A slate of speakers and discussions about infrastructure are on the agenda, as a delegation of Chatham-Kent councillors and staff are on hand at the Ontario Good Roads Association conference in Toronto this week.
Chatham Coun. Amy Finn, South Kent Coun. Clare Latimer and North Kent Coun. Joe Faas are in attendance, along with general manager of infrastructure and engineering Thomas Kelly, manager of infrastructure services Chris Thibert, and several other staff.
Tom Nichols, a Jeopardy champion and author of ‘The Death of Expertise,’ was the keynote speaker on Monday.
“There’s a lot of people that question expertise and he says that you need to listen to the experts,” Finn told The Daily News. “Don’t pretend to Google your answer, because Google isn’t always right.”
Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton also spoke, and there was a rundown of the new Ontario construction act.
Finn said the act is recommending adjudicators and set timeframes for contractors to pay subcontractors.
“If there’s any discrepancy, it goes to adjudication,” she said. “Both parties pay for adjudication. They split the cost.”
She said as a new councillor, she’s enjoying the learning experiences that such conferences offer.
Finn also noted that while municipalities are unique in their own ways, they face many of the same challenges.
“(We’re) making some bonds and learning that Chatham-Kent isn’t much different in some areas than the rest of the province,” she said. “I think every municipality in this province is finding things tough in some areas.”
The OGRA conference runs until Wednesday.
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