This program is preliminary and may be changed

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Fostering Regional Economic Development Through Local CIP’s – The SDG Experience
Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Alison McDonald, Manager of Planning, United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry

Timothy Simpson, CAO, United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry

Peter Young, Director of Planning/Economic Development Officer, Township of South Stormont

 

Several upper-tier municipalities in Southwestern Ontario fund regional economic development activities through the community improvement plans of their constituent local municipalities. However, in the East, this practice remains uncommon. Beginning in 2017, SDG County embarked on a process to bring regional economic development dollars to businesses through local municipal CIP’s. This involved the development of a regional component for inclusion in local CIP’s, focused on brownfield redevelopment, adaptive re-use, roofed accommodation, and value-added agriculture. This session will review how this process unfolded, some of the challenges, as well as the successes of developing and implementing a regional funding component for community improvement plans.

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Essentials of Continuity of Operations for Municipalities
Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Lisa Maddock, Vanguard EMC Inc.

Cynthia Wenn, Vanguard EMC Inc.

 

Last year saw historic widespread flooding across eastern Ontario. Municipalities must be prepared to deal with modern hazards from climate change to cyber attacks. Part one of this presentation will allow participants to explore and share information on risks that are impacting or threating their communities. We will discuss incidents that can impact their people, information, technology and workplace and how they can take steps to mitigate the disruption of municipal operations. Part two will cover the basics of planning for continuity of operations for municipalities including roles and responsibilities during an incident. The Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) requires municipalities to develop a plan to describe how they will respond to emergencies within their jurisdiction. This presentation will explore how to:

  • Determine which services are time critical,
  • Determine what resources are needed to support time critical services,
  • Set up and operate an Emergency Operations centre,
  • Implement the Incident Management System, and,
  • Conduct a test of the plan (exercise).

This session will include case studies, best practices, and tools to help attendees be better prepared to maintain their time critical services during an emergency. Presenters will combine wit and humor to deliver a memorable introduction to an important topic.

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Mapping Eastern Ontario for Economic Development
Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

Dan Borowec, Director, Economic Development and Tourism, Northumberland County

Martine Gallant, PhD Student, Research Team Lead at Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS)

Forbes Symon, Director of Development and Protective Services, Corporation of the Town of Perth

 

Imagine arriving at a prospective client meeting, tablet in hand, and by simply logging in to a single web-application you hold all you need for your sales pitch — an interactive model mapping the economic assets of Eastern Ontario with an integrated database, at once scalable and searchable, that is visually compelling to become its own promotional tool. One tool, one model, visually representing all economic assets in an area extending over 51,000 sq.km. — made possible by the working partnership between Ontario East Economic Development Commission and the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS).

This session will highlight the ongoing work and potential of this multi-layered tool mapping the economic assets of Eastern Ontario.

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Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade: Helping the Economic Development Community with Business Attraction, Retention and Growth!
Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

Rita Byvelds, Team Lead, Funding Administration Branch, MEDJCT

Clara Chan, Director, Funding Administration Branch, MEDJCT

Lynne Groulx, Regional Manager, Ontario Investment Office, MEDJCT

Romi Jaszczynski, Senior Export Advisor, MEDJCT

Anika Rasheed, Senior Business Analyst, Immigration Selection Division, MEDJCT

Harsh Sodhi, Senior Advisor, MEDJCT

 

MEDJCT offer valuable programs and services to support economic development and small business growth in Eastern Ontario. Representatives from MEDJCT have teamed up to provide updates on their programs including: Regional Economic Development, funding programs such as the Eastern Ontario Development Fund and the Communities in Transition program, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, Investment Services, International Trade and the Ontario Investment Office – Regional Growth Services.

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Community Safety and Well-being Planning – The Small Town Approach
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Lianne Sauter, M.A., Dipl.M.A., Acting Clerk/Economic Development Coordinator, Town of Bancroft

 

The Safer Ontario Act (2018) mandates that every municipality in Ontario must adopt a community safety and well-being (CSWB) plan by March 2020 and establish an advisory committee to inform that plan. If they have not yet started, municipalities will need to begin their CSWB planning process early in the new term of Council. After several years of planning and community engagement, Bancroft adopted its CSWB plan in 2016, making it one of the first Ontario municipalities to do so. With support from all seven municipal Councils in North Hastings, including the Town of Bancroft, a regional coordinating committee has recently been formed to guide and direct the tasks required to complete a regional CSWB plan prior to 2020. This session will speak to the basics of CSWB planning, Bancroft’s experience in developing their plan and the value of the regional approach now underway. It will also highlight the relationship between CSWB and community development and discuss the importance of a strong community engagement strategy to a strong CSWB plan.

