Mayor Bill Vrebosch of the Municipality of East Ferris will lead a delegation of councillors to the AMO Conference in Windsor from August 14-17 in order to meet with 4 Ontario Ministries: Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Bob Delaney, Parliament Assistant to Minister of Energy, Marie France Lalonde, Minister of Government and Consumer Services and Francophone Affairs, and Mitzi Hunter, Minister of Education.
Minister Gravelle will be presented with a financial proposal and request for assistance to deal with the redevelopment of the Sacred Heart school in Corbeil. Bob Delaney of the Ministry of Energy will hear a presentation stating that “East Ferris Wants Natural Gas.” We have made prior submissions to the OEB and, “ we are ready and we know how to implement the program.” This was the message presented to Minister Bob Chiareli and the OEB. We think we solidified our case for acceptance into this program.
Vrebosch will also ask that Hydro delivery costs in Ontario be shared across the province as it is in Quebec, rather than basing it on density which penalizes rural residents. “Why should rural residents be paying double the costs of delivery compared to the big cities? There is no excuse for this discrepancy.”
Minister Lalonde will be presented with a request for assistance to redevelop the St. Thomas D’Aqin property in Astorville and this will lead to the last Minister of Education who will be asked to extend the date for acquisition because the process was flawed. The newly formed “ East Ferris Hub” group wants it for a dollar, or, at least a workable number that they can afford. This closed school in Astorville is very important to the village and the citizens do not want it boarded up to become an eyesore. The hub development committee has been working very hard in order to decide on the best use for the property but the Ministry of Education’s due date for decision has placed undue pressure on the group.
Mayor Bill Vrebosch made the Natural Gas extension presentation to Minister Glen Murray last month in Westport Ontario where Minister Murray stated to him that the rural gas program would be continued, but the municipality wants a more specific and definite committment.
While at the conference, Mayor Vrebosch will be seeking re-election to the AMO Rural Caucus. The importance of sitting on this Caucus is that it gives East Ferris and the Rural communities in Ontario a specific voice at the table dealing with Ontario rural affairs.
Vrebosch already represents Zone 9 of ROMA which encompasses Northern Ontario, but this Caucus deals with all of Ontario.
