HOUSING, HEALTH CARE PRIORITIES FOR EAST ONTARIO MAYORS
Affordable housing, ambulance service, and better care for retired seniors are the main priorities this year for all the mayors in Eastern Ontario.
The Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus (EOWC) met for a two-day strategy session March 9 and 10 to determine the agency’s priorities for 2023. The 13 members of the EOWC represent all of the smaller regional and municipal governments, including the United Counties of Prescott-Russell, within the Eastern Ontario region. The City of Ottawa is not part of the EOWC.
This year the EOWC is targeting affordable housing, regional and municipal ambulance services, and long-term care service for seniors and others who need assisted care, as its priorities for 2023. The EOWC will dedicate much of its lobbying efforts with the provincial and federal governments on these priorities in addition to its other concerns for the Eastern Ontario region.
«Now, more thane ver, municipal governments play a vital role as organizations that unify and strengthen Ontario and Canada,» stated EOWC Chair Peter Emon. «The EOWC is in a position to lead, inform and respond during the coming year and beyond. The caucus has set clear goals and we intend to strongly advocate on behalf of our communities and residents.»
Affordable housing
The EOWC will lobby senior government and the private sector for support of its own «7 in 7» regional housing plan for increasing the amount of affordable housing available within the Eastern Ontario region. The EOWC’s own study indicates there are between 12,000 and 14,000 community rental housing units within the entire region and the wait list time for vacancies for those units varies from five to 10 years, depending on which area of Eastern Ontario is involved.
«As part of the Ontario government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031,» stated an EOWC brief, «the EOWC is looking to do our
part in increasing housing supply.»
The EOWC’s goal is to help create 7000 affordable housing units within seven years to help reduce current wait list times across Eastern Ontario. The «7 in 7» plan would involve partnerships with senior governments, the private sector, non-profit groups, and the First Nations.»
The EOWC is working with KWM Consulting Inc. on a business case plan and wants both the provincial and federal governments to develop «a strong financial framework» to help support municipalities in planning work for future affordable housing projects.
Long-term care
The EOWC wants a provincial long-term care staffing strategy that can help prevent staffing shortages that affected many long-term care residences during the pandemic and continues to affect some rural operations now. The EOWC also wants the provincial government to eliminate staffing agencies in Ontario, arguing that these agencies add to the operation costs of
many long-term care residences operated by municipal and regional governments through their social service departments.
The EOWC also wants the provincial to review and revise its long-term care funding aid setup to bring it up to date with existing municipal and rural residences and their service programs.
Paramedic service
The EOWC wants a provincial review of paramedic program aid because many municipal and rural areas «experienced increase pressures» on their ambulance services during the pandemic. The review, stated an EOWC brief, should include a permanent, stable «and predictable» funding support formula between the province and local ambulance services and also community paramedicine programs that can reduce the amount of calls to take someone to the hospital.
The EOWC also wants the provincial dispatch system for ambulance calls upgraded and provided with new priority guidelines for calls and service levels. New guidelines are also needed to prevent or reduce the amount of time spent by paramedics to drop off a patience at a hospital and get their ambulance unit back into active service.
The EOWC is working the ApexPro Consulting Service Inc. on updating its 2019 review report on paramedic service in Eastern Ontario. The updated report will be presented to both the province and EOWC members later in the year.