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Municipalities and Social Media – Legal Implications
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Tony Fleming, Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little, and Bonham LPP

 

More and more aggressive and negative comments on social media appear to be the new normal. Free speech is a fundamental right, but it must be based on fact and ideally should advance public debate. When healthy debate turns septic, what recourse do staff and politicians have? This session will look at the legal issues surrounding this issue and offer techniques that may help to manage the problem.

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Free or Near Free Solutions for Your Municipality: Open Source and Freemium Solutions for Local Government
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Bradley Pinch, Director of Municipal Needs, AccessE11

 

No matter your size, any municipality can benefit from open source, near free solutions and trial offer solutions to help with everything from office administration to citizen facing mobile applications. We will explore a few such applications, talk about the difference between them and you will be provided with information on the ones shown. Where new free software is created every day, you will also be shown how to find these types of solutions yourself.

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‘Taste of Place’ – Trends and Best Practices
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Rebecca Mackenzie, President and CEO, Culinary Tourism Alliance

 

Learn how to infuse “Taste of Place” offerings into your operations and leverage consumers interest to be connected to place, people and the food culture they support. In addition to sharing global trends and best practices in food tourism, an overview will be given of the only foodservice certification program in Canada to verify the support of local food and beverages – Feast On, a certified taste of Ontario.

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Ready for Investment Mapping – Prescott and Russell
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Olivier Berthiaume, Project Officer, United Counties of Prescott and Russell

Carole Lavigne, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, United Counties of Prescott and Russell

 

Do you know what you have for sale? What kind of utilities are available? Learn how Prescott and Russell answered those questions by building an inventory and mapping tool that will serve all lower tiers municipality as well as the regional government to improve its investment readiness.

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Excess Soil Management – Sponsored by Cambium Inc.
Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Chris Rancourt, P.Geo., Senior Project Manager, Cambium Inc.

 

Soils are a valued resource that should be managed to promote beneficial reuse and control any adverse effects they can have on the environment due to contaminants. This is the intention of the proposed Excess Soil Management Policy developed by the MOECC coming into full effect by 2020. Are you ready?

Cambium explores the proposed Excess Soil Management Policy and provides advice on how Municipalities and bylaw/policy makers can efficiently move forward utilizing existing frameworks. Participants leave with a solid understanding of the Municipality’s role and next steps to implement a plan. Discussion will include:

 

  • Historic, Current and Future Perspectives on Excess Soil Management
  • Proposed Changes and the Effects on By-laws and Policies
  • Common Processes Currently Used and Required Changes
  • Managing Existing Stock Piles With No Characterizations and In-Coming Characterized Soils
  • Unified Voice – Understanding and Communicating with Departments and Updating Protocols that Relate/Overlap with Excess Soils (Planning, Procurement, etc.)

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Promote Your Community Like a Tech Startup – Sponsored by Townfolio
Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Elijah Raji, Economic Growth Coordinator, Townfolio

 

This session will focus on how to maximize marketing for communities considering the limited resources that most communities have access to. Our insights on how we grew our network from 3 municipalities to over 450 municipalities today while facing and continue to face budgetary restrictions, limited human capital, and the lack of training for the wide range of tasks and responsibilities expected. Maximizing resources is important to everyone working within a budget, or who want to learn how to be more efficient on a limited budget.

This session will go over some of our strategies and stories as well as the free and cheap marketing tools we use, social media tips, leveraging networkings and crowdsourcing, and how these practices used in tech startups can be also utilized to marketing for municipalities.

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Economic Development Best Practices – Sponsored by Explorer Solutions
Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Christian Perreault, Principal and CEO, Explorer Solutions

 

This presentation will provide a comprehensive report of Best Practices and Promising Approaches in Economic Development Best Practices to help understand contemporary economic development. The presentation is based on best practices and promising approaches through broad-based research of socio-economic and geographic communities to establish a baseline for comparative research and recommendations to provide guidance and support for cooperative economic development initiatives that will support healthy regional economies. The presentation will include an analysis of current economic development practices, service delivery methodologies and strategies.

