Northern Ontario Municipal Association names new president

The new president of the Northern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) says he's excited to lead the organization for the next two years.

Rick Dumas, mayor of Marathon, was officially named new NOMA president at the organization's annual conference in Thunder Bay on Wednesday.

He takes over from Shuniah Mayor Wendy Landry, who stepped down as NOMA president after eight years in the role.

"My vision right now is just take the organization to the next level," Dumas said. "We have a growth plan and strategic plan. We want to continue working on that and making sure that the Government of Ontario and the federal government understand what NOMA is all about."

Dumas said one of his first official duties will be representing NOMA at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference this summer.

"I'll bring the issues forward and make sure we identify all the issues in northern Ontario, and see how we can make progress with the government," he said. He outlined several priority issues faced by northern communities including homelessness, mental health, addictions, highway safety, mining and energy.

Landry, meanwhile, will stay on as past-president.

"A little sad on my part," Landry said. "I feel so passionate about northwestern Ontario that I am happy that I get to still be on the board, to still contribute."

Speaking to media before the official end of her term, Landry said her goal when she first ran for NOMA president was to raise the profile of the organization.

"I think we've done that as a board and as an executive," she said. "We've still got some work to do. We're still far away from Queen's Park, so we need to still keep our voices loud."

Ten provincial ministers are set to appear at this year's NOMA conference, as were provincial NDP Leader Marit Stiles, provincial Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, and provincial Green Leader Mike Schreiner.

"I think it's a validation that we are important, and people find it important to be here with us," Landry said.

This year's NOMA conference began on Wednesday, and will run through to Friday.

The agenda includes a number of addresses covering topics like northwestern Ontario's power needs, strong mayor powers, next steps for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and rural and remote physician services coordination.

Another topic for discussion is the decline of international students coming to the region, and the impact that will have, Landry said.

"I think Marathon has like 80 or 90-odd job openings right now," she said. "Red Lake, I think there's over 140 job openings. Atikokan's CAO just shared with me ... all the postings that they have, everything from municipal roles to roles in their communities that are not being filled."

"In southern Ontario, they have an abundance of immigrants and abundance of new Canadians," Landry said. "In northwestern Ontario, we don't have that, and the students really filled some of those gaps."