Timmins’ Good Roads delegation, led by Mayor Michelle Boileau, has returned from the annual conference in Toronto after speaking directly with provincial ministers and parliamentary staff on roads, infrastructure, and recreation.
This year’s conference was an opportunity to connect with the Honourable Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation, and bring him up to speed on the Hwy. 67 / Municipal Rd. file. Joined by Iroquois Falls’ Mayor, Tory Delaurier, both municipalities continued to push the province to upload the highway and assume responsibility, or pay for reconstruction of the transportation corridor between Timmins and Iroquois Falls.
Mayor Boileau and the City’s Chief Administrative Officer, Dave Landers, also met with Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Honourable Sam Oosterhoff, to discuss details of the province’s recent Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund announcement. Ontario is investing up to $200 million over three years to support new or revitalized recreation facilities across the province.
The City is currently conducting a feasibility study on a multi-use recreation centre, which could see construction of a full-scale facility with two ice surfaces, a municipal Class A indoor aquatic centre, and event space. The feasibility study will allow Council and staff to determine potential funding sources.
The Good Roads conference also serves as professional development for representatives from Public Works and Infrastructure and Growth. Attendees have the opportunity to learn best practices from municipalities around the world, with a focus on innovation and adaptable solutions that lead to good roads across the city.