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The Great, the Good, and the Ugly: A Review of Changes to the Municipal Tax Sale Process – Sponsored by Templeman
Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Kristin Eliot, B.A. (Hons), LL.B., LL.M., Templeman

Cristy Nurse, B.A. (Hons), J.D., Templeman

Kevin Walsh, B.A., J.D., Templeman

 

Cristy Nurse will speak to amendments concerning the use of Integrity Commissioners and council-staff relations policies. Kevin Walsh will speak to changes respecting the sale of lands for tax arrears. Kristin Eliot will be available to answer questions.

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Hydro One Forestry Practices – Sponsored by Hydro One Networks Inc.
Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Ani Bekmezian, Community Relations Consultant, Hydro One Networks Inc.

Jon Marriott, Forestry Manager, Transmission & Distribution Programs, Hydro One Networks Inc.

 

  • Hydro One general overview
  • Forestry services overview – Distribution and Transmission
  • Maintenance along distribution rights-of-way
  • Maintenance along transmission rights-of-way in urban areas

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Tale of the Trail – a Collaboration of Building
Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Jason Davis, Manager of Forestry & GIS, County of Renfrew

Kurt Greaves, CAO, County of Lanark

Craig Kelley, Director of Development & Property, County of Renfrew

Robert Sweet, Mayor of Petawawa/Councillor, County of Renfrew

 

In 2010, CP Rail discontinued rail service from Smiths Falls to Mattawa. Seeing an opportunity, in 2013 three municipalities from Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario got together to form a partnership to convert the abandoned rail line into one of the largest recreational infrastructure and tourism products ever seen in Eastern Ontario. The Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail has been born, and this session will speak to the steps taken so far to see it advance to fruition. It will also focus on the importance of partnerships, collaboration, messaging, and sharing across municipal boundaries. This $77-million asset will be a legacy project for years to come.

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Cannabis Health & Safety in the Workplace
Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Jeff Pajot, Public Services Health & Safety (www.pshsa.ca)

 

Marijuana (also called Cannabis) is a hot topic in the workplace now with Medical Marijuana and the legalization of recreational use of marijuana. Are Municipalities prepared? What are the implications for human rights and accommodation for medical disability? What about impairment and safety on the job? How do I determine what is a “safety sensitive” job? In what circumstances is drug testing appropriate? This seminar will include both lecture and Q&A.

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From Strategic Plan to Agri Outcomes – Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

SDG: Terry Besner, Economic Development and Communications Officer, The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry

Agriculture Advisory Council: Gina Dragone, Food and Agriculture Development Office

Community Kitchens: Tara Kirkpatrick, Economic Development and Communications Officer, Township of North Glengarry

Agri-Tourism in SDG: Eleanor McGrath, Owner, Springfield Farm

Agri-East Lowlands, Geraldine Wildman, Rural Affairs Office, Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development, City of Ottawa

 

How do you manoeuvre from your Strategic Plan, directly to the tangible outcomes? What steps do you need to take in order to meet those tangible actions from an agriculture/agri-food point of view?

Delve into the nuances of community engagement, priority setting, and action-oriented tactics to get to those desired measurables. See how Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry has set the stage through the SDG, Cornwall & Akwesasne Agri-Food advisory council, to move priorities… to actual projects, then pilot and test drive them in and with the community, build off of the foundation set, then re-align the tactics as necessary to get the job done. SDG has moved from planning to actions through a diverse team working together.

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Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Sue Rauth, Deputy Director, Regional Office of the Trade Commissioner Service, Ontario Region, Global Affairs Canada

 

The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service can help companies successfully navigate the complexities of international markets. We are on-the-ground in more than 160 cities in Canada and worldwide where we gain market intelligence and insight, and uncover opportunities for Canadian companies. And with offices across Canada, we can help companies prepare for international markets, right here at home.

Whether you’re looking to export, invest abroad, attract investment or develop innovation and R&D partnerships, our international business professionals can help.

