KAGAWONG—A date has now been set for a Manitoulin Island-wide meeting being hosted by Billings Township to discuss high-level opportunities for a joint waste management solution, best practices and areas for improvement. The meeting will be open to the public with invitations being sent to all municipalities and unorganized townships and First Nations on the Island, MP Carol Hughes, MPP Michael Mantha, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Manitoulin Municipal Association and GFL Environmental.
“I’m excited about this; it provides a great opportunity to bring people from all over the Island to the table looking at solutions for our waste on the Island,” stated Billings Councillor Vince Grogan, who had originally put forward the idea for the meeting. “There are a lot of very smart people on the Island who have great ideas on how we can work together on waste management solutions.”
“I think it is a really good idea,” stated Councillor Jim Cahill.
Councillor Dave Hillyard said, “I appreciate Vince bringing this issue forward. I also appreciate that we (Billings) took the initiative on this and it will provide an opportunity to look at ways and initiatives to solve the waste management issue on the Island. Anything that can be done to reduce our footprint is good.”
Mayor Bryan Barker explained that at a meeting March 21, council passed a resolution indicating that “the township is committed to protecting our environment, and a priority in the township’s strategic plan is to continue to improve municipal waste site efficiency, including waste diversion and recycling.”
“On April 11, Mayor Barker, Councillor Grogan, CAO Emily Dance, Deputy Clerk Tiana Mills and Financial Administrative Assistant Tina Beckerton met to discuss the path forward for the initial Island-wide waste management meeting,” continued Mayor Barker. “It was decided to schedule the Island-wide meeting for Thursday, June 15 from 7 to 9 pm at the Park Centre in Kagawong.”
Mayor Barker said notice of the meeting will be advertised in The Manitoulin Expositor, on the township’s social media platforms, with a request put forward to other municipalities and First Nation communities to share this event on their platforms.
