SDG Counties looks at hiring an advocacy consultant

CORNWALL – A report presented to SDG Counties council has put the upper-tier government on the path to hiring an advocacy consultant.

Council heard at the May 20 meeting an information report presenting the idea of hiring the government-relations consulting firm, Strategy Corp., to advocate for the counties at upper levels of government. Strategy Corp. is a 40-year old government relations firm which the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, and the Township of South Stormont have previously worked with. The company specializes in lobbying senior levels of government on behalf of their clients on files of interest for that civic body.

“Strategy Corp. has done a significant amount of work for the EOWC, and I know they’ve also helped South Stormont with many of their priorities over the last couple of years,” Counties’ CAO Maureen Adams explained to council. “I think there’s been some success in utilizing and engaging with a firm like that.”

Adams said if council was supportive of the move, SDG Counties could hire a firm like Strategy Corp. on a few of the advocacy files that fit with council’s strategic plan. These include advocating for safety improvements on Highway 138, Rural Education, and funding for social programming and social services.

The Counties used Strategy Corp. in November 2023 for training previously.

Adams said they would look at hiring the firm on an as-needed basis.

Council was overall agreeable with this. Councillor Jason Broad (South Dundas) spoke in favour of the move. Councillor Jamie Macdonald (North Glengarry) also supported hiring the consultant, specifically for advocating for improvements for Highway 138.

“As Warden, I met with Minister [Carolyn] Mulroney twice and we’d keep getting these lip service changes and I don’t know how much longer [the province] wants to wait.”

Macdonald added that he wanted to see other firms besides Strategy Corp. looked at. In 2022, SDG hired Toronto-based firm Daisy Group to lobby the provincial government for funding in support of the two long-term care homes in the counties – Dundas Manor and Maxville Manor.

Councillor Bryan McGillis (South Stormont) said his township has used Strategy Corp. for years and continues to use the company for lobbying for its Ingleside development.

Councillor Steve Densham (North Stormont) spoke in favour of using a consultant, so long as the priorities were targeted to specific Counties issues, and not broader provincial matters.

As the council discussion involved a report, there was no formal action taken. No specific tenders for service, or sole-source contract were decided. Council also did not formalize if one or more different firms would be contacted.

In other council news…

SDG Counties guarantor for Manor financing agreements

In minutes from a special council meeting called May 8 – which were included in the May 20 agenda package – council approved designating the lands for the Dundas Manor project in Winchester, and for the Maxville Manor project in Maxville, as a “municipal capital facility.” This is a designation under the Municipal Act that can exempt development charges for projects involving housing, education or health care.

Reporting from closed session, SDG Counties agreed to be the guarantor for $50 million in financing for the Maxville Manor redevelopment. Council also agreed to be guarantor for $40 million in financing for Rural Health Innovations, which owns and operates Dundas Manor, and up to $8 million for the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation. WDMHF is the principal fundraising entity for the Dundas Manor redevelopment.

Minor changes to SDG Counties logo

Counties council agreed to drop the “the” in the corporate logo for the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry. The logo, which was adopted several years ago when the Counties started using “SDG Counties” as the marketing name for the upper-tier municipality. The logo included “the counties” above SDG. The approved logo now has “counties” below the SDG, and loses “the” from the logo.

The Corporate Communications department recommended the changes to streamline the logo with council’s strategic plan.

Changes to the logo will be made in house, and phased in as new business cards are ordered, or when logos are applied to new vehicles for example.

2026 budget dates confirmed

Council agreed to the staff-proposed 2026 budget dates of December 2 with December 3 scheduled if-needed. SDG council has for a number of years passed a draft budget in early December, with a final passage in March. This enables the Counties to plan for Shared Services charges from the City of Cornwall, along with OPP policing costs that comes from the Police Services Board.