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Simplifying Municipal Recruitment to Find the Municipal Talent You Need
Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

 

Jim Pine, CAO, County of Hastings & Co-Chair of ONWARD

Susan Shannon, Founder & Principal, muniSERV.ca & muniJOBS.ca

 

Recruiting youth and qualified talent to become tomorrow’s leaders is a critical issue facing municipalities today, while at the same time municipal job seekers report they struggle to easily find all available municipal jobs.

In this session you’ll learn more about the muniSERV/ONWARD initiative and how they collaborated to develop muniJOBS.ca – Canada’s only 100% municipal online recruitment and career platform that simplifies municipal recruitment by bringing municipalities and talented people together.

We’ll take you on virtual tour of the muniJOBS platform and show you how it will save municipalities time and money by making it easier to post all their available jobs—plus search for municipal candidates—all in one convenient location.

Ask Questions. Register Your Municipality. Learn about the Special Launch Promotion.

It really is the recruitment tool municipalities have been waiting for!

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Big Ideas for Small Municipalities: Lessons Learned by a 20-Something Year Old Mayor
Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

 

Eric Duncan, Mayor, Township of North Dundas

 

Have you heard about a great idea, but think it can’t be done in your municipality because you’re “too small”? Do you need some ideas for best practices that can be implemented with limited resources and expertise? North Dundas Mayor Eric Duncan was elected to Council at the age of 18. After 12 years in municipal government, he will reflect and share some innovative ideas and best practices that have been developed in the Township of North Dundas by staff and Council. Whether it is better communication with residents, customer service improvements, innovative events, or programs and partnerships with local organizations, this is a great session to learn several practical ideas to implement in your municipality.

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The LEAN Approach to Service Delivery Review: North Grenville’s Best Practice in “Service Excellence”
Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

 

Rory Baksh, Associate, Dillon Consulting

Brian Carré, CAO, Municipality of North Grenville

 

[Note: All participants will receive the LEAN Primer as part of this workshop-style session.] The Municipality of North Grenville faces operational challenges as its trajectory for growth means a growing demand for greater timeliness, efficiency, transparency / accountability, and value-for-money. As an alternative to the costly traditional service delivery review, North Grenville embraced the LEAN transformation approach to help find efficiencies and improve cost effectiveness. This session will explain how North Grenville adapted LEAN to suit the needs of a smaller yet growing municipality, why LEAN was used on its development review business units (Planning and Building) to launch the larger transformation, and how LEAN has equipped the municipality with the right foundation for change management. Most importantly, this session will highlight how LEAN has empowered its staff to take a leadership role over continuous improvement, and the significant successes that have resulted from this empowerment. Are you ready to improve service delivery by adopting the LEAN transformation approach? This workshop-style session will include a LEAN Primer with tools to help you structure your municipality’s Core Team, select your first business unit, and build your first project charter.

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FedDev Ontario: How We Support Economic Development in Southern Ontario
Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

 

Ann-Marie Kelleher-Byers, Economic Development Officer, FedDev Ontario

 

An overview of FedDev Ontario’s role in supporting economic development in southern Ontario. The presentation will illustrate how the Agency’s collaborative approach delivers on the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan, engaging in strategic partnerships and investments.

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International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy International Symposium and Workforce Development in Eastern Ontario
Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

 

Lorraine Godden, Queen’s University

Valérie Roy, General Director, Axtra

 

During 2017, six career development professionals traveled to Seoul, South Korea to represent Canada at the 8th International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy International Symposium. Team Canada returned with a Pan-Canadian Country Action Plan that identified engaging with employers as a priority. Team Canada recognizes that employers of all sizes and from all industries and sectors are vital stakeholders in career and work development issues.

In this interactive session, two members of Team Canada will provide a brief overview of the ICCDPP International Symposium, present the Pan-Canadian Country Action Plan, and seek to commence an ongoing conversation with delegates as to how career development and human resource practitioners might provide effective and efficient support to business and industry within eastern Ontario. It is the intention to engage in conversation with employers to better understand their values, motivators, and needs, which in turn will allow career development practitioners and human resources practitioners to provide appropriate and targeted services for employers. In particular, the presenters will seek to identify how to support all sizes of businesses with accessing valuable labour market and relevant internal information, to help ensure that employers’ recruitment, retention, and engagement needs are effectively met.

