City Hall

Wardens Set Priorities

The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) have set Caucus priorities for the year ahead.

City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor Elmslie attended and commented, “The EOWC priorities align with Kawartha Lakes’ Strategic Plan, particularly in terms of creating an exceptional quality of life for residents. By encouraging affordable, purpose-built rental housing, we are addressing an urgent need facing more than 2,200 households across Kawartha Lakes. Properly funding, staffing and resourcing municipal long-term care homes will support seniors when they need to make the transition. Finally, investing in community paramedicine services and reducing offload delays at hospitals will allow paramedics to spend more hours serving patients. These are tall orders, but we are committed to working together with other levels of government to move forward as quickly as possible.”

The EOWC identified the following priorities for 2023:

• Affordable and Attainable Housing through the EOWC’s ‘7 in 7’ Regional Housing Plan

• Long-Term Care

• Paramedic Services

The EOWC will continue to address municipal sector issues that arise throughout the year ahead on an as needed basis.

“Now more than ever, municipal governments play a vital role as organizations that unify and strengthen Ontario and Canada. The EOWC is in a position to lead, inform and respond during the coming year and beyond. The Caucus has set clear goals and we intend to strongly advocate on behalf of our region’s communities and residents” stated EOWC Chair Peter Emon.

Affordable and Attainable Housing

Housing affordability and attainability remains a key focus of the Caucus. Across the EOWC’s region, there are approximately 12,000 to 14,000 units on municipal community rental housing wait lists. People are waiting an average of almost five years and up to 10 years in some cases to access these community rental housing units. As part of the Ontario Government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031, the EOWC is looking to do our part in increasing housing supply through our bold ‘7 in 7’ regional housing plan.

The EOWC’s ‘7 in 7’ regional housing plan proposes building at least 7,000 community rental