Ontario Construction News staff writer
St. Catharines officials will use this week’s Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference to press the province for additional support following widespread flooding and to seek long-term investments in climate-resilient infrastructure.
Mayor Mat Siscoe, members of council and city staff will attend the annual conference in Ottawa, which runs Aug. 16-19. The event brings municipal leaders together with provincial ministers and officials to discuss local priorities.
The conference comes as St. Catharines continues to recover from three significant rainfall events in less than two weeks that caused flooding and damage across the city.
City officials say the province has been an active partner in the response and recovery. Premier Doug Ford and provincial representatives have visited St. Catharines and remained in contact with city officials. Provincial support has included Ontario Corps assistance through Team Rubicon and the provision of dehumidifiers for affected residents.
“Our community is facing significant costs and a long road to recovery,” Siscoe said in a statement. “AMO is an important opportunity to continue those conversations and advocate for the financial support our residents need, while also working with the province on the infrastructure investments and programs that will help protect our community from future extreme weather.”
At the conference, city officials plan to discuss activating the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program for affected areas of St. Catharines.
The city will also seek provincial funding for its flood alleviation program, which would help meet demand from residents and support homeowners making improvements to reduce the risk of future flooding.
Other priorities include increased provincial support for climate-resilient stormwater, sanitary sewer and drainage infrastructure, as well as changes to disaster recovery programs to reflect the increasing frequency, severity and cost of extreme weather events.
“We have committed significant municipal resources to the response and our ongoing recovery efforts, and that work will continue,” said CAO David Oakes. “But events of this magnitude cannot be addressed by municipalities alone.”
“We need all levels of government working together to support recovery today and make the long-term infrastructure investments needed to prepare our communities for increasingly extreme weather,” Oakes said.
The city will also proceed with several previously scheduled meetings with provincial representatives on issues unrelated to the flooding.
A delegation with the Ministry of Finance will address municipal vacancy-related property tax adjustment policies following the phaseout of the vacancy rebate, as well as departure tax reform related to Alectra’s sustainable finance advocacy.
With the Ministry of Infrastructure, the city plans to discuss greater flexibility in provincial infrastructure funding programs to better reflect municipal needs.
Meetings with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will focus on greater certainty around the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process and support for brownfield cleanup and remediation to help unlock sites for housing.
Economic development discussions will include advancing the Great Lakes economic agenda through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and cross-border collaboration involving Ontario’s Auto Mayors.
The city also plans to meet with the Ministry of Health to discuss more co-ordinated provincial supports for homelessness and addictions, including residential addiction services and pressures increasingly affecting municipal operations.
Siscoe and city officials will also participate in meetings involving Ontario’s Big City Mayors, Niagara Transit discussions with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and a joint meeting with the Town of Lincoln and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“AMO gives municipalities direct access to provincial decision-makers, and we intend to make the most of that opportunity,” Siscoe said.
“We have important long-term priorities to advance, but there is no question that supporting our community’s recovery from these floods will be at the forefront of our conversations in Ottawa.”