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Community Engagement: Big Thinking for Small Budgets
Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Nadia De Santi, MCIP, RPP, Senior Project Manager, WSP

Kasper Koblauch, MPl, Planner, WSP

Kara Stonehouse, Principal and Graphic Recorder, AHA! Graphic Facilitation

 

Municipalities are responsible for even more community engagement through legislative changes to the Planning Act as a result of Bill 73. For example, Bill 73 allows municipalities to customize and use alternative procedures for public notices; including a public member on a Planning Advisory Committee; public consultation strategies in Official Plans for development applications; and the requirement to explain the effect of public input in a Notice of Decision by Council.

Citizens expect to be engaged, but how can municipalities achieve this with limited human resources, less time, competing priorities, and a small budget? How is engagement done to allow all ages and abilities to participate? How do all members of a community get engaged, both permanent and seasonal residents, youth?

Delegates will participate in a Visioning engagement session about community engagement. The delegates will be asked to identify what engagement challenges their municipality face. The groups will develop ideas for reaching that segment of a community that tends not to be engaged; how to reach the public who may not have transportation means to attend a meeting; and cost effective methods. The takeaways will include a list of potential engagement ideas/methods, and a graphic illustration of the Workshop results.

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Hang On to Your Seats – 2019 is Almost Here and it will be a Very Different Ride!
Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Nigel Bellchamber, Amberley Gavel Ltd.

Fred Dean, Amberley Gavel Ltd.

 

Changes to the Municipal Act and the Municipal Conflict of interest Act, plus other legislation and regulations will make the 2018 to 2022 term of office a very different term for municipal councillors. Public scrutiny will increase and at the same time councillors will have their decision making processes impacted by new rules and new laws. Join two experienced municipal educators for their analysis and advice on how to prepare for and make the most of the next term of Council, from both a staff and Councillor perspective.

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OMAFRA Updates
Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

1. Main Street Enhancement Initiative

 

Darryl Julott, Program Manager, Digital Main Street, Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA)

Kay Matthews, Executive Director, Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA)

Brian Rosborough, Director, Membership Centre, Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)

Moderator: Darren Shock, Economic Development Specialist, Business Development Branch,
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Main Street Enhancement Initiative invests $40 million over two years to help strengthen small businesses in downtown and main street areas. It includes the Main Street Revitalization Initiative delivered by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), and the Main Street Digital Initiative delivered by the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA). Join representatives from AMO and OBIAA to hear about how each program can support small businesses and main street areas in your community, and discuss opportunities for getting involved in the program.

 

2. New Agriculture Statistics Tool – More Than Just Numbers

 

Stephen Duff, Chief Economist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

 

OMAFRA has developed an excel based regional information tool that is available on its statistics website. This regional information tool is the only one of its kind in Canada. It is designed to give the public a robust collection of key population, business and agri-food information for their community. It is compiled primarily from Statistics Canada (STC) census and business register data and is assembled in a way that would take a specific community a significant amount of time and energy to compile from multiple STC sources. The tool complies information at the Census Ag Region, county and township level. For each region, county and township, the following information is available:

  • a complete population, family income, employment and business profile; a summary profile for the primary ag sector;
  • an economic profile of estimated household expenditures on food and other items;
  • a calculator which estimates the food consumed within the community compared to local food production as a means to identify local food opportunities; and,
  • the entire STC agriculture census data for 2006, 2011 and 2016.

This presentation will provide a detailed overview of the tool, its data sources and its importance in assisting regional economic development. Using this tool, there will be a further presentation on changes in farmland availability and usage across Ontario to further illustrate its use.

 

3. Writing a Good Grant Application, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

 

Heather Candler, Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Katie Nolan, Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

 

If you’ve ever written a grant application and wondered if it’s going to resonate with your reader, you’re not alone. In this session, you’ll hear from real human beings who are tasked with reviewing applications. We will explain what we love and loathe about the applications that cross our desk, and can provide you with solid recommendations on how to prepare a great application that really sings. Using direct experiences from the Rural Economic Development program, the material provided will be generally applicable to a range of granting programs.

