North Frontenac Council

Jonas Bonnetta | Apr 08, 2015

CFDC presents ideas and options to North Frontenac Council

Anne Prichard from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) made a presentation to North Frontenac Council at their meeting on Tuesday, April 7 explaining how the non-profit organization operates and how the services they provide can benefit the residents of North Frontenac.

She also pointed out that both Mayor Ron Higgins and Councilor John Inglis have served on the FCFDC board in the past.

The FCFDC offers many different tools to help the local business owner, from grants and low-interest loans, to workshops and mentoring. Prichard outlined a few of the key focus points of the FCFDC: encouraging local business growth, attracting small scale food and beverage businesses, and expanding the supply of tourism accommodations. She also explained that the organization aims to “stimulate the community and economic development throughout the Frontenacs” and has recently helped attract Back Forty, an artisanal cheese maker, to the area.

Back Forty is currently setting up their operation and will soon be making their award-winning cheeses in North Frontenac.

Mariclaro, a design company that makes high-end bags and fashion accessories out of recycled material in Snow Road, has also benefited from support from the FCFDC.

As of a few months ago, approximately 25% of FCFDC loans went to the tourism and accommodation industry, 23% to the retail industry, 14% to the service industry, and 14% to the food production industry. The food production sector is expected to grow and represent a larger portion in future.

Prichard encouraged the council members to point local business owners, or people looking to start their own businesses in North Frontenac, towards the FCFDC. For more information visit frontenaccfdc.com.

In Case Of Emergency

Lisa Harvey, a field officer from the Office of the Fire Marshall and Emergency Management (OFMEM), spoke about the province's emergency management plan and North Frontenac's emergency protocol. She explained the intricacies of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), which states that every municipality and every ministry in Ontario must develop an emergency management program.

She assured the Council that North Frontenac has a “really good emergency management program...and a very good Community Emergency Management Coordinator (Fire Chief Steve Riddell).”

The EMCPA requires that the municipalities have a series of tools in place to assist them in a time of need. These include, among others: forming an emergency program committee; doing a hazard identification and risk assessment (HIRA); creating a report on critical infrastructure; designating an emergency operations centre (EOC); annual training; and public awareness. Certain aspects of the program, like the HIRA and the critical infrastructure report, influence how North Frontenac's emergency services would respond in the case of an actual emergency.

Harvey explained that when there is an emergency and 911 is called, some combination of first responders, be it fire, police, and/or ambulance, are dispatched.

In the case of severe emergencies, the EOC is alerted, and subsequently brings the mayor and other emergency and administrative personnel into the process. At this point, only the mayor can decide whether to declare a state of emergency to the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (POEC), a command centre that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, out of Toronto.

Harvey explained how the EMCPA can help facilitate and expedite decision-making by council and how the EMCPA allows the head of council (Mayor Higgins) to make executive decisions.

Language in the EMCPA defends council decisions, made during an emergency, as being the best they could make based on “the information that the group had at the time” she said.

The EMCPA also gives the municipality the power to circumvent their normal by-laws, as long as they're not in violation of the law. Harvey explained how this might expedite an emergency response. For instance, in a situation where “you don't have time to get three quotes to purchase a piece of equipment that might save a life”.

Mayor Higgins asked Harvey in what situation he should declare an emergency.

“If you're ever asking yourself, 'should we declare?', do it,” Harvey said.