Working together for Frontenac

Why Frontenac works with other municipalities, governments, organizations, and residents - and how working together gives rural communities a stronger voice.

Working together for Frontenac

Issues that matter to Frontenac residents do not stop at municipal boundaries. Healthcare, housing, major infrastructure, emergency services, transportation, broadband and cellular connectivity, and economic development require municipalities to work together and with other levels of government.

There is strength in working together.

Bringing our priorities to other governments

Council advocated to provincial and federal government on issues related to Paramedic services and hospital offload delay, long-term care, ferry services, housing and infrastructure, broadband and cellular connectivity, high-speed rail routing, and access to family doctors and primary health care.

Council seeks fair and sustainable provincial and federal funding for services and infrastructure upon which rural municipalities and their residents rely. That broader funding advocacy cuts across most of the individual issues Council raises with other governments.The Frontenac County Warden has a particularly active and visible role in this work, representing Council on provincial and federal stages alongside colleagues from other municipalities.

Some advocacy produces immediate results. Other issues require municipalities to build and strengthen their cases repeatedly over several years across several Council terms.

Shared association

Wardens, Deputy Wardens, and Councillors work with neighbouring municipalities, other upper-tier municipalities, and rural municipalities across Eastern Ontario and the province. It’s work in which municipalities combine their voices in advocacy, while sharing costs, expertise, infrastructure, and staff. Frontenac County Council is particularly active in . . .

  • Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC): County wardens representing 13 municipalities work together advancing priorities that affect residents of rural Eastern Ontario with a collective and unified regional voice.
  • Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO): Municipal representatives from across Ontario work collectively on policy, funding, and other issues affecting all 444 municipalities across the province.
  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM): More than 2,000 municipal governments across the country advocate on federal policies and investments affecting member communities.
  • Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN): 113 Eastern Ontario municipalities work together to improve broadband and cellular connectivity and advance regional infrastructure priorities.
  • Frontenac Municipal Services (FMS): The County and its four member townships work through a jointly owned municipal services corporation to provide policy and operational leadership and frameworks for communal water and wastewater systems.

Working with partners close to home

Much of Council’s work also depends on people and organizations within Frontenac and our neighbouring communities. County staff work with colleagues at our member townships, the City of Kingston, and neighbouring municipalities. They work with healthcare providers, hospitals, conservation authorities, community-service organizations, emergency system partners, businesses, volunteers, and many more.

The City of Kingston and County Council, for example, share costs for paramedic infrastructure and services and social housing programs and supports. Community organizations deliver transportation services with annual County funding. Healthcare partners work with Councillors and staff to improve access to primary care. Conservation authorities and municipal planners share information and expertise as they consider development and natural hazards.

Working together does not mean every organization has the same responsibility. It means people bring their different responsibilities, resources, and expertise together to balance each other in pursuit of the public good.

Council works for residents

Council works for the people and communities its members represent. That means residents need practical ways to follow Council’s work, understand the choices being considered, and participate in decisions that affect them.

Staff provide information about projects and opportunities for residents to participate through EngageFrontenac.ca.

During the Council term, staff used EngageFrontenac for 82 projects. People made more than 160,000 visits to the site and submitted more than 3,500 survey responses used to inform Council decisions.Those figures show the scale at which staff and residents have used the platform for public engagement.

Residents are welcome to attend Council meetings, contact their elected representatives, participate in public meetings and consultations, and provide input before Councillors make many major decisions.

More than 82 EngageFrontenac.ca projects • Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus • Return to Frontenac County Council Progress and Priorities