Program

Pre-Conference Workshop

Beyond the Numbers:
Building a Brave Culture for Asset Management Success

Asset management is not just a legislative requirement—it’s essential for making systematic, evidence-based decisions that prioritize limited resources, define levels of service, and align infrastructure investments with community goals. Municipal councils play a pivotal role in balancing cost, risk, and service levels to achieve desired outcomes for their communities.

What are the barriers to strategic, evidence-based decision-making that hinder effective planning? This session explores how fostering psychological safety can address these challenges, creating a healthy and courageous organizational culture.

By examining the interplay between elected officials and asset management practices, attendees will gain practical insights into developing a future-focused, strategic approach to sustainable service delivery. Participants will also gain insights into available resources or financial supports. 

Concurrent Sessions:

Provincial Offences

• Learn more about the unique challenges and opportunities faced by rural communities in administering provincial offences.
  • Barb Ryner, President, Municipal Court Managers’ Association
  • Stephen Dimanno, POA Manager, Kawartha Lakes​​​​​

Rural Responses to Mental Health and Addictions

• This session will explore the unique considerations around mental health and addictions in rural communities, as well as featuring successful rural responses to this crisis.
  • Michael Nolan, Director of Emergency Services and Chief of the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service  
  • Dr. Scott Neufeld, Assistant Professor, Brock University 
  • Kristin Wheatcroft, Director, CMHA Agriculture Wellness Ontario 
  • Jennifer Dailloux, Deputy Mayor, Township of Algonquin Highlands

Agricultural Economic Development

• This session will explore how municipalities can support and plan for agricultural economic development including on-farm diversified uses, and agri-tourism.
  • Pam Duesling, PhD, Director of Community Planning and Development, Town of Pelham 
  • Danielle Sharman, Farm Policy Analyst, Ontario Federation of Agriculture 
  • Vince Brennan, Executive Director, Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies
  • John Turvey, Senior Policy Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness

Supports for Indigenous Rural Community Members

• Friendship Centres across Ontario play a vital role in serving Rural and Urban Indigenous community members.  Learn  about their Indigenous Homeward Bound Program’s impact and strategies for supporting local Friendship Centres in your communities.
  • Ashley Pitawanakwat, Urban Indigenous Homeward Bound Program Participant, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
  • Karolyn Harris, Senior Program Advisor, Housing & Homelessness, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres   

Plenary Program

• Welcome
   
• Opening Keynote: Chantal Hébert, sponsored by Bruce Power
   
• The Hon. Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs 
   
• What Can be Done to End Rural Homelessness? 
  • Homelessness in rural areas is different from urban centres. It can seem like an overwhelming problem that cannot be solved. It certainly requires provincial and federal government investments in housing, income security programs and mental health and addiction services. At the same time, your municipality can contribute to local solutions with concrete action.  An all-hands-on-deck approach is needed. Hear from experts about what can be done to help prevent, reduce, and ultimately end homelessness in community.
    • Alina Turner, CEO, HelpSeeker Technologies
    • Terri Lee Kelford, Alliance to End Rural and Remote Homelessness 
    • Margaret Quirk, Mayor, Town of Georgina 
    • Indigenous homelessness expert (TBC)

4:30 - 6:00pm

5:15- 6:15pm

Welcome Reception - Sponsored by GREENLAND® Consulting Engineers & PipeSonic

Minister’s Roundtable Discussion on Communal Sewage

• The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra, is inviting municipal elected officials to engage in discussion on important considerations related to the future of communal sewage.

Plenary Program

• ROMA Chair, Christa Lowry
• Chief Claire Sault, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation
• The Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario 
• Sponsored remarks by IESO
• The Hon. Rob Flack, Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness
• Sponsored remarks by IPE

Concurrent Sessions:

Navigating Approvals for Energy Procurement 

• As provincial energy procurements continue, rural municipalities are seeing an increase in applications to host projects. Learn about how municipalities can take a strategic approach to coordinating reviews of project proposals, and how municipalities can negotiate community benefit agreements with project proponents.
  • Barbara Ellard, Director Resource and System Adequacy, IESO 
  • Lisa Asbreuk, Cunningham Swan 
  • Claire Dodds, Director of Planning and Development, Bruce County 

Insights into AMO's Healthy Democracy Project

• Join us to explore AMO's Healthy Democracy Project, addressing declining political engagement in Ontario's rural municipalities. Our initiative is designed to tackle the growing challenges facing local democracies, including reduced voter participation and fewer candidates running for municipal office. Learn how we're working to diversify candidate pools, foster respect in democratic processes, boost voter turnout, and increase awareness of local government's critical role.
  • Petra Wolfbeiss, Director, Membership Services, Association of Municipalities of Ontario
  • Stewart McDonough, Advisor, Municipal Engagement, Association of Municipalities of Ontario

Cyber Security - We've Had a Breach, What Now?

• Are you confident that in the event of a cyber attack, your operational staff and leadership teams will have a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities, and work cohesively on a unified plan of action? This plenary tabletop discussion will guide participants through an unfolding cybersecurity incident, with discussion centering around both operational incident response considerations and the management of key stakeholders. Coming out of the session, participants will have a stronger understanding of where they need to improve their decision-making, communications and related processes.
  • Dan Mathieson, Former Mayor, City of Stratford, Special Advisor, Office of the President, Toronto Metropolitan University – Municipal Engagement & Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst 
  • Randy Purse, CD, PhD, CTDP, Senior Advisor, Cybersecurity Training and Education, Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University

Strengthening Relationships Between First Nations and Municipalities

Join a dialogue with First Nations leaders on critical issues and effective approaches for strengthening relationships between First Nations and municipalities. Grounded in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this session will explore key areas of collaboration, including treaty rights, land-use planning, infrastructure services, environmental protection, and economic development. Participants will gain valuable insights into building strong and enduring partnerships that respect First Nations’ Inherent Rights and advance shared goals.

• Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill, Six Nations of the Grand River 
• Deputy Grand Chief Chris Plain, Anishinabek Nation 
• Chief Brent Niganobe, Mississauga First Nation

Learning Lunches

• Sponsored by AdvantAge - (Sheraton hall E)
• Sponsored by Enbridge Gas- (Chestnut)
• Sponsored by Epcor- (Provincial ballroom south)
• Sponsored by Hydro One- (Willow)
• Sponsored by IESO- (Provincial ballroom north)
• Sponsored by MPAC- (Birchwood)
• Sponsored by ONE Investment- (Maple)

Concurrent Sessions:

Navigating the Future of Municipal Waste Management

• Explore the full implementation of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy emphasizing the roles of producers and municipalities in managing waste and achieving targets, Take a deep dive in the status of blue box transition, as well as broader waste pressures and goals such as municipal cost and operational impacts.
  • Peter Hargreave, President, Policy Integrity Inc. 
  •  Annette Gilchrist, CMO, AOMC, CAO/Clerk/Treasurer Township of Bonnechere Valley 
  • Betsy Varghese, Technical Group Strategist, Waste Management, Dillon Consulting

Leadership to Protect Employees from Unreasonable Behaviour

• As employers, municipalities have a responsibility to protect their employees from harassment in their work. Yet, elected officials and staff are reporting increasing levels of incivility and harassing behaviour from some members of the public. This session will provide some examples of how municipalities can protect their employees, including front-line library staff,  and some of the legal and human resources considerations to consider.
  • Frank Cesario, Partner, Hicks Morley 
  • Hilda MacDonald, Warden, County of Essex 
  • Brooke McLean, Chief Executive Officer, Bruce County Public Library

Keeping Ontarians Safe - Emergency Services Updates and Advocacy

• This session will bring together all three emergency services to provide updates on advocacy, challenges and opportunities  as municipalities grapple with the rising costs of keeping our communities safe.
  • Rob Grimwood, President, Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs
  • Greg Sage, President, Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs 
  • Lisa Darling, Executive Director, Ontario Association of Police Service Boards

Recent Changes in Land-Use Planning: A Rural Perspective

• This session will help participants learn more about how recent changes to the Provincial Planning Statement impacts rural municipalities including changes to agricultural protection, additional residential units, agricultural impact assessments.
  • Andria Leigh, OPPI President and Director of Planning and Growth, Innisfil
  • Jack Van Dorp, Chief Planner, Bruce County
  • Dr. Ashleigh Weeden, Principal Consultant, Rural Futures Research

Plenary Program

• Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition and NDP
• Sponsored remarks by NWMO
• Robin Jones, President, AMO
• Lindsay Jones, Director of Policy, AMO – AMO’s 2025 Pre-Budget Submission 
• Brian Rosborough, Executive Director, AMO –  Advocacy Update
• The Hon. Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
• Ministers' Forum

Insight Breakfasts

• Sponsored by LAS- (Osgood east)
• Sponsored by NWMO- (Sheraton hall C)
• Sponsored by OLTCA- (Sheraton hall E)
• Sponsored by One Call- (Sheraton hall A/B)
• Sponsored by AirBnB- (Osgood west)

8:30am - 10:00am

Plenary Program

• Bonnie Crombie, Leader, Ontario Liberal Party
• The Canada We Want: Reflections on the U.S. Election and the Path Forward - Jordan Simmons, Co-founder/CEO, Nominee
  • How Donald Trump won, how Kamala Harris lost and what Canada can learn from their campaigns
  • The state of play - addressing mental health in politics and countering harassment, burnout and apathy
  • "Re-humanizing" politicians (they are mothers, daughters, friends, neighbours) and countering negative stereotypes and narratives
  • Steps we can take to rebuild a healthy political culture and engage in positive public discourse in our communities
  • The path forward - finding your why and leading by example
• Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario

• Innovations in Rural Health Services

  • Accessing health services in rural communities continues to be a challenge. This panel discussion will discuss emerging innovations in Ontario’s health system and what they mean for rural Ontario.
    • Dr. Dominic Nowak, President, Ontario Medical Association
    • Dr. Doris Grinspun, CEO RNAO

Plenary Program

• Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure
  • What Can We do About Infrastructure Challenges in Rural Ontario? Funding for municipal core infrastructure will be a challenge in coming years, in particular water and wastewater, with municipalities experiencing pressures to invest to support growth, address aging infrastructure, and build for climate change. 
  •  
• Michael J. Smither Question Panel
  • Moderator: Jody Johnson, Director, Legal Services, Halton Region
    ●    Shawn Everitt, CAO, Town of the Blue Mountains
    ●    Sid Vander Veen, Drainage Specialist, R.J. Burnside & Associates Limited
    ●    Sandra Weber, Director, Planning and Development, Huron County
    ●    Christopher Nagy, Manager of Building and Bylaw Services & Chief Building Official, Town of Huntsville
    ●    Ryan Brown, Director of Public Works, Municipality of Chatham-Kent
     
• Tackling water and wastewater infrastructure challenges in rural Ontario
  • Managing water and wastewater infrastructure will be a challenge in coming years, with municipalities big and small experiencing pressures to invest to support growth, address aging infrastructure, and build for climate change. This panel will discuss the challenges and opportunities of a water utility in rural Ontario.
    •  Michele Grenier, Executive Director, Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA) 
    • Craig Dyer - Chair of the LAS water utility feasibility study expert panel and former Chief Financial Officer of Waterloo Region
    • Patrick McManus, Executive Director, Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA)

11:55am

Closing Remarks and Wrap Up Prize Draw
Sponsored by Bell