Cabinet, New North To Discuss Northern Issues

Cabinet, New North To Discuss Northern Issues

Monday, January 18, 2010 at 12:42

Northern mayors will get a chance to voice their concerns to cabinet this week in Prince Albert.

Provincial cabinet ministers — representing Highways, Municipal Affairs, Social Services and First Nations and Metis Relations — will attend a roundtable meeting tomorrow at the Travelodge.

Topics up for discussion include the Northern Transportation Strategy, tourism and municipal grants.

New North chairman Bobby Woods says many leaders want to know how they’re supposed to pay for things like landfill management, when it’s not covered through existing dollars.

“We don’t have access to certain things, like shredders and things for shredding our (used) tires, or maybe recycling them…. And we also can’t afford to have landfill managers there on a full-time basis, and locking and unlocking the gates. There’s just a lot of questions and concerns around those kinds of policies that cost x amount of dollars that we don’t have in our operating grants,” Woods says.

Woods adds he’s happy that the ministers are ready to meet with them in person on this and other issues.