Peter Emon named chair of Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus

By Bruce McIntyre

Peter Emon, who currently serves as reeve for the Town of Renfrew, chair of the Ontario Winter Games and Warden of the County of Renfrew can now add the title of caucus chair for the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus (EOWC).

He was selected by his 12 peers after he was acclaimed for the position at the EOWC annual inauguration meeting held on Jan.12 and 13.

The warden of Renfrew County has been selected by his peers within the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus (EOWC) to serve as chair for the new year. Warden Peter Emon, reeve of the Town of Renfrew, was acclaimed to the position at the annual inaugural meeting. Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark was also acclaimed to serve as the 2023 vice-chair.

“It is an honour to sit on the Caucus once again and be appointed as the 2023 chair,” said Emon “The EOWC has a strong track record of working together effectively on behalf of rural eastern Ontario and its communities. “I look forward to the year ahead where we will continue to advance the region’s priorities,” he added.

It will certainly be a busy few weeks for Emon as the Ontario Winter Games begin in several locations in Renfrew County and as chair of 2023 OWG Organizing Committee, Emon will oversee the two weekend event (Feb. 2-5 and Feb. 9-12). The games will draw more than 3,000 young athletes, coaches and officials from across Ontario to compete in 22 individual sports. An estimated 3,500 visitors made up of families, fans and friends will be in the area over the two weekends.

Emon is no stranger to the EOWC. He served on the caucus for four years while he previously held the position of Warden from 2013-2016. He also served as Chair of the caucus for two of those years. He was named warden for a fifth term during the 2022 County of Renfrew Inaugural Session. Emon was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley, went to Calabogie Elementary School, attended Renfrew Collegiate Institute and graduated from University of Windsor with a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work. He is active in his community as the Warden for Renfrew County, and the reeve of the Town of Renfrew. Previously he was the Mayor of Greater Madawaska Township.

For over two decades chair Emon has served his communities with a focus on people and economic development. During the inaugural meeting, the EOWC met with members of federal and provincial parliament from across eastern Ontario, as well as the Ontario government's associate minister of housing, to discuss joint priorities around housing and the EOWC's '7 in 7' regional housing plan, broadband, and economic development, among others.

The Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus is composed of 13 members across rural eastern Ontario, including 11 regional county municipalities and two single-tier municipalities. Since its inception, the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus (EOWC) has worked to support and advocate on behalf of the property taxpayers across rural eastern Ontario.

The EOWC covers an area of approximately 50,000 square kilometres from Cobourg to the Québec border. All these member municipalities work together as a team, researching important issues, advocating for our 750,000 residents, and striving to ensure that conditions are in place to make eastern Ontario a prosperous area in terms of economic development.

Each year in March, the EOWC hosts a strategic planning meeting to establish new priorities for the coming year. The EOWC selects continued advocacy items that the Caucus supports on an as needed basis based on past priorities and the current political environment. The EOWC’s priorities in 2022 and for the first four months of 2023 are affordable and attainable Housing, Ontario health teams’ governance, structures and healthcare, human resources and family physician recruitment.

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