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Economic Benefits of Rural Recreation and Leisure Services – Leeds and Grenville
Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Kim Goodman, Recreation Coordinator, Township of Leeds & Thousand Islands

Richard Kidd, Reeve, Township of Beckwith

Bonnie Schnittker, Public Health Nurse, Leeds Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit

 

A report, Economic Benefits of Rural Recreation, was commissioned by the Rural Recreation Association (RRA). This report is a resource for champions to communicate with municipalities, individuals, organizations and decision makers about the ‘grounded-in-research’ economic benefits of recreation. It includes infrastructure, human resources, programs and services, as well as outdoor leisure. The report has detailed information and research as well as a listing of good practices and direct quotes from locals related to the economic benefits of recreation and leisure services. Hear how Rural Recreation Association Members are using this information with elected officials, the business community and customers to advance awareness of the economic benefits of having and keeping recreation departments in rural Ontario. The presentation as proposed will review the Report and supporting videos that were created by the RRA;

The Rural Recreation Association members are of municipal recreation departments and non-profit physical activity and recreation organizations serving the Lanark Leeds Grenville and surrounding area, which will improve communication, collaboration and knowledge and use of current recommended practices.

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Cybersecurity for Municipalities
Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Jason White, Manager of Information Technology Services, County of Lennox and Addington

 

With technology now being used in all aspect of our organizations, what are the new challenges for securing these resources? Why are old challenges still persistent? What are the information technology departments doing to improve our organization’s position? What can those not working in information technology departments do to help? Our data is more connected and more accessible than ever and this is a good thing for organizational decision making and outcomes, but this is not without security challenges. We can work together to make sure we protect these resources and protect our organizations while achieving desired objectives.

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Local Workforce Development & the Manufacturing Sector Strategy for Eastern Ontario
Thursday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Ellen Barton, Human Resources Leader, Procter & Gamble

Jennifer Barton, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Alysha Dominico, Project Coordinator, EOMWDP

David Osmond, Manager – Skills, Training and Economic Development, St. Lawrence College

Scott Ravary, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Mike Temple, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

 

This workshop with be jointly presented by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) and the Ontario East Manufacturing Sector Strategy Working Group. Learn more about the project that is focused on the regional manufacturing sector as well as the regular opportunities to help individuals in your community further their training, skills and experience to achieve their employment goals. Find out how to connect people looking for work with employers looking for workers, and learn about some of the tools available for job seekers to understand the local labour market information available across Eastern Ontario.

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The ‘Need to Knows’ about MPAC, our Assessments, and our Focus on Municipal Engagement
Thursday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Kathy Blake, Regional Manager, Municipal and Stakeholder Relations, MPAC

 

Municipalities and MPAC are key partners in Ontario’s assessment and property tax process. Learn about current MPAC initiatives that are enhancing our municipal partnerships, including our Service Level Agreement (SLA), which ensures a consistent service standard from MPAC. We will also outline MPAC’s role in Ontario’s assessment system, explain how we determine assessments for various property types, and focus on the beneficial assessment outcomes that can result when a positive dialogue exists between MPAC and municipal leaders in the areas of finance, planning, administration, and economic development.

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Environmental Assessment 101: Demystifying the Process
Thursday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

James Jarrett, MCIP, RPP, Manager, WSP

 

Your guiding planning documents have outlined a need for a critical piece of infrastructure to facilitate growth, and your budget now allocates the necessary funding to take it to implementation. So – what’s next? Chances are that your new road, transit, or water/wastewater facility may need an EA.

The purpose of this presentation is to provide a primer to anyone who may be involved in infrastructure planning through the EA process. Topics covered will include:

  • What are your overall responsibilities under the EA Act?
  • Which EA process should be followed for your project?
  • What are the core technical requirements and phases of an EA?
  • What level of agency and stakeholder consultation is involved in an EA?
  • How does the EA Master Plan process work?
  • How can the EA be integrated with other planning processes?

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Waterfront Property Owners as Economic Development Contributors in Rural Ontario
Thursday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 

Terry Rees, Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations

 

The Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA) recently completed a research project entitled “Waterfront property owners as economic development contributors in rural Ontario.” Over 400 residents responded to our survey, and follow up interviews were also conducted with waterfront property owners (WPO’s), and municipal staff. Based on our research our final report and recommendations details why it is important to include WPO’s in the context of rural economic development in Eastern Ontario. We will profile WPO’s who have made the move to work from their waterfront communities and detail what worked for them. We will also provide recommendations on how to involve more WPO’s in economic development as potential employers, business owners, and investors.

