South Huron attends 2026 ROMA Conference

The annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference wraps up today. Over the past few days our South Huron delegation met with several provincial government officials to talk about our local priorities. We’re looking forward to the report back at the next Council meeting on the following discussions:

Minister of Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson

·     Advocating support for main street businesses in rural communities, requested changes to the Rural Ontario Development Program including a dedicated “Main Street Resilience” stream that aligns with municipal community improvement plans to accelerate private‑sector reinvestment and to establish a fund to mitigate the impact of main street construction on businesses.

Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Michelle Cooper 

To advocate a 3–5 year Ontario Municipal Partnership Funding commitment starting from the 2026 base, with automatic indexation to provide predictability for Council decision making, especially regarding housing-related infrastructure investments that will help meet the province’s housing targets.

Consideration of a targeted Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund enhancement for critical protective services, prioritized for small and rural municipalities that would help keep emergency response capacity aligned with growth and climate-related risks without an overreliance on property taxes.

Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, Bill Rosenberg

Regarding the provincial Tile Loan Program, requested the Province consider an increase of the per-applicant cap from $50,000 to $100,000 to align with current project costs and enable timely drainage upgrades that support productivity, environmental outcomes, and climate resilience. 

Requested provincial support to improve on-farm mortality (deadstock) collection services, as producers face higher fees tied to service gaps and costs and inconsistent access to pick up —especially in rural/Northern areas. 

Continued collaboration to streamline approvals, modernize standards, and support safe, adequate on-farm accommodations, as housing for international and seasonal farm workers is essential to farm operations.

Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health, Anthony Leardi

Advocating Ministry approval for a self-funded Computed Tomography (CT) scanner for the South Huron Hospital.

Funding for Huron Health System to formally commence the master planning process that will align hospital, primary care, community support, and long-term care services across the region.

Ministry support for the Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre (GBACHC) to access federal health-care facility construction funds.