Health care, infrastructure funding and Owen Sound Harbour several of the topics Owen Sound Councillors want to talk to Provincial and Federal Politicians about at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference.
Mayor Ruth Lovell and five Councillors are in Ottawa for the next few days and she says one of the more important meetings will be with Ontario’s health minister David Caplin.
She says the ongoing problem of a shortage of family doctors and what can be done to lure them to rural areas will be a topic they will discuss.
In addition she wants to point out to the Minister some of the problems the Grey Bruce Health Service has in terms of recruiting and funding.
Lovell says another meeting has been set up with the Minister of Municipal Affairs Jim Watson to talk specifically about the St. Mary’s High School and the lack of provincial funding to preserve historic buildings.
Mayor Lovell also will take the opportunity to sit down with officials from the Federal Department of Transport to talk about Owen Sound taking over control of the Harbour.
She says negotiations between the City and Federal Government are moving at a snails pace and she hopes this meeting can speed up the process.
Lovell says however that before there is any change in ownership surrounding the harbour, the Federal government must pay the cost of dredging it.
She says that is something that could be done as early as next year.
