Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos is pushing for "remote southern Ontario" to make some noise with the higher levels of government.
He feels better co-operation is needed in the southern part of Essex County to avoid being forgotten and survive difficult economic times in the year ahead.
"It's [about] re-establishing the connections that we've had over the past to try to bring some good investment and certainly good announcements from the grant perspective," says Santos. "But, we also need to show that because we're doing things right, we shouldn't be penalized because we've had to be on our own for a long time already."
Santos says being part of "remote southern Ontario" has left the communities forgotten by the province at times.
"The reality is if you're not on the major corridor of Hwy. 401, you're almost on your own island," says Santos.
He points to the new ferry being built to replace the Pelee Islander as a project Kingsville, Leamington and Pelee Island need to better collaborate on to ensure future economic success.
"Our three communities together, if we start to put our act together for promoting it, we will be able to see greater return for our festivals, for our special events," says Santos.
The Kingsville mayor stresses the county municipalities are beginning to better work together, pointing to the county-wide trail initiative as one example. But Santos says the county communities have to find a way to identify initiatives that "benefit beyond our own borders."
