A board meeting set the stage for a focused and coordinated advocacy effort at Rural Ontario Municipal Association’s Rural Leaders conference

NEWS RELEASE FEDERATION OF NORTHERN ONTARIO MUNICIPALITIES ************************* TORONTO — The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is in Toronto this week for the ROMA Conference, following a full-day Board of Directors meeting held on Sunday, Jan. 18, in Toronto.

The FONOM Board meeting set the stage for a focused and coordinated advocacy effort at ROMA, with resolutions and policy positions advancing on infrastructure, public safety, economic development, housing affordability, and health and social services.

“Our Board meeting ensured Northern Ontario arrives at ROMA with a clear, united voice,” said Dave Plourde, President of FONOM. “Municipal leaders across the North are dealing with real pressures—on roads, policing, housing, and healthcare—and we are here to make sure provincial decision-makers understand both the urgency and the opportunity.”

Key Priorities Brought Forward at ROMA

Trans-Canada Highway 11 & 17 — A Nation-Building Imperative

FONOM is calling on the Province to formally support the modernization of Highways 11 and 17 across Northern Ontario, including four-laning, twinning, and 2+1 safety designs. These corridors move more than $200 million in goods every day, yet remain largely two-lane highways with some of the highest collision and fatality rates in Canada. “These highways are not just Northern Ontario roads—they are national trade corridors,” said Plourde. “Ontario cannot remain the weak link in Canada’s east–west transportation system. We are urging the Province to partner with the federal government and recognize this as a true nation-building project.”

Mental Health & Addiction — A Compassionate Intervention Framework

FONOM continues to press for targeted amendments to Ontario’s Mental Health Act to better address severe addiction, particularly where individuals pose a risk to themselves or public safety and repeatedly cycle through emergency rooms, police services, and crisis systems. “What we’re asking for is compassionate, health-led intervention, not punishment,” said Plourde. “Frontline workers and municipalities are telling us the current system is failing people with severe addictions. Doing nothing is no longer an option.”

Policing Costs — Fairness for Northern Communities

With policing costs rising faster than municipal revenues, FONOM is urging the Province to implement a $100 million Northern Ontario Policing Grant, phased in over three years, to address inequities facing small, rural, and remote communities. “Public safety is non-negotiable, but the current funding model is unsustainable for many Northern municipalities,” Plourde said. “We need a predictable, equitable solution that recognizes the realities of geography, population, and cost.”

Making NORDS Permanent & Strengthening Municipal Infrastructure

FONOM is advocating for making the Northern Ontario Resource Development Support (NORDS) program permanent, expanding eligibility, and preserving municipalities’ ability to stack multi-year allocations to deliver major infrastructure projects.

Additional Resolutions and Advocacy Items

The Board also advanced resolutions and correspondence on:

• Site readiness funding
• Conservation authorities
• OCIF funding levels
• Support for the steel, lumber, and forestry sectors
• Housing affordability, including removing HST/GST from new homes
• Blue Box reforms to extend producer responsibility to the ICI sector
• Swim to Survive training and community safety initiatives

Meetings with Ministers and Delegations

During ROMA, FONOM is participating in a Northern Economics Roundtable, meeting with Minister Bethlenfalvy, and engaging in a multi-minister delegation to present its policy briefs and resolutions. “ROMA is about solutions,” said Plourde. “Northern Ontario is ready to partner with the Province and the federal government to build safer highways, healthier communities, and a stronger provincial and national economy.”

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