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Fort Frances Civic Centre June 2024 (2)

Voting in Fort Frances municipal election starts Saturday

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Voting in the Fort Frances municipal election starts Saturday.

Eligible voters should have received a special PIN by mail to cast ballots online or by phone.

Voting opens at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Town Clerk Chelsea Greig says voters will have 10 days to vote.

“It will run until October 26th at 8 p.m.,” says Greig.

“We’re going to have voters vote online or by telephone during that time, 24/7, but we’ll also have in-person assistance throughout those 10 days..

Greig is planning some outreach at local seniors’ homes and apartment complexes, the library and the United Native Friendship Centre, for those without access to the Internet or a device, or who need assistance to vote.

There will also be an area set up in the council chambers at the Fort Frances Civic Centre during voting hours on October 26th, the official date of the municipal election.

Residents who failed to register to vote can do so right up to election day.

“We’ll have forms for people so that they can demonstrate that they are an eligible voter. If they’re not on the list, we can still make sure that they can vote,” says Greig.

There are 6,751 eligible voters already registered.

Anyone who did not receive their special PIN to vote is encouraged to contact the clerk’s office before election day.

ATV!

Yarmouth surveying residents about expanding road trails in town

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The Town of Yarmouth wants to hear from you about the future of road usage in town.

They’re considering expanding road access to off highway vehicles (OHVs) like four-wheelers and dirt bikes.

In 2023 the town designated Water Street as a road trail, and now they’re surveying the public on whether or not to do the same with more streets.

Mayor Pam Mood said they haven’t had any issues with the current road trail, but that she doesn’t want to make any assumptions about how the public feels about expanding road trails in town.

“We know residents will have different perspectives on expanding OHV access in our community, and those perspectives matter,” said Mood. “This survey is about listening to our residents, keeping an open mind, and making sure any decisions we consider reflect the community we serve.” 

In a press release from the town, they say the survey will help them better understand community experiences, concerns and perspectives as it considers what future trails could look like.

The survey is available here, and will remain open until October 30.

shelburneoffice

Shelburne, Lockeport amalgamation meeting postponed

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A regular meeting to discuss the amalgamation of three Nova Scotia communities has been postponed.

The Town of Shelburne, the Municipality of Shelburne, and the Town of Lockeport have all been meeting regularly to discuss what amalgamation would look like.

The steering committee includes important leaders, councillors and politicians from the three jurisdictions. They’ve been meeting regularly since 2025.

September’s meeting was planned for the 2nd, but in a post on Facebook the Municipality of Shelburne announced it would need to be postponed. 

According to the post, Shelburne MLA Nolan Young has existing commitments, and because he is an important member of the steering committee they will look to reschedule for a time where everyone can be present. 

No date has been finalized, but the municipality says it will announce the new schedule as soon as they know. 

New house framing construction

Yarmouth joins federal housing catalogue

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The federal government is making it easier for developers to build houses in Yarmouth.

Mayor Pam Mood was joined by MP for Acadie-Annapolis Chris d’Entremont at Yarmouth Town Hall to announce Yarmouth as the newest local partner in the Housing Design Catalogue.

The catalogue is a federal initiative that provides more than 50 pre-approved housing plans designed to help save developers time and money.

In an interview with Acadia News, d’Entremont said that every province and municipality has different requirements.

“The size of a bathroom, the size of a hallway, it just goes on and on all these challenges.” said d’Entremont. “When you do your development package and you submit it to a municipal organization there’s a lot of back, and forth and it ends up costing money in architectural and design and engineering.”

D’Entremont said the catalogue is designed to be quick and easy for developers to use, and is available for use right away.

“Today, as partners, we’re building a stronger Canada,” said d’Entremont. “Looking around me, I know that while each of us has different solutions to share, we share the same goal: to increase residential construction and ensure that everyone in Canada has a place to live.”

Of the 16 partners announced, Shelburne and Yarmouth are the only Nova Scotia communities to endorse the catalogue.

In a joint press release, the municipality said it has pre-reviewed several designs and has a permit process in place to prioritize catalogue applications, with a target approval rate of just two weeks.

“On behalf of council, we are pleased to partner with the federal government and actively promote this housing design catalog to prospective builders and developers,” said Mood. “Our town has benefited from Housing Accelerator funding, as it allowed us to develop several key initiatives to remove barriers to housing development. This catalogue of free designs offers another way for us to ‘set the table’ and allow more homes to be built, more quickly.”

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Student vote program sees 50K ballots cast across N.B.

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The results are in! Students across New Brunswick got a real feel for politics through a hands-on experiential learning program that brings the voting process into the classroom.

On May 11, students from elementary, middle, and high school cast more than 50,000 mock ballots for official candidates in a parallel election.

In the end, 112 schools across 51 municipalities submitted their Student Vote results. Ballots were cast for mayors, councillors, advisory committee members, and district council members.

Fredericton led the way, with 3,370 students participating across 13 schools in the city.

All municipality results are available online, broken down into by each individual school.

ROMA meeting 2025 maybe

Fort Frances council members head to Toronto

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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.”

Raising Corporate Sponsorship Revenues in Rural Municipalities, sponsored by The Partnership Group, Sponsorship Specialists

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.