City of Belleville representatives will meet with Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo at the upcoming Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa.
The conference, which runs from Sunday to Wednesday, brings together hundreds of municipalities and organizations from across the province.
Representing Belleville will be Mayor Neil Ellis, City Councillors Lisa Anne Chatten, Sean Kelly, Chris Malette and Garnet Thompson and Chief Administrative Officer Matt MacDonald.
Mayor Ellis said that their focus is on homelessness, mental health, and addictions.
“Talk about a possible detox and housing projects. The big thing would be, we have to build more houses that are geared to income,” said Mayor Ellis. “The gold standard is put unhoused in houses, and look after the addictions and things going down the road.”
They will meet with Minister Tibollo on Monday.
Other session topics will include how to fund infrastructure, public safety, climate change, Indigenous engagement, access to health care services, use of artificial intelligence, and much more.
This year’s event features more than 60 speakers, sessions and workshops, reflecting the broad scope of municipal responsibilities. The conference will kick-off with keynote speaker Andrew Coyne, 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.
Other speakers include:
Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
Hon. Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure
Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health
Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict (invited)
Marit Stiles, Leader of the Ontario NDP and Official Opposition
Bonnie Crombie, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario
Colin Best, AMO President
