AMO Conference 2018
Ottawa Ontario
Day One – August 20, 2018
Four representatives from the Town of Fort Erie, Mayor Redekop, Councillor Passero, Councillor Butler and CAO Tom Kuchyt, are all attending the 2018 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa this week.
At the end of each day a re-cap of the day’s events specifically those pertaining to Fort Erie will be posted on the Fort Erie Blog.
Monday, the first day of the conference our delegates began the day by listening to a presentation by Shawn Kamungo, a strategist and keynote speaker, who spoke about the future of government in the age of advances in technology and artificial intelligence. Shawn Kamungo’s talk led into a presentation from Andrea Horwath, Mayor Redekop was lucky enough to be able to speak briefly with Andrea Horwath following her presentation.
Niagara Region held a meeting with the Minister of Transportation, John Yakabuski, to discuss moving forward with the Niagara GTA Trade Corridor, which would link Hamilton with Fort Erie (Peace Bridge) to facilitate the movement of transport traffic and relieve pressure on the QEW. This is an important project that the Town of Fort Erie has been working with the Region on to see that it is implemented. This talk of transportation led to another discussion with respect to Active Transportation and Health Promotion. Positive comments were made about the importance of recreation trails (Friendship Trail) and sidewalks to healthy lifestyles, potential partnerships to expand these facilities and new initiatives to create a livable community, all of which are top of mind for the Town of Fort Erie.
An additional meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Steve Clark was set up for the Region. Mr. Clark spoke about the need to expand urban boundaries for employment lands and homelessness and affordable housing needs, both viable interests for the Town of Fort Erie, especially with the current creation of the affordable housing committee.
Overall the first day was informative and showed that the goals of Fort Erie align well the issues that are being presented and discussed.
AMO Ottawa 2018