More than 1,700 participants from hundreds of municipalities and organizations from across Ontario will participate in the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s 2022 AMO Conference, August 14 to 17 in Ottawa.
The City of Brantford Delegation to this year’s conference includes Mayor Kevin Davis, CAO Brian Hutchings, and Manager of Government Relations & Corporate Initiatives, Sasha Hill Smith.
The top educational forum for municipal governments, the 2022 AMO Conference will be the first-time municipal leaders will gather together, face-to-face, in almost three years will serve as a primary opportunity for municipal officials to work directly with their provincial counterparts. This year’s event features more than 60 speakers, sessions and workshops, reflecting the broad scope of municipal responsibilities.
Key session topics include climate change, strengthening indigenous relations, creating diverse, equitable and inclusive communities, women’s leadership, housing affordability, mental health and addictions, modernizing the public health system, municipal property assessment, economic recovery, changes to Conservation Authorities, Blue Box transition, municipal pensions, and much more.
The Delegation will attend sessions and meet with various Ministers and provincial staff to advocate for key City priorities including the following:
- With the exponential growth that Brantford has undergone and continues to experience, it is very clear that a regional transit solution for Brantford and surrounding municipalities is required to facilitate Go Transit routes between Brantford and Waterloo – connecting Brantford to communities including Cambridge, Guelph and Waterloo. Currently, the only option for passengers is to travel in the opposite direction to Mississauga and take transit from there to Cambridge, ultimately increasing costs and travel time. A regional transit solution would eliminate these inefficiencies.
- An update will be provided regarding the City’s support for the important work underway by the Survivors’ Secretariat to uncover the hidden graves of children who were taken to the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School. At their Special Council meeting held Tuesday, May 17, 2022 Brantford City Council unanimously supported a Notice of Motion that calls on the federal and provincial governments, and the Anglican church to respectfully release to the Survivors’ Secretariat immediately, all documents in the possession of the Government of Canada or the Government of Ontario or the Anglican church related to the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School now located on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, within the geographic boundaries of the City of Brantford. In the spirit of shared prosperity, the delegation will also advocate for a timely resolution of the Haldimand Tract Land Dispute in an effort to finally settle the Six Nations of the Grand River (SNGR) 1995 lawsuit against Ontario and Canada.
- Additional supports required to address the urgent need for more affordable housing options in our community. The City of Brantford and the County of Brant have committed to the development of 506 units of municipally owned affordable housing by 2030.
- The Brantford Delegation will also meet with representatives of the Ministry of the Attorney General to discuss expanding court services in Brantford to meet current and future needs, with the intention of consolidating use of current vacant spaces to leverage efficiencies, resulting in reduced maintenance and operational costs.
