The heads of Penetanguishene were on a mission this week for the benefit of their residents.
The annual Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) conference took place in Toronto on Tuesday, and the opportunity to have a 10-minute delegation with Solicitor General Michael Kerzner wasn’t wasted.
Penetanguishene Mayor Doug Rawson, Deputy Mayor Dan La Rose, and CAO Jeff Lees drove down to specifically meet with the SolGen regarding the ongoing matter of Central North Correctional Centre (CNCC) policing costs increase.
The CNCC is a provincial institution which had its funding for policing ceased in 2019 by the former Minister of the Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, as part of a province-wide roll-out for a new pricing program. In the 2023 budget, town staff creatively used the tax stabilization reserve to ease the blow to taxpayers across several years instead of being hit at once.
Since 2019, the town had tried repeatedly to plead its case for relief through assistance with Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop, various delegations and even a letter-writing campaign led by former Penetanguishene Mayor Doug Leroux.
With new faces came new opportunities.
“I said out of the gate that one of the priorities, and it’s a community priority, is this funding gap,” Rawson told MidlandToday. “I said I would do anything in my power and position to advocate for the community.”
OGRA is a three-day summit dedicated to improving municipal roads and infrastructure in Ontario; delegations are limited to 10 minutes, allowing levels of government to interact with each other.
“We literally went down to meet Minister Kerzner,” said Rawson. “We went down, met with him, and came back.”
Allotted 10 minutes, the Penetanguishene trio laid out precisely what was going on to Kerzner, who was put into the role of Solicitor General last June. Rawson noted that the 10-minute delegation extended longer at Kerzner’s insistence.
“At one point, staff interrupted,” said Rawson. “Even when his staff interjected that it was time to move on, he told his staff that this was a priority and an important issue, and he spent more time with us. It was good. We went in knowing fully how much time we had, we capitalized on every minute and I think it was very positive.
“(Kerzner asked), ‘Who else are you meeting? What other delegations, what other education are you doing?’ And we said: ‘We’re here for you.’
“I think that impressed upon him that we took the time to go down for that 10-minute, 15- or 20-minute meeting with him,” added Rawson.
Another question asked by Kerzner involved the timeline of issue and the original agreement when the CNCC was constructed.
Rawson praised La Rose’s presence, as the deputy mayor had been on council when the CNCC began and was able to “speak to the spirit” of the original discussions and their content.
Rawson felt that the Penetanguishene’s concerns in the meeting were “genuinely heard,” and noted that Kerzner “appreciated the cost imbalance, and is committed to work with his staff and our municipality to find a resolve that is fair and equitable while decreasing the demand on our individual tax payer.”
With the delegation over and the Penetanguishene heads returned to town, Rawson spoke about the likely results of the meeting and the future for the taxpayers.
“I think the best outcome is the Town of Penetanguishene is made whole on all of our out-of-pocket costs, and that we find a formula moving forward that we’re not back in the same situation,” said Rawson. “If I put on my realism hat for a second, I don’t know that that’s going to become a reality. I think we’re going to see relief, but I don’t know what that relief looks like."
He added: “The Minister’s been very committed to working together and understanding the issue, and he’s committed to come here in June to work with us and figure it out.”
When asked how long that visit with Kerzner would be, Rawson replied: “We’re going to add as much time as we need to.”
