GORE BAY—Provincial representatives for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) met with the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising (UCCMM) earlier this month on concerns the latter has with the final draft Official Plan forwarded by the Manitoulin Planning Board (MPB).
Praveen Senthinathan of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing told the Recorder in an email this past Monday, “ministry staff met with the UCCMM. This provided an opportunity for conversation and knowledge sharing on how the Official Plan could be further revised to consider the interests of Manitoulin’s indigenous communities. Ministry staff are in the process of reviewing the comments and will be reaching out to the planning board and the UCCMM to discuss possible next steps.”
“The Ministry truly values the opportunity to consider the UCCMM’s comments on the Official Plan and to consider how the land use planning decision-making process on Manitoulin Island could be strengthened,” added Ms. Senthinathan, who did not provide any further details on the concerns raised by the UCCMM.
The Recorder could not get comment from the UCCMM on the concerns it has raised.
As reported previously, the MMAH has delayed its final decision on the final draft Official Plan forwarded by the Manitoulin Planning Board (MPB) due to concerns raised by the UCCMM.
The ministry did not issue its final decision on May 26 as the UCCMM had requested more time to respond to the Official Plan.
