PEMBROKE — A delegation from Renfrew County Council, comprised of Warden Peter Emon, Councillor Debbie Robinson (Laurentian Valley), Councillor Terry Millar (Whitewater Region) and senior County of Renfrew staff met with Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant to discuss the expansion of Highway 417.
The discussion centered on the importance of the highway extension providing safe travel to residents and visitors, as well as its role as a key transportation link to large employers in the county such as Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Garrison Petawawa. MP Gallant expressed her positive support for the County of Renfrew’s efforts to have the highway expansion move forward. She indicated that she looks forward to working with the County of Renfrew as the local Federal representative for the continued expansion of the Trans-Canada Highway to four lanes.
Warden Peter Emon said, “This was a productive meeting, and MP Gallant acknowledged the County’s significant contributions to discussions with regards to expansion of the highway, and she thanked the delegation for keeping her informed on their efforts. All parties see this as a nation building opportunity.”
The Warden continued, “We have had several meetings recently with Federal Government Officials in Ottawa where we introduced them to the proposed expansion of Highway 417. The Federal Officials expressed a genuine interest in seeking a partnership with the Province of Ontario to move the initiative forward. These meetings have given us an enthusiastic outlook on the future of investment in the Trans-Canada Highway.”
The recent delegation to Ottawa was comprised of Warden Peter Emon, Councillor Jennifer Murphy (Bonnechere Valley), Councillor Kim Love (Madawaska Valley) and senior County staff.
Last Month, a separate delegation met with the Honourable Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation for a similar discussion and that meeting was also positive and the Minister said that the Ministry will follow up with the County of Renfrew with a plan in the near future regarding the next steps for the Highway 417 expansion.
