2020 ROMA Conference - Presentations

Concurrent Sessions A

• Cannabis in Your Community: Medical Grows - Challenges and Opportunities
  • Todd Cain, Director General, Licensing and Medical Access, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada
• Sustainable Economic Development
  • Kate Burns Gallagher, Executive Director of Economic Development, Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus
  • Ryan Gibson, University of Guelph
  • Delia Reiche, President, EDCO, County of Brant
  • Diane Therrien Mayor, City of Peterborough, Co-Chair, Eastern Ontario Leadership Council
• Slow Down
  • Brian Malone, Vice President, Transportation, CIMA+
• Environmental Assessment Reform - New Opportunities for Streamlining Approvals and Local Control
  • Paul Knowles, Municipal Class EA Advisor
  • Frank J. E. Zechner, Barrister and Solicitor
• Asset Management in Action: Success Stories from Rural Ontario
  • Donald Cunningham, Mayor, Township of Ignace, Debbie Hart, Councillor, Township of Ignace and Marshalina Reader, CAO/Clerk, Township of Ignace
  • Lloyd Perrin, Director of Asset Management and Development Services and Bill Fehr, Councillor, Municipality of Central Elgin
  • Sarah MacKelvie, Municipal Asset Management Program, FCM

Plenary Programming

• Welcome Remarks

• ROMA Update and AGM
  • Allan Thompson, ROMA Chair
  • Afshin Majidi, Secretary Treasurer

• Using Foresight to Foster Discussion of Rural Challenges
  • Norman Ragetlie, Executive Director, Rural Ontario Institute

• The Power of Storytelling
  • Opening Keynote: Terry O’Reilly

Plenary Programming

• AMO President, Jamie McGarvey

• Laurie Swami, President and CEO, NWMO
  • NWMO & Rural Ontario: Moving Forward

• The Hon. Christine Elliott, Ministry of Health
  • The Hon. Christine Elliott, Ministry of Health remarks

• The Hon. Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs
  • The Hon. Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs remarks

• The Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
  • The Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario remarks

Concurrent Sessions B:

• Connecting Communities: The Importance of Broadband Access
  • Dr. Reza Rajabiun, LLM, Research Fellow, Ted Rogers School of Information Management, Ryerson University & Algorithmic Media Observatory, Concordia University
• Issues in Rural Health Care
  • Challenges in Rural Health Care: Public Health and Emergency Health Services Modernization. PH Modernization Team, Ministry of Health

Sponsored Learning Lunches

• MPAC Values Ontario. Sponsored by MPAC
• Virtual Care: Making a Difference in Rural Ontario. Sponsored by OMA
• Building your Community through Smart Energy Choices. Sponsored by IESO
• Improving Community Healthcare: A Regional Approach to EMS. Sponsored by Medavie
• Autonomous Driving - Challenges Ahead. Sponsored by Frank Cowan

Concurrent Sessions C

• More Choice Expanding Housing Options
  • Darren Cooney, Director, Market Housing Branch,  MMAH
  • Shelley Raymond, President, Solterra Co-housing LTD
  • Robert Voigt RPP MCIP, Director of Planning, Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities Inc
• Comply When you Buy! Sponsored by LAS
• Preserving Home Values in a Time of Climate Change. Sponsored by Insurance Bureau of Canada
  • Arthur Lofsky, Director, Government Relations & Climate Adaptation Lead, Ontario, IBC
  • Matthew Thornton, VP Public Affairs & Communications, Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA)
• Sea Change: The Blue Box under Full Producer Responsibility
  • Mac Bain, Councillor, City of North Bay
  • Dave Gordon, Senior Policy Advisor, AMO
• What Does Senior Leadership Support for Psychological Health and Safety Really Mean?
  • Liz Horvath, Manager, Workplace Mental Health, Opening Minds Mental Health Commission of Canada

Plenary Programming

• Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition

• An Overview of the Grand River Conservation Authority - Building Resiliency through Collaboration
  • Helen Jowett, Chair, GRCA
  • Samantha Lawson, CAO, GRCA

• Preparing for Ontario's 2020-21 Provincial Budget
  • Brian Rosborough, Executive Director, Association of Municipalities of Ontario, speaking notes
    • Highlights: AMO Prebudget Submission 2020

• The Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing - remarks
  • The Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing - powerpoint

• Ministers’ Forum

Sponsored Learning Breakfasts

• Making More Possible through Investments. Sponsored by ONE Investment
• Cybersecurity and Closed Meetings. Sponsored by LAS
• Funding for Growth. Sponsored by Mitacs
• Investing your Communities and Planning for the Future. Sponsored by Hydro One
• Municipalities, The Unsung Heroes for Broadband Connectivity. Sponsored by Shaw Communications

Plenary Programming

• Rural Social Policy Panel
  • Opioid Overdose Emergency in Ontario. Graydon Smith, Mayor of Bracebridge and Michael Jacek, Senior Advisor, AMO
  • Hate on the Back Roads: Rural Patterns of Hate and Extremism. Dr. Barbara Perry, Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
  • Human Trafficking in Rural Communities, Sonya Jodoin, Victim Services of Leeds & Grenville

• John Fraser, Interim Leader, Ontario Liberal Party

• Michael J. Smither Question Box Panel

• Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario

• The Political Landscape: Where are we Headed?

• Sponsored by Air Canada