Mayor’s Planned Conference Attendance & Potential Travel in 2022 on Behalf of the City of Burlington

At its March 22 meeting, City Council approved the Mayor's Office report on her planned conference attendance and potential travel in 2022 on behalf of the City of Burlington.Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions and precautions, the Mayor has no physical travel yet planned for 2022. Given the evolving nature of the pandemic, we will look to be flexible if the situation improves and provides an opportunity to attend any key conferences or events in person outside of Burlington.At present, the following are conferences the Mayor intends to attend virtually (or otherwise if circumstances permit):January 23-25, 2022: Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) ConferenceEach year, ROMA hosts a conference where municipal leaders have the opportunity to connect with colleagues and the Province and learn from experts on important and timely rural issues. The 2022 event took place again virtually, and the registration fee of $450 was paid for via the Mayor’s budget.June 2-5, 2022: Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) ConferenceEach year the Federation of Canadian Municipalities hosts a conference where municipal elected officials and staff are invited to attend from across the country. FCM provides an opportunity to shape and vote on advocacy items for the federal government which has, in the past, succeeded in federal commitments to significant municipal infrastructure funding and support for municipal initiatives. There are also professional development sessions and “study tours” where information and learnings are gained and brought back to share with colleagues and the community. The Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) meet as a group and with other groups during this event as well and the Mayor attends those meetings as an OBCM member.This year’s event is planned to take place in Regina, Sask., but may need to be fully virtual due to the pandemic. Registration, estimated at approximately $900, (with potential travel and hotel costs TBD if applicable) will be paid for via the Halton Region budget as per precedent.The cost of one staff member potentially attending with the Mayor to provide support for the Mayor’s activities as well as for their own professional development will be will be approximately $900 for registration plus potential travel costs.August 14-17: Association of Ontario Municipalities Conference (AMO)The purpose of this conference is to bring together municipal governments from across Ontario to work together on issues of shared importance and to provide an opportunity to meet with provincial ministers and advocate on behalf of Burlington and Halton Region. The Mayor is now a member of the AMO Board of Directors, sitting on the Large Urban Caucus and will be attending Board meetings as part of AMO as well.This year’s event is slated to take place in person in Ottawa, with the Mayor’s registration fee (approximately $650 but as of this report not yet confirmed) being paid for via the Halton Region budget as per precedent.One staff member will potentially attend with the Mayor to support the Mayor’s activities as well as for their own professional development and awareness, and the cost of their registration will be approximately $650, along with possible travel expenses.For more details, please click the links below.RELATED LINKS:

• Committee Meeting Minutes: Post-Meeting Minutes - CSSRA_Mar02_2022
• Council Meeting Minutes: to be added once made available on burlington.ca/calendar
• Mayor's Office report: MO-02-22 Mayors 2022 Conferences

--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist