Building Strong Partnerships with Municipalities

Building Strong, Local Partnerships with Municipalities

This week, I attended the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa with a number of municipal leaders from across Dufferin-Caledon. The conference brings together Ontario’s municipalities, provincial decision makers and civic stakeholders from across Ontario to meet and discuss the biggest challenges facing our governments and how we can work together to solve them.

The Premier brought a clear message to the conference during his keynote speech: maintaining a strong relationship with our municipal partners is a top priority. Our government will work with municipalities to protect what matters most to Ontarians and to achieve our shared goals. The Premier highlighted our government’s plan to invest $144 billion dollars in local projects across the province. We are also investing $13 billion dollars to build new schools and $315 million to improve and expand Internet and cell service for rural and remote communities. Our government is putting people first by making historic, strategic and local investments in schools, hospitals, transit, highways and other critical infrastructure.

Investments in local communities are critical and our government is committed to working with municipalities to find savings, drive efficiencies and improve services. Our goal is to work to build Ontario’s future together, alongside municipalities who know how to make every dollar count. That’s why, the Premier announced transitional funding for the municipal budgeting process in 2020. This will help our municipal partners pursue greater fiscal sustainability and protect our public services.

During the conference, I met with municipalities from across the province to discuss how our governments can work together to keep communities safe and improve correctional services. Our government is working across ministries to modernize Ontario’s justice sector and create a system that is more efficient and sustainable. That’s why we are engaging with frontline correctional staff on ways to keep them safe on the job. I also discussed our government’s most recent actions taken to fight guns and gangs across the province. In March, we committed $16.4 million for a province-wide strategy to fight gun crime and gang activities through local crime prevention, enforcement and prosecution.

Our government values the municipal perspective and we will continue working with municipalities to bring prosperity, fiscal balance and improved public services across the province.

If you have any questions about the AMO conference, please call 1-800-265-1603 or visit my website at www.sylviajonesmpp.ca.