Photo Credit: wikimedia.org

ONTARIO 💵 Ontario to Establish New Regional Office in Ottawa

Friday, 03 May 2024 10:11.AM

- Provincial office to support better services for the people of Ottawa and region -

Building upon Ontario’s historic new deal with the City of Ottawa, the provincial government is opening a new regional office to support better services for the people of Ottawa and the surrounding region. The new office, which opens today, will support greater engagement with both municipal and federal governments and play an important role in implementing the new deal, advancing shared priorities and ensuring that Ottawa’s unique needs as Ontario’s second-largest city and Canada’s capital are addressed and supported.

“Today’s announcement is further evidence that our government takes Ottawa’s position as our second-largest city and a service and economic hub for eastern Ontario seriously,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This new office will be critical in delivering on the new deal while identifying opportunities to grow Ottawa and eastern Ontario’s economy and supporting the hardworking people of this region. It will also be an important link between the province and the federal government.”

The office will help ensure a successful implementation of the province’s new deal with Ottawa. As part of the new deal, announced earlier this year, the province is providing Ottawa with up to $543 million in operating and capital funding, including $181 million for critical transportation projects. The deal includes a phased plan to guide the upload of Ottawa Road 174 to the province, provincial support for the repair and upgrade of the city’s major connecting routes and rural roads, a new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road and improved public safety with a new police neighbourhood operations centre in the ByWard Market Area.

“More great news for Ottawa,” said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. “Recently, the Province recognized some of our unique needs and provided some much-needed funding to help Ottawa tackle these challenges. Having a regional Provincial office in Ottawa will ensure that our local needs are supported and our concerns are effectively communicated to Queen’s Park. I am very pleased with the Premier’s decision to open an Ottawa office. I look forward to continuing to work together to build better, safer, more affordable communities and get things done.”

This office will provide Ottawa’s municipal government with a central link to the premier, cabinet and government. It will help ensure that the needs of Ottawa residents, including workers, families, business owners and more, are understood and met at the provincial level. It will also provide the province with additional resources to ensure Ontario’s needs are properly understood and addressed by the federal government.

Ontario’s new office in Ottawa will be led by Sean Webster. Mr. Webster draws on a track record of advocacy and leadership in the Canadian pharmaceutical and energy sectors, most recently holding senior positions at Canopy Growth Corporation and Shoppers Drug Mart. As a volunteer, Mr. Webster also served on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Convention Centre, Exhibition Place and the Board of Providence Healthcare.

Quick Facts

• Ottawa is Canada’s national capital, Ontario’s second largest local municipality and the largest city in eastern Ontario, with a growing population of more than one million residents. Ottawa is geographically four times larger than Toronto, encompassing interconnected urban, suburban and rural areas. The city is an important interprovincial gateway to Quebec and Eastern Canada and is uniquely reliant on the public administration sector.
• The 2024 Budget: Building a Better Ontario includes funding for highways and community infrastructure in Ottawa, including moving forward with The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus redevelopment project, maintaining supportive housing for Salus Ottawa, building a new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road and replacing bridges on Highway 417.
• Through an extensive range of municipal funding supports, including the newly announced $1.8 billion for housing-enabling infrastructure, the Building Faster Fund and the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, the province is supporting all of Ontario’s 444 municipalities to deliver valuable services for growing communities.

SOURCE: Office of the Premier of Ontario

* * *
  More related materials  
 
  More News