The Paris Independent
6
November 4, 2023
COMMUNITY NEWS “When we are working on issues and projects, why aren’t we leveraging those relationships with all our elected officials? The more voices we have in our corner, could certainly help further our efforts,” she explained. The official mandate of the committee would be to develop, coordinate, implement and monitor government relations, strategies, based on Council endorsed advocacy positions, with Members of the Provincial legislature, the Provincial Government, members of the parliament of Canada, the Government of Canda, and related to government agencies. The committee would organize meetings with elected officials and their staff, as well as community associations – for example the Association of Municipalities of Ontario – for the purpose of engaging strategies with these organizations. In her
resolution, Kyle suggested the Committee should be composed of the Mayor of the County of Brant, four councillors and the Chief Administrative Officer for Brant. While the committee was discussed by council on October 24th, Councillor Robert Chambers suggested a slight amendment to the resolution to change the structure of the committee from six members to four members – consisting of the mayor, Councillor Kyle, the CAO and an appointed councillor named by Councillor Kyle and Mayor Bailey. “One concern is that it’s been my experience that when you meet with ministers and organizations and members of parliament if you have to many people there it’s not as effective,” said Chambers, noting he fully supports the idea of the committee. Shrinking it from
six to four members makes the committee more streamlined and focussed, he added. Chambers’ amendment motion was supported in a 6-5 vote. The amended resolution to form the committee was unanimously supported by council. Meanwhile, Councillor Kyle hopes there is some positively that comes from the boundary changes. “The two new ridings will bring us back together, particularly the little pieces of the county that had been annexed off to Cambridge and Oxford, often left feeling forgotten about,” said Kyle. “This committee is the first step in strengthening and, in some cases, establishing these strong relationships.”
Three Paris Horticultural Society members honoured for 20 years of dedicated service to community Three Paris Horticultural Society members were presented with pins and official certificates for their continuous service to the community. The presentation, by the Ontario Honours and Awards Secretariat of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, took place at the Best Western last month. Larry Stewart, Edith Stone and Elaine Sywyk (absent from the photo) were honoured for their 20 years of dedication. Submitted photo
