AMO conference serves to bring municipal leaders together
Officials with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, including board president Colin Best, have frequently described the potential of this year’s conference as “record-setting” and one where significant discussions will take place. Photo: Association of Municipalities of Ontario
More than 2,500 participants are expected to attend next week’s Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference, Aug. 18-21, in Ottawa.
The conference, which will also celebrate AMO’s 125th anniversary, will host over 600 meetings between municipal officials and provincial ministers. In addition, delegates will have an opportunity to pose questions to more than two dozen provincial cabinet ministers.
Record Turn Out Expected
AMO officials, including executive director Brian Rosborough and board president Colin Best, have frequently described this year’s conference as “record-setting.”
The turnout and anticipation for the conference events say to Rosborough that municipal officials across the province are eager to solve their shared challenges. He adds that these challenges include fiscal sustainability issues, systemic public policy problems, encampments in various communities, and other economic issues beyond municipal control.
Municipalities are facing other challenges as well. Rosborough points to the lack of civic engagement and a decline in civil discourse as having a huge impact on municipal councils and municipal staff.
“People want to come together and have a conversation about what they’re experiencing in their communities, and what we can do together to deal with those. And what the province can do to help deal with those as well,” Rosborough said. “We need to work together as a municipal sector, and with our partners in the province, to look at ways in which we can improve the state of affairs for municipal councils, for municipal governments, and consequently for the communities they serve.”
Social and Economic Review
Rosborough said the 2024 AMO conference is bringing together municipal and provincial officials at a time when Ontario communities are facing complex challenges that outstrip municipal resources and responsibilities.
This is why AMO has been urging the province for over a year to hold what it calls a joint Social and Economic Prosperity Review. The review aims to bring the province and municipalities together to discuss the future social and economic prosperity of the province.
“Current funding relationships are undermining the prosperity of our communities. Housing, public safety, infrastructure and health care are at risk, if we don’t take action,” Best said. “The goal is to make life more affordable for everyone – municipalities, the Government of Ontario, and the taxpayers we all serve.”
Rosborough said the push for the review has come with “enormous support from our members.” And while the province hasn’t said yes, it hasn’t said no to the request, either.
Municipalities spend about $4 billion annually on health and social services, which limits funding for police budgets, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure for housing growth. This financial strain highlights the need for better resource allocation. As such, Rosborough said municipalities continue to face “a fundamental mismatch” in terms of fiscal responsibilities.
“We don’t have a specific request for a specific amount of money or specific changes,” Rosborough said. “We want to sit down with the province and work together to find out what will work best in the future to support the prosperity of this province. It’s difficult for me to imagine a that wouldn’t agree to do that.”
AMO Conference Attendee Expectations
The AMO conference is, as Best describes it, “a huge educational experience.” With those 2,500-plus delegates taking part in some 60 presentations and workshops. Key session topics include housing and homelessness, infrastructure funding, the opioid epidemic, public safety, climate change, Indigenous engagement, health care access, and artificial intelligence.
Delegates will also hear from Premier Doug Ford, as well as the other provincial party leaders, various cabinet ministers, and keynote speaker Andrew Coyne. A political journalist and former national editor of Maclean’s magazine, Coyne will speak about emerging and potential threats to democracy, and how municipal leaders can navigate declining public trust and anger.
Best hopes these experiences will provide delegates with insights and connections to address local issues.
“We are public servants. We all have to serve the same taxpayer,” Best said. “We have to find a way to do things and say, okay, this is not working with the arrangements we have now. What’s the best way to do it?”
Celebrating 125 Years of Advocacy
This call for collaboration aligns with the conference’s celebration of AMO’s 125th anniversary. This milestone marks over a century of advocacy and partnership for Ontario’s municipal governments.
Rosborough said the hope is always that the conference will host a number of positive announcements from the province. This year is particularly good for that, Rosborough said, given the 125th anniversary celebrations. There will be a theme of celebration. But Rosborough said AMO is also framing it as a chance to honor municipal councils, councillors, and the communities they serve.
Too often, he said, municipal councils and municipal public administrators are not celebrated. They work hard for their community day in, day out, all through the year. But they receive very little recognition for those efforts. As such, part of what AMO will be celebrating is the hard work and volunteerism of the sector and municipal public administration. Part of that recognition will come through the annual P.J. Marshall Awards.
Rosborough said the remarkable work being celebrated at the conference speaks to something AMO is constantly trying to impress upon the province. The provincial economy, he said, is simply the sum of 444 municipal economies across this province. But the celebration isn’t just about fiscal and institutional realities.
“As we know, [local government] is considered the most open and transparent and accountable and trusted order of government. We want to keep it that way,” Rosborough said. “Any announcements for the province will be welcome, but it’s a real opportunity for us to recognize the hard work and the excellent work of our members, whether they’re elected officials or community building public servants.”
Program details, which are subject to change, are available at www.amo.on.ca. The most current information is available on the AMO conference app (available for iPhone and Android). MW
✯ Municipal World Executive and Essentials Plus Members: You might also be interested in Dr. Enid Slack’s article: Are Canadian cities fiscally sustainable?
Sean Meyer is digital content editor for Municipal World.
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