Municipal leaders chosen to take part in Climate Leadership Course

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Four municipal councillors from across Dufferin County have been selected to take part in an upcoming national Climate Leadership Course.

Orangeville Coun. Grant Peters, Mono Mayor Laura Ryan, Grand Valley Deputy Mayor Philip Rentsch, and Mulmur Coun. Shirley Boxem, are the four municipal representatives that have been selected for the course, hosted by Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The councillors will join 88 other leaders from across Canada to participate in the FCM's first-ever online course for municipal elected officials.

“Of 93 elected officials selected from across Canada, to have 4 municipal leaders from Dufferin County attending is really quite outstanding,” said Mulmur Coun. Boxem. 

The Climate Leadership Course is being offered through the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP) and is working to help deepen the leaders' knowledge and skills as climate leaders. According to FCM the elected officials that were selected to take part in the course demonstrated local climate leadership. 

“This is a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and learn from climate change leaders across the County”, said Peters, Councillor for the Town of Orangeville. “I look forward to sharing the knowledge gained during the FCM course with my colleagues here in Dufferin County.”

In the course, leaders will complete three short assignments and three live chats starting in September and running through to November, hearing from experts. The course will conclude with a summit in Ottawa planned for January 2021. 

“I applied to FCM's climate leadership course to learn about practical ideas that could be incorporated into the County's Climate Action Plan,” said Rentsch. “I hope to absorb as much information as possible about the available opportunities, resources, and funding to support resilient infrastructure in our community.” 

Since 2018, Dufferin County has been a part of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Program, a national network. In the sign to join the program Dufferin County joined 350 municipalities across Canada who are committed to reducing local greenhouse gas emission. During a county council meeting, council unanimously voted “yes” to adopt a “climate lens” into the municipal decision making process. 

“As a County we've made a commitment to climate action,” said Ryan, who is also the former Warden of Dufferin County. “FCM's climate leadership course is an important step in developing knowledge on the tools and best practices for implementing initiative like the climate lens.” 

Local councillors will start the course in September and will work through it until November.