{"id":87079,"date":"2026-10-05T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=87079"},"modified":"2026-10-05T08:00:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T12:00:49","slug":"fonom-advances-northern-priorities-and-recognizes-departing-board-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/05\/fonom-advances-northern-priorities-and-recognizes-departing-board-members\/","title":{"rendered":"FONOM Advances Northern Priorities and Recognizes Departing Board Members"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) gathered in Little Current today for the final Board meeting of its 2023\u20132026 term, bringing together municipal leaders to discuss Northern Ontario priorities and recognize two colleagues not seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

Meeting in the Municipality of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI), the Board\u2019s agenda addressed safer highways, sustainable municipal funding, policing costs, access to health care and the future of the forest sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur communities need reliable infrastructure, accessible services and the financial capacity to support growth,\u201d said FONOM President Dave Plourde. \u201cThe municipal election will bring changes around council tables, but these priorities will continue to guide FONOM\u2019s work on behalf of Northeastern Ontario.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highway safety remained a central issue, including FONOM\u2019s advocacy for the twinning of Highways 11 and 17. The agenda also included municipal requests concerning highway infrastructure and a restricted towing zone along the Highway 11 northern corridor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHighways 11 and 17 are essential to the movement of people and goods across Northern Ontario and Canada,\u201d said Plourde. \u201cWe will continue pressing for a federal-provincial partnership to complete twinning and deliver the safe, dependable transportation network that northerners deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Municipal financial pressures were another focus, with items concerning a Northern Ontario Policing Grant, policing in unorganized areas, sustainable fire service funding, infrastructure grants and assistance with official plan and zoning by-law reviews.<\/p>\n

The agenda also highlighted physician recruitment and retention, emergency shelter needs, intimate partner violence, mental health and addictions, and the importance of maintaining access to services across a geographically large region.<\/p>\n

\u201cMunicipal leaders see these challenges in their communities every day,\u201d said Vice President Maggie Horsfield of North Bay. \u201cWorking together through FONOM allows us to bring those local experiences to the provincial and federal governments and advocate for practical solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of its financial oversight responsibilities, the Board met with representatives of Baker Tilly to review FONOM\u2019s 2025\u20132026 audit.<\/p>\n

The meeting also provided an opportunity to thank Deputy Mayor Danny Whalen of Temiskaming Shores and Councillor Sandra Hollingsworth of Sault Ste. Marie, who have chosen not to seek re-election.<\/p>\n

\u201cDanny and Sandra have brought dedication, experience and a strong commitment to Northern Ontario to our Board,\u201d said Plourde. \u201cDanny\u2019s leadership, including his service as FONOM President, and Sandra\u2019s contributions have helped strengthen our collective voice. We thank them for their service to FONOM, their communities and the North.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plourde also thanked the full Board for its work throughout the term and its commitment to
\nrepresenting municipalities of every size.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur strength comes from working together,\u201d he said. \u201cThis Board has helped keep Northern concerns before decision-makers, and that work provides a strong foundation for the next term.\u201d
\nFONOM represents 110 municipalities across Northeastern Ontario, working to improve the quality of life for Northerners and ensure a strong future for the region\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) gathered in Little Current today for the final Board meeting of its 2023\u20132026 term, bringing together municipal leaders to discuss Northern Ontario priorities and recognize two colleagues not seeking re-election. Meeting in the Municipality of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI), the Board\u2019s agenda addressed safer highways, sustainable …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-northern-ontario"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-12 09:53:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87080,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87079\/revisions\/87080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}