Mayor Mitch Panciuk, City Councillors Paul Carr, Sean Kelly, Chris Malette, Bill Sandison and Garnet Thompson, as well as Chief Administrative Officer Rod Bovay, will join more than 1,700 participants in the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s 2022 AMO Conference in Ottawa from August 14 to 17.
Following two virtual conferences, municipal, provincial, and federal officials are coming together in Ottawa to participate in Ontario’s top educational forum for municipal governments. This year’s event features more than 60 speakers, sessions and workshops, reflecting the broad scope of municipal responsibilities.
Keynote presenters include Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Government’s ministers, Interim Leader of the NDP Peter Tabuns (Leader of the Official Opposition), Liberal MPP Stephen Blais, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, and AMO President Jamie McGarvey.
The annual conference is a chance for municipal officials to work together on solutions to today’s big challenges, to learn, and to create new opportunities that benefit our communities. Sessions and speakers will cover a wide range of topics, including climate change; strengthening indigenous relations; creating diverse, equitable and inclusive communities; housing affordability; mental health and addictions; modernizing the public health system; municipal property assessment; changes to Conservation Authorities; Blue Box transition; municipal pensions, and much more.
Mayor Panciuk is particularly interested in participating in the Eastern Ontario Mayor’s Caucus on Sunday afternoon. “We were able to help develop Sunday’s agenda which means the topics to be discussed are ones which directly impact Belleville – housing, service to the homeless, the doctor shortage, the 401 expansion and rural transit. This conference will give us a clearer indication of the direction the provincial government plans to take for the next four years, providing us the opportunity to draw on the components which support our Belleville objectives and achieve stronger, faster results.”
