The organization representing 15 counties in western Ontario recently celebrated some achievements, according to its executive director.
Kate Burns Gallagher addressed Lambton County council on Wednesday about the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, a not-for-profit group that represents rural and small urban communities with 1.6 million residents from Simcoe to Essex counties.
Lambton is part of this group, and Warden Kevin Marriot has held the role of vice-chairperson in recent years.
“We’re 90 per cent rural and that’s really the glue that binds the region together,” Burns Gallagher said.
“Our strength is in our collective voice working together as the 15 counties,” she stated.
The caucus advocates for these counties with both provincial and federal governments while providing research and information on regional issues along with proposing solutions, Burns Gallagher explained.
One of their “laser-focused issues” has been ensuring upper government infrastructure funding benefits its members, she noted.
This year included a decision to allocate $1 billion under the Canada Ontario Partnership to Build program for communities without development charges, Burns Gallagher mentioned.
The caucus worked alongside an eastern Ontario wardens’ group to advocate for this funding, she added.
“That was a big win for us this year,” Burns Gallagher remarked.
Regarding homelessness prevention, she shared that the caucus is focused on ensuring funding “aligns with rural service delivery realities” and has been pushing for dedicated funds specifically for rural areas.
They are also concentrating on improving rural transit aiming for “equitably transit across southwestern Ontario,” Burns Gallagher stated.
She pointed out that Ontario invests significantly more per person in transit services for Greater Toronto Area residents compared to those living in rural regions of western Ontario.
Other accomplishments during the current four-year municipal election term include persuading the province early on to retract a proposed farm lot severance policy that could have resulted in losing one million acres of farmland in western Ontario, Burns Gallagher highlighted.
Another achievement was securing pilot project funding for community response initiatives in Lambton and Simcoe counties, she said.
In Lambton, the Community Health Integrated Care (CHIC) team-a pilot initiative pairing two paramedics with two substance use navigators at Bluewater Health-has received $844,000 annually from the Health Ministry since June 2024 to assist individuals experiencing homelessness.
Burns Gallagher expressed that they are working towards making this pilot provincial funding permanent.
“I feel it’s very effective,” Marriott shared regarding the wardens’ caucus.
Alongside the “wins” highlighted by their executive director, he noted that “our relationship with (cabinet) ministers has elevated so much in the last three years” due to their efforts.
“The first step in obtaining funding is to be on the right side of ministers,” Marriott explained further. “Our relationship has never been as good as it is now.”
Paul Morden has been a reporter at The Observer since 1984. He writes about Lambton County council, local industry and general news
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