City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor Andy Letham said he had a “great conversation” with Premier Doug Ford on a number of issues on Monday.

Letham was invited to a one-on-one meeting with Ford at Queen’s Park, one of seven meetings Ford held with mayors from across the province. Letham said the issues discussed included providing efficient and effective services.

Letham said Ford recognized Kawartha Lakes’ early adoption of a restructured and streamlined council size which was reduced to eight from 16. The mayor said they also discussed long-term financial planning and the ability to tackle sizeable infrastructure deficits and the municipality’s recent core service reviews.

“We had a great conversation about many things that are pressing for us today,” Letham said. “The premier is supportive of the direction we’re moving in Kawartha Lakes. I shared with him some of the specific needs we have as a rural municipality and was pleased with his commitment to assist.”

Among the specific issues Letham said he discussed were:

• Widening of Highways 7 and 35 south of Lindsay
• Continued funding of the Small Business Entrepreneurship Centre
• New long-term care beds and repurposing the Victoria Manor long-term care facility
• Recruiting and retaining doctors in rural communities
• Investments in the Eastern Ontario Regional Network broadband and cellular systems and natural gas expansion

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“Premier Ford was quick to respond to requests for how the province can help us,” Letham said. “We are both working to accelerate growth, development and job creation. We discussed how we can work together to shorten timelines to make a difference sooner for our community.”

“When it comes to Ontarians’ day-to-day lives, municipalities make the most direct impact,” Ford said. “I had some great conversations with Ontario mayors about how to tackle the issues that people face every day. We’re committed to working for the people and respecting the taxpayer.”

Letham and Ford suggested a future followup meeting to “ensure the actions discussed move forward in a mutually acceptable timeline.”

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