The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is moving its annual conference online for 2020.
Scheduled for Aug. 17-19, the itinerary will include live interactive sessions supplemented by pre-recorded presentations, which will allow registered participants to view some content at their leisure.
Typically, local city councillors attend the annaul AMO conference. This year, only Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke will be participating on behalf of Orillia.
This year’s conference has taken on a pandemic-related theme, with many of the sessions focused on how municipalities can respond to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
Premier Doug Ford is expected to make an appearance on the opening day of the conference, and Health Minister Christine Elliot will follow. There will also be a daily ministers’ forum.
Day one’s key presenter will be Lital Marom, a serial entrepreneur and “thought leader” who speaks about innovation, digital transformation, and the future of work.
Leaders from across the province will share their insight during a Women's Leadership Forum on day two.
Participants include Lisa Raitt, CIBC’s vice-chair for global investment banking and a former member of parliament; Ava Hill, an Indigenous leader and former chief of the Six Nations of the Grand River; and Janice Baker, the recently retired city manager and CAO for Mississauga.
Day three will feature a panel on the path to economic recovery in Ontario, as well as the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres.
AMO will also announce this year’s recipients of the P.J. Marshall Awards, which annually recognize municipalities demonstrating excellence in the use of innovative approaches to improve capital and/or operating efficiency and to generate effectiveness through alternative service delivery initiatives and partnerships.
A draft program for the three-day event is currently available online, but a finalized version is expected shortly.
Launched in 1899, the AMO represents its 444 member municipalities, advocating on their behalf and working with them to address shared goals and common challenges.
