Municipal Affairs
April 21, 2009

Municipalities to Receive Provincial Government Funding to Attend Annual Municipal Symposium

Through a Budget 2009 investment of $30,000, municipal councillors throughout Newfoundland and Labrador will receive assistance to attend the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador Municipal Symposium, held in the spring of each year.

The Honourable Dianne Whalen, Minister of Municipal Affairs, made the announcement today with the President of the Municipal Training and Development Corporation (MTDC), Mayor Jim Farrell. The MTDC promotes the knowledge and skills development of municipally-elected officials and administrators, by providing learning experiences directly relevant to municipalities.

"Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador host an annual municipal symposium to promote discussion on issues of interest to municipal councils province-wide," said Minister Whalen. "We are pleased to partner with the Municipal Training and Development Corporation to make attending the symposium more affordable for many of our province�s municipal councillors."

This new initiative will provide municipalities $150 per councillor, to a maximum program expenditure of $30,000. This funding is in addition to the matched training funding that is currently provided by the MTDC. The current arrangement provides 50/50 cost-sharing to municipalities to offset the costs associated with attendance at training and development activities sponsored or sanctioned by MTDC.

"By providing municipalities the means to attend the municipal symposium, we are encouraging more municipalities to join in the ongoing constructive and very beneficial debate that surrounds many of the issues that affect communities," said President Farrell. "We are pleased to partner with the Department of Municipal Affairs and look forward to bringing more communities to the table this spring and in future years."

The 2009 municipal symposium will be held April 30 � May 2 in Gander. Mayors and councillors from around the province will convene in central Newfoundland to discuss issues such as the fishery, the Marine Atlantic ferry service and Integrated Community Sustainability Plans.

Further information on the municipal symposium can be found at www.municipalitiesnl.com or by calling toll-free 1-800-440-6536.

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Media contact:

Bradley Power
Public Relations Specialist
Department of Municipal Affairs
709-729-0857, 697-5216
BradleyPower@gov.nl.ca

2009 04 21                                                   11:05 a.m.


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