Temagami's official plan has now been forwarded to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for review.
At Temagami council's February 13 meeting, Jamie Robinson of MHBC Planning told council that some comments had been received in January and some modifications had been made.
Council approved adoption of the official plan. Robinson explained that the official plan is now being sent off to the ministry for its review.
"They are the approval authority."
He assured council that adopting the plan does not necessarily mean that they cannot still have "a kick at the can" if other points arise.
Robinson noted that discussion has taken place with Temagami First Nation (TFN) and "they have indicated they would like a presentation to the joint chief and council. They may want some further consultation on that."
He said if any additional input is provided through those meetings with the joint chief and council, the municipality could write to the province about that point.
Mayor Dan O'Mara commented that during that meeting, which had taken place earlier that day, some good discussion took place regarding consultation and the possibility of a community meeting if it was felt to be merited. He said municipal representatives did agree to look at that.
He also noted that there seemed to be no resistance from TFN representatives to allow the plan to move forward into the hands of the ministry for their review.
O'Mara commented that it is "important the TFN and TAA (Teme-Augama Anishnabai) are comfortable with our plan."
During the meeting with TFN an agreement was reached to meet monthly. The next meeting will be held in April, said O'Mara.
O'Mara later commented in an email that the TFN has "an extensive consultation process that we need to make sure we meet. Planning and land-use is an important and sensitive area and we need to respect this."
Darlene Wroe is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with the Temiskaming Speaker. LJI is funded by the Gobernment of Canada,