1,500 Municipal Leaders Meet at 2010 AMO Conference

WINDSOR, ON, Aug. 16 /CNW/ - The Association of Municipalities of Ontario's 2010 AMO Conference kicked off in Windsor today with keynote presentations from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Ontario Economic Development and Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, leading economist Jeff Ruben and Andrew Coyne, National Editor of Maclean's Magazine.

The three-day Conference, Propelling Economic Prosperity, began with Ottawa Councillor Peter Hume's last address as AMO President. Delegates will elect a new President to a two-year term on Tuesday afternoon. Two candidates are running for the position: Town of Collingwood Councillor Norm Sandberg and Town of Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara. AMO's new President will address delegates in the Plenary Hall on Wednesday at 9:15 AM.

This year's program has drawn municipal officials from right across the province. For many, it provides an opportunity to meet with provincial and federal representatives on key priorities. As many as 265 delegation meetings are scheduled. In total, about 1,500 delegates have registered and as many as 2,600 people are participating. There are more than 60 sessions, involving almost 100 speakers.

Conference highlights for Tuesday, August 17, will include:

    
    8:30 AM - The Honourable John Baird, the Government of Canada's Speaker
              of the House
    9:10 AM - Tim Hudak, Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party
    9:30 AM - Dr. Rick Miner, Miner & Miner Management Consultants, will
              speak about a projected shortage of qualified candidates for
              available jobs and the rise in unemployable citizens
    3:20 PM - The Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Municipal Affairs and
              Housing
    

In addition, as many as 17 Provincial Ministers and Parliamentary Assistants are expected to participate in an open session with all delegates on Tuesday afternoon.

The conference program can be downloaded from AMO's website www.amo.on.ca and additional media releases and resources are available via AMO's media web page www.amo.on.ca/media.

AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario's 444 municipal governments. AMO supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada's political system.

For further information: Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact: Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]