Fort Frances council members head to Toronto

Fort Frances will have a presence at this year’s Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference.

It begins Sunday in Toronto.

The conference brings together municipal leaders from small, northern and rural communities to discuss issues of mutual concern.

Mayor Andarew Hallikas, Councillor Bill Morrison and Chief Administrative Officer Marcel Michael will represent the town.

Hallikas says the conference is a great opportunity to meet others from similar-sized communities.

“I’ll be meeting with people from across the province on various other things that concern Fort Frances,” says Hallikas.

“And then of course, the actual content of the presentations is just amazing.”

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Emergency preparedness, housing, arts and culture and road safety are some of the topics being touched upon at the conference.

Delegates will also hear from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization on its plans to store immediate and high-level nuclear waste.

Several firms and companies will be on hand to showcase what they have to offer municipalities.

Hallikas says it is a great opportunity to connect the community to them.

“When you go and visit with them, often you’ll exchange email addresses, and I’ll get emails throughout the year from some of the vendors,” says Hallikas.

“They tell us about new products and if there are deals or sales, but it’s just nice to have a really good working relationship with the people that we buy products from.”

The municipal leaders will also hear from Premier Doug Ford and several members of his cabinet.

More than 1,900 participants from more than 300 municipalities and organizations are scheduled to attend.

The three-day conference starts Sunday.