History
Revised Nov 2023
The District of Kenora Unincorporated Areas Ratepayers Association (DoKURA) has been a voice for 25,000 seasonal and year-round residents in the district’s unincorporated areas for over 25 years. The organization traces its roots to 1996 when the provincial government began to amalgamate existing municipalities and adjoining rural areas in an effort to reduce costs and streamline services.
The Kenora District Municipal Association (KDMA), at its 1996 annual general meeting, formed a committee to look at forming a “modified upper tier” body to enable them to deliver services and tax the unincorporated areas. The representatives from unincorporated areas were not invited to participate.
Unincorporated ratepayers from all areas of the Kenora District gathered at the Oxdrift Fire Hall to form DoKURA. The newly formed organization insisted non-municipal residents must be involved in the formation of this “modified upper tier”. A representative group from DoKURA then worked with the municipalities to develop a proposal for a “modified upper tier” body, or Area Services Board to collect taxes and deliver a variety of services. While this concept was never proceeded with, the province created District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSABs) to deliver social services such as income supports and housing on a regional basis.
The Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) was one of ten such boards created across Northern Ontario. Unincorporated areas in the district were assigned four representatives on this board, one for each of the four electoral areas that our association defined. Over the years the KDSB has expanded to include land ambulance, child care, early child education and housing and homelessness services. Since the formation of the Kenora District Services Board, we have worked to represent the interests of non-municipal residents in matters related to the delivery of these services.
In addition, DoKURA spearheaded the movement to have the Federal Gas Tax Rebate Program extended to include unincorporated territories of the province and our work and constant contact with the Local Road Boards and Local Service Boards resulted in an allocation of $5.8 million for unincorporated areas province-wide in 2005. This federal contribution now exceeds $12 million annually towards maintenance of local roads handled by over 200 Local Roads Boards across the province, of which over 40 are in the Kenora District.
Incorporated as a provincial Not-For-Profit Corporation in 2003, we continue to work collaboratively on issues of importance to individuals in unincorporated areas. In recent years we have been active on Provincial Land Tax reform, presentations to federal and provincial budget consultations, forestry and resource consultations and advocating for improvements to rural internet service and electrical service and costs. DoKURA is currently actively participating in the All Nations Health Partners committee and the All Nations Hospital steering committee in the Kenora area.
The Kenora District is the only one in the North with an association such as ours, dedicated to reflecting rural concerns to various governments, agencies and other groups.