Ontario Municipalities and the Province of Ontario Renew Memorandum of
Understanding

WINDSOR, ON, Aug. 17 /CNW/ - Delegates at the Annual Conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) applauded the third renewal of AMO's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Province of Ontario. The agreement, first signed in 2001, promotes the principle of consultation between the Province of Ontario and AMO whenever the Province proposes statutory or regulatory changes that have significant impact on municipal budgets.

The agreement was signed by the Honourbale Jim Bradley, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Peter Hume, AMO's immediate Past President.

"People expect their governments to work well together," said Hume. "We are renewing the MOU agreement between Ontario's provincial and municipal governments because it helps us all to share information, make smarter policies, cooperate more and serve Ontario's communities better."

The AMO membership today elected Norman Sandberg, Councillor for the Town of Collingwood, as the new AMO President. Sandberg has been involved in municipal politics since 1994 and has been an AMO Board member since 2004. Sandberg will make his first remarks as President at 9:15 on Wednesday, August 18.

The Honourable John Baird, Federal House Leader, addressed delegates and announced 42 low-cost infrastructure loans equalling $192 million on behalf of the Government of Canada. These are provided through the Municipal Infrastructure Lending Program to support housing related infrastructure projects.

Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Leader, economic expert Dr. Rick Miner, and the Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, made presentations to delegates. In addition, municipal leaders had the opportunity to question 17 Ontario Government Ministers and Parliamentary Assistants about priority municipal issues during the Minister's Forum.

As many as 265 delegation meetings with Ministers are scheduled throughout the course of the conference. 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.

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]