Program

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Select one of the following two options:

1. Discover Parry Sound: A Walking Tour of the Waterfront & Downtown

Join us for a guided walking tour of Parry Sound’s beautiful waterfront and historic downtown! Discover the rich history that shaped the community, explore the exciting plans for its future, and meet local entrepreneurs who are building vibrant businesses in the heart of Ontario’s cottage country.

2. Planning Canada’s Next Deep Geological Repository: Your Voice Matters, sponsored by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is beginning the process to identify a site for Canada’s second deep geological repository – a facility designed for the safe, long-term storage of intermediate and high-level nuclear waste.

We know that strong communities are built on trust, transparency, and collaboration. That’s why we’re committed to listening to local voices from the very start. Over the next two years, we’ll be engaging with municipalities, Indigenous communities, industry, and other stakeholders to shape the site selection process. Your input will help guide how this project moves forward.
 
Why should small urban municipalities get involved?
Municipalities play a vital role in shaping decisions that affect land use, infrastructure, and economic development. Your perspective matters. Join this workshop to learn more about Canada’s second deep geological repository, review the draft site selection plan, and share your feedback. Together, we can ensure this process reflects the priorities and values of communities.

7:30 am – 4:30 pm 

7:30 am – 4:00 pm

7:30 am - 9:00 am

Registration Open

Trade Show Open 

Breakfast

Plenary Program

• Conference Opening:
  • Town of Parry Sound Welcome and O Canada
  • Indigenous Opening Ceremony: Chief Shane Tabobondung, Wasauksing First Nation

• OSUM Chairs Remarks: Jamie McGarvey, Mayor of Parry Sound
• Chief Shane Tabobondung, Wasauksing First Nation
• Opening Keynote: Althia Raj, Award Winning Journalist
• The Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario (invited)
• Robin Jones, AMO President

Plenary Program

• AMO Advocacy Update
• The Hon. Graydon Smith, Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
• ROMA Chair, Christa Lowry

• Navigating the Future of Public Health in Ontario

  • Dr. Eileen de Villa, former Medical Officer of Health City of Toronto, Adjunct Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Bruce Public Health Unit, Special Advisor.

As Ontario undergoes a significant shift toward a more integrated, 'connected' healthcare system, the public health sector faces a critical turning point. Join Dr. Eileen de Villa for important considerations and her insight into key strategic and operational considerations for successfully navigating current reforms—as municipalities can balance provincial standards with local needs and fostering the inter-sectoral partnerships necessary to improve population health outcomes and ensure long-term system sustainability.

• Navigating Public Health Mergers
  • Nathan Townend, Deputy Mayor, Loyalist Township, and Warden, County of Lennox and Addington - Chair Southeast Public Health
  • Bonnie Clark, Deputy Mayor, Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Warden, Peterborough County - Committee Member Lakelands Public Health

Ontario’s public health landscape is undergoing a critical transformation. This panel brings together leading voices to discuss their experiences and key considerations in merging of public health units.  Join us as we explore how to make these structural shifts all in the aim to improve population health outcomes and create a more resilient, public health system for all Ontarians.

• Municipal Governance and Leadership in Ontario: Insights into AMO's Leading with Respect Strategy and New Council Education: Why it Matters
  • Brenda Orchard, President, CAMA and CAO Lennox and Addington
  • Petra Wolfbeiss, Director, Membership, AMO
  • William Gardiner, Program Administrator, Executive Office, AMO

Plenary Program

• Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition and Ontario NDP (invited)
   
• AMO IRAP: Opportunities for Local Reconciliation
  • Melanie Pilon, Mayor, Wawa
  • Jeff Lehman, District Chair, The District of Muskoka
  • Chief Shane Tabobondung, Wasauksing First Nation
     
• John Fraser, Interim Leader, Ontario Liberal Party (invited)

Plenary Program

• Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario
   
• Strengthening Municipal Communications in a Changing Information Environment
  • Moderator: Lynn Dollin, Mayor, Town of Innisfil
  • Panelists:
    • John Hammill, Regional Publisher & General Manager, Village Media
    • Kate Ingram, Director of Corporate Service, Manager of Communications, Municipality of Port Hope

Declining civic knowledge, weakened local journalism, and social media’s role in amplifying misinformation, mistrust, and incivility have fundamentally changed how residents receive information and engage with local decision-making processes.
Drawing on AMO’s Healthy Democracy and Workforce Development projects, this session will examine practical strategies to help small urban municipalities strengthen their role as trusted local information sources. Attendees will explore how to effectively communicate service and Council decisions, build media partnerships and learn communication strategies that reinforce public trust and credibility.

4:30 pm

Closing

Plenary Program

• New Insights – Municipalities Under Pressure One Year Later: An Update on the Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis 
  • Michael Jacek, Senior Advisor, Association of Municipalities of Ontario

AMO’s groundbreaking study on homelessness, released in 2025, made it clear that Ontario’s homelessness crisis is at a tipping point.  It revealed the unprecedented and growing costs of homelessness to individuals, families, communities, and governments and charted a collective path forward. New research found that homelessness continues to worsen and is moving from a crisis to an intractable situation. AMO will provide an update, insights and outline actions taken arising from the report and those that OSUM members could do to support AMO’s evidence-informed advocacy to tackle homelessness and address the root causes.

• Building Inclusive Communities: Balancing Growth with Social Responsibility
  • Moderator: Jamie McGarvey, Mayor, Parry Sound

Small towns and cities are growing across Ontario leveraging new economic development opportunities and the appeal of living in small urban communities. This does not happen without growing pains as the character of the municipality changes and the risk of displacing existing residents’ manifests itself.  This session tackles the complex intersection of rapid development, housing costs, and rising homelessness. Learn from municipal leaders about innovative approaches to managing growth in a socially responsible way for inclusive communities.  

• Ontario’s Public Libraries—Community Innovators, Builders, and Municipal Partners
  • Meagan Wilkinson, CEO, Orillia Public Library
  • Erin Scuccimarri, CEO, Innisfil ideaLAB & Library

Ontario’s public libraries are playing innovative and complementary roles in the civic life of municipalities. They are willing leaders and partners in playing roles in the social fabric of municipalities from the health of community members to the health of local democracies. Learn from a couple public library leaders doing important work in municipalities and explore the opportunities for possible collaboration.

Plenary Program 

• Strong Mayor Powers – Building Homes or Demolishing Democracy?
  • John Mascarin, Partner, Aird Berlis

Almost half of all municipalities in Ontario now have strong mayor powers. Although purportedly enacted to advance new housing and infrastructure to support housing, have these powers really led to new construction starts?  John Mascarin will review of the strong mayor powers and how they are being used.  He will also provide some tips to stay out of traps when using strong mayor powers.

• New Approaches to Pay for Growth Infrastructure 
  • Moderator: Bob Kwapis, Councillor, Town of Newmarket
  • Panelists:
    • Patrick Kelly, CFO/Treasurer, Township of Mapleton 
    • Dima Zreik, Director of Investments, Canadian Infrastructure Bank

Municipalities have plans to invest more than $250 billion in infrastructure over the next 10 years, and 80% of financing for this infrastructure will predominately come from development charges, property taxes, and user fees.  This session will explore how municipalities across Ontario and Canada are using alternative project financing approaches, such as blended finance, portfolio bundling and municipal services corporations to get housing enabling infrastructure built in their communities. 

Conference Closing and Wrap Up Prize

Grab and Go Lunch