Thunder Bay is going to host over 200 delegates this week for a regional lobby group’s annual conference.
Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Executive Director Kristen Oliver says the talks will include ways to make communities more attractive to newcomers.
“You likely know we’re desperately in need of people to choose Northwestern Ontario to make their home. We have a looming labour shortage, and so we’re trying to collectively identify how we can resolve that.”
It will also include a look at energy projects in the region, including the Energy East pipeline and a construction update for the East-West Tie power line.
Delegates will also hear from officials with Ontario Northland, which provides transportation in the Northeast.
“We’ve been lobbying and advocating for quite some time now on an inter-community transportation system for the northwest. We know that this is a pretty big problem that we’re having where people can’t get between community to community, especially if they’re coming into a larger centre like Thunder Bay.”
The NOMA conference is happening at the Victoria Inn from Wednesday to Friday, and will include a talk by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
Four provincial ministers will also make an appearance. Oliver says they are expecting Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing Steve Clark, Minister of Energy and Northern Development and Mines and of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Sylvia Jones, and Minister of Infrastructure Monte McNaughton.
Oliver adds the Thunder Bay District Jail isn’t on the agenda because it is a local rather than regional issue, but she expects the topic to come up in discussion with Minister Jones.
