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Association of Canadian Municipalities 2022 AMO Conference (Aug. 14 to 17)

Key Highlights

• The 2022 AMO Conference brought back the infamous “Bear Pit,” with provincial ministers taking questions directly from municipal elected officials. Delegates raised important issues, including rising municipal insurance rates, increasing infrastructure costs, reviewing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and preventing harassment for members of council.
• Minister Clark briefly mentioned the strong mayors legislation as a tool to empower municipalities to increase housing supply. He reiterated his commitment to establish a Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team and that $350 million has been allocated through 2022-23 to the Audit and Accountability Fund, Municipal Modernization Program and Streamline Development Approval Fund.
• Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced expanding patient care models for eligible 9-1-1 patients, as well as additional funding to support public health units.
• Interim Leader of the Opposition Peter Tabuns reiterated the NDP’s commitment to fight for OMPF to be increased to $590 million and indexed to inflation. On the strong mayors legislation, he stated that while some delegates may be opposed and some in favour, the legislation will not be effective in doing the government’s stated purpose – increasing housing supply.
• Liberal Municipal Affairs Critic Stephen Blais spoke about his party’s commitment to working with municipal leaders to make their communities better. While he did not reference the strong mayor’s legislation, he did remind delegations of his re-introduced private members bill: Bill 5, Stopping Harassment and Abuse by Local Leaders Act, 2022.
• Green Leader Mike Schreiner spoke about more collaboration and less confrontation, the importance of supporting municipalities in ensuring their infrastructure is climate resilient, and the need for provincial leadership to increase housing supply.
• The 2022 AMO Conference included speeches from several members of the provincial legislature. Premier Ford spoke about the importance of municipal-provincial partnerships and that everyone needs to do their part to support the construction of 1.5 million homes over five years.
• Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) and the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO) convened at the AMO Conference. The groups passed two unanimous motions that echo a previous call for an emergency meeting and a request that the provincial government engage municipalities on health care planning matters that impact cities. Since OBCM has called for the emergency meeting, key stakeholders have signed on to attend, including the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Ontario Association of Business Improvement Areas, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, AMO, Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario and the Ontario Tourism Industry Association.