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Ethics in Economic Development
Thursday, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Emily Bell, Consultant, International Economic Development Council (IEDC)

Lidy Romanuk, B.A., EcD. CEcD., Manager, Economic Development & Tourism, Economic Development & Tourism, Haldimand County

 

Are you faced with ethical dilemmas in your professional life? Do you have the tools to deal with ethical issues? Economic developers regularly encounter situations that require sound judgment and strength of character. Saying no is not always easy but may be the right thing to do. This session will provide essential instruction on ethics in economic development and will provide you with the tools to foster a culture of high standards in your organization. No theoretical lecture, this workshop will focus on real life ethical situations faced by economic developers where your decisions could mean the difference between success and failure in your career and life.

Note: Ethics training is a requirement for the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) recertification processes. CEcDs who seek recertification are required to have two hours of ethics training each time they recertify.

 

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Implementing Cycling Facilities on Provincial Highways
Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Brad Hewton, P.Eng., Morrison Hershfield Limited

 

With increasing demand for a more robust cycling network throughout the Ontario, there has been a marked interest in improved cycling connections between rural communities.

This presentation highlights recent projects implemented to improve the ride and safety for cyclists and motorists on rural roadways to demonstrate some of the challenges associated with implementing cycling facilities on existing infrastructure.

Bike lanes are designed to fit within the existing roadway platform without significant widening and potential impacts associated with such widening; challenges include trade-offs between buffer width and cycling facility width and impacts associated with widening the highway platform. The intent of the design is to improve safety for cyclists and vehicles exiting the roadway by reducing the probability of rear end collisions all the while ensuring the infrastructure still works within the needs of the road authority.

These projects promote safe cycling and help to reduce the use of cars, as well as improve the ride and safety for motorists and cyclists within rural roadway networks. They positively impacted the communities involved by providing additional connectivity to neighborhoods and through cycling.

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Ombudsman Ontario – How the Ombudsman Can Help Resolve Complaints Effectively and Efficiently
Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Jean-Frédéric Hübsch, Counsel, Ombudsman Ontario

 

The Ontario Ombudsman’s Office began overseeing municipalities in January 2016. Since then, the Office has closed more than 80% of the municipal complaints it has received – from complaints about council and committees, to Ontario Works and by-law enforcement, to municipal hydro and housing. This session will provide an overview of the Ombudsman’s role and function, as well as help municipalities learn about creating or reinforcing comprehensive complaint policies for resolving local issues efficiently and effectively. New municipal legislation will also require municipalities to put in place codes of conduct and integrity commissioners by March 2019. At this session, you’ll hear about the Ombudsman’s role as an office of last resort and its process for referring complaints through existing mechanisms first. You’ll also learn about the benefits of establishing robust codes of conduct and putting in place local accountability officers, including through case examples from the Ombudsman’s work.

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A New Toolkit: The Rural Development Pro Forma and a Case Study from the Village of Portland
Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Rory Baksh, Associate, Dillon Consulting

Mike Dwyer, CAO, Township of Rideau Lakes

 

[Note: All participants will receive the Rural Development Pro Forma Toolkit on compact disc or USB memory stick, including the training video and customizable spreadsheets.] Jointly leveraging public and private investments towards common interests are unlocking economic opportunities. In recent years, pro forma have increasingly been used by public entities for this purpose. While pro forma have long been used by the private sector, municipal use of pro forma have generally been isolated to urban megaprojects. Rural municipalities face distinct barriers to unlock economic opportunities: limited fiscal capacity; a heightened risk profile; lack of familiarity to assess risk; public skepticism on major projects; and, limited institutional capacity with pro forma. Rideau Lakes has broken through this barrier. Major development and infrastructure decisions are needed in Portland that, if came to fruition, would be one of the most significant capital undertakings of the municipality. Rideau Lakes has successfully developed its own pro forma to determine the project’s viability and now is poised to attract project partners – its rural development pro forma speaks directly to rural prosperity and economic growth. Rideau Lakes has created the Rural Development Pro Forma Toolkit. Now any small or rural municipality has access to this powerful tool. This training session at OEMC will briefly explain the genesis of the toolkit and the vision for Portland, and then demonstrate how other municipalities can use the toolkit.

