterly to discuss issues of common concern, specifically related to transportation and communications.

NEOMAG News Release

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Mayors from four of Northern Ontario’s five Large Urban Municipalities met today in Sudbury as they continue to discuss the funding shortfalls faced by all Ontario municipalities, resulting from provincial downloading.

Mayors Vic Fedeli of North Bay, Tom Laughren of Timmins, John Rowswell of Sault Ste. Marie and John Rodriguez of Greater Sudbury, discussed recent efforts by the cities of Ottawa and Toronto to raise the fiscal imbalance issue in the upcoming provincial election.

“We are all determined to ensure that our local taxpayers understand what is at stake in this election. For 2007, $14.2 million or 23.4% of your tax dollars will be spent subsidizing Social Services, Senior Services, Social Housing and Ambulance,” said Mayor Victor Fedeli. “No Mayor is taking sides politically – we just want people to understand the party platforms and support those who will address this critical funding shortfall.”

The Mayors will meet again in August at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa. Representatives of all three main provincial parties are expected to lay out their municipal funding platforms at this meeting.

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