Municipal leaders from across Ontario gathered in Ottawa this week for the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, where provincial issues ranging from fire response to infrastructure and development were discussed.
For Niagara-on-the-Lake, the four-day conference provided an opportunity for Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa and other town representatives to advocate for local priorities, including agricultural diversification, tourism and support for farms affected by recent flooding.
The town’s delegation met with representatives from several provincial ministries following significant rain events that caused severe flooding across the region from late July to early August.
Zalepa said the delegation met with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness to discuss ways the province could support the town’s agricultural and tourism sectors.
One priority was increasing the availability of Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) wines in Ontario restaurants.
“The government does a really good job at promoting VQA wines through the LCBO, and we're really pleased for that, but we are finding there could be an opportunity to bring more Ontario wines to more restaurants,” Zalepa said.
Zalepa said greater exposure to Ontario wines in restaurants could encourage visitors to explore the province’s wine regions.
“The key principle is, if you're at a restaurant and you maybe try for the first time an Ontario wine, that's your foot in the door to go explore that wine or even that wine region more,” he said. “Maybe go visit that winery or the wineries in that area from a traveling perspective.”
Zalepa said the delegation also discussed Destination Niagara and the province’s investments and strategies for growing tourism in the Niagara region.
The Shaw Festival was another focus.
“We talked about the Shaw Festival and the brand-new theater construction and their role in that,” Zalepa said.
Construction on the Shaw Festival’s Royal George Theatre broke ground earlier this year. The project includes accessibility upgrades and aims to create the first Rick Hansen-certified theatre in North America.
Zalepa said provincial funding has played a significant role in the redevelopment.
“The province, through the Ministry of Tourism, made the largest financial contribution to the arts ever in Ontario's history, with a 35-million-dollar support for the redevelopment,” he said. “So that's a key anchor for activity on the street.”
The theatre is one of the main attractions in Niagara-on-the-Lake’s heritage district, which dates to the 1800s and includes Queen Street’s shops, restaurants and historic buildings.
Zalepa said the theatre’s redevelopment will help support businesses and tourism in the area.
“Theater drives people to restaurants, to just strolling on the street and enjoying the area around them,” he said. “And the theater is going to have a brand-new facility, which is going to be great for the next 75 years of theater and the arts.”
The town also advocated greater support for farm diversification during its meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is beginning to review what are known as “on-farm diversified uses” in its official plan. The review will examine which additional businesses and activities farmers and wineries could operate on agricultural lands.
“That's really a fancy way of saying, what does the community want to allow farmers and wineries to be able to do on agricultural lands?” Zalepa said.
Zalepa said the town is asking the province to provide financial support for the review and help determine businesses that align with the local agricultural industry and municipal policies.
“We ask the province to participate with us through perhaps a grant or financial assistance in that work of reviewing our on-farm diversified policies for Niagara-on-the-Lake,” Zalepa said.
“That’s important because Niagara-on-the-Lake is probably the most concentrated location of mostly wineries, but now we're starting to see distilleries as well and other farm-related activities.”
Those other activities include a lavender farm and increased vegetable and medicinal cannabis production in the region.
Agriculture plays a significant role in Niagara-on-the-Lake’s economy, generating revenue through both farming and tourism. The town is also part of the Niagara region’s grape and wine industry.
According to a 2016 census, the agricultural sector generates close to $170 million in annual revenue. The region accounts for 90% of Ontario’s grape production and 80% of Canada’s total grape and wine production.
Recent flooding added another priority to the town’s discussions at the conference.
Three significant rain events in recent weeks caused flooding on local farms, resulting in damaged assets, waterlogged fields and spoiled produce.
Provincial officials have visited some of the affected properties. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack toured Seaway Farms about a week before the conference to assess the damage, including a piece of equipment valued in the seven figures.
Zalepa said the visit allowed the minister to see the extent of the damage firsthand.
“Minister Jones did a personal visit, and we did tour with him about a week ago at Seaway Farms, and that way he could see firsthand the devastation that was caused by the flooding there,” Zalepa said.
Zalepa said the town was able to follow up with ministry representatives at the AMO conference. He said the ministry has been providing guidance on potential disaster recovery assistance.
“The Municipal Affairs and Housing Office have been meeting with our team regularly to provide guidance on what potential disaster recovery benefits may be available to the community,” Zalepa said.
For Niagara-on-the-Lake officials, the conference provided an opportunity to follow up on flood recovery while advocating for longer-term priorities involving agriculture, tourism and economic development. With locals still recovering, Zalepa acknowledges these conversations with provincial leaders will prove to benefit the municipality in the long term.