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Update on the Eastern Ontario Leadership Council
Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

 

Justin Bromberg, Communications and Policy Coordinator, EOLC

Andy Brown, CAO, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville

Kathryn Wood, Project Coordinator, EOLC

 

Facilitators:

Warden John Fenik, Co-Chair, representing the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus

Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy, Co-Chair, representing the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus

 

The last 12 months have been a time of extraordinary progress for the Eastern Ontario Leadership Council (EOLC), which represents five major organizations and regional sectors across Eastern Ontario. This session will provide attendees – including Economic Development Officers, elected officials, and senior staff – with an update of the significant work undertaken by the EOLC since September 2017. These include the ongoing collaboration and data sharing with the public and private sectors; the projects and discussions taking place through the EOLC’s three working groups; and the EOLC’s recognition as a unique model for regional economic development. Finally, the presentation will provide an update on the ongoing “refresh” of the Eastern Ontario Economic Development Strategy, initially released in 2014. The updated Strategy, to be released later this year, will reflect recent economic considerations and incorporate existing regional work, while translating broad action steps into specific, prioritized projects to fulfill the Strategy’s 10-year vision.

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Digging into Communal Servicing
Thursday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Presentations and an opportunity to talk to the experts on Decentralized servicing including the current context, need and actions. This session will feature 3 speaker presentations, and provide an opportunity for audience Q & A and follow-up discussion on this important and timely topic!

 

1. Current Context: Delving into Decentralized: An Overview

 

Trish Johnson, Lead, Better Best Practices Initiative

 

This presentation will provide background including the benefits of decentralized systems, stakeholder identified challenges to implementation in small towns in Ontario, and touch on the U.S. situation, (e.g. U.S. decentralized uptake and USEPA management structure) and conclude with current actions to support decentralized system uptake in Ontario including establishment of a formal working group.

 

2. The Need: County of Frontenac Perspective

 

Joe Gallivan, Director of Planning and Economic Development, Frontenac County

 

This presentation provides local and specific context, notes Developer and Council support, identifies the need for investigation of financing options.

 

3. Current Actions: Presentation on Project & Findings to Date

 

Nadia De Santi, WSP

 

This presentation provides insight as to project approach, Official Plan policy framework, findings to date, and identifies a path forward with next steps & a timeline.

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Asset Non-Management Can Lead to Litigation
Thursday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Len Bennett, BA, FCIP, CRM, Risk Management Assessment & Solutions Manager, Frank Cowan Company Limited

 

Municipal Assets are an investment in your future but they are also a potential source of future liabilities. Effective management of these assets will help deliver better value for your money, improve service delivery, protect the public and provide a safe workplace for your employees. This seminar will help explain the importance of Risk Management in developing and executing a preventative maintenance program to help extend the life expectancy of your assets. It will include photos of unmaintained premises and circumstances that can cause a great deal of damage to the facility and severe injuries to its occupants. It will also cover the importance of checklists, who uses them and why they are used. Checklists are an important tool for risk management. They are important because they focus on the essential information and allow you focus on the task at hand. They also provide important documentation in the event of litigation. The biggest thing about Risk Management is that it is not a single event but a continuous process. This seminar will address the importance of developing and executing an Asset Management Plan in order to help mitigate your risks. Claim examples will be provided in this seminar.

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Importance of Education & Business Collaborations
Thursday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

David Hyndman, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Industry Partnerships, Office of Partnerships and Innovation, Queen’s University

Nathalie Méthot, Ph.D., Manager, Office of Applied Research and Innovation, La Cité collégiale

Louis Savard, C. Tech, Program Leader – RiverLabs, St. Lawrence River Institute

Mike Walker, Assistant Director, Business Development, Innovation Support Services, University of Ottawa

Brent Wootton, Ph.D., Associate Vice-President Business Development, Applied Research, Government and Partner Relations, Fleming College

 

Do you think academic collaborations could solve your problems? (nudge nudge… the answer is yes!) This panel will include speakers from Industry Collaboration offices from post-secondary institutions who will highlight how they support business development and commercialization through collaborations with their organizations. Wondering who to call? These offices are the friendly front door to the research and development capabilities, talent recruitment, and business support opportