Many local municipalities and councils attended the Rural Ontario Municipality Association (ROMA) conference earlier this week.
Selwyn Township Mayor, Deputy Mayor and two councillors were among those who attended.
Mayor Sherry Senis told the Herald she presented at the ROMA conference on two important topics.
One delegation was to the Minster of Health about physician recruitment.
In her delegation Senis gave recommendations to the province for this important issue.
She stated that the recommendations included:
1. Shorten the licensing process through the College of Physicians and Surgeons
2. Retain international medical physicians once their fellowship is completed
3. Compensate physicians who are willing to supervise IMGs (International Medical Graduates). The Royal Canadian Physicians and Surgeons need to streamline to make it easier for IMGs to practice here. There needs to be a shorter assessment for training down to two to three months, while recognizing it is an important process to ensure pertinent clinical skills are achieved from graduates.
4. Why is there a need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment when clearly we don’t have enough Canadians to fill positions. Senis had reached out to the Federal Govt. Their reply was for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour to request a change.
5. And probably most important is to increase residency spots for international medical graduates, as well as medical school spots. Other provinces such as Nova Scotia and Alberta are doing this. Let’s just talk about Canadians who are training internationally.
The second delegation Senis gave at ROMA was to Hydro One. During this delegation Senis explained Selwyn’s unique situation and relationship to Hydro One and said, “The township is requesting a commitment from Hydro One that future infrastructure development will be data driven and based on collaboration to ensure that the energy grid can withstand increased demands and pressures while providing reliable and responsive service to existing residents and businesses.”
Though the conference was not open to the public, Senis said that last year all of her delegations were well received with actions being taken. She has high hopes for the same this year.
ROMA represents rural communities through its policy and advocacy and recently includes resources such as:
• Opportunities for Rural Ontario in a Post-Covid World - An Action Plan
• Attainable Housing Task Force Report
• Supports for elected officials on broad band decision making and implementation
• Policy and advocacy on a range of issues impacting rural communities
• Support for federal fairness to Ontario For more information on what local municipalities did at the ROMA conference, contact your local municipal leaders or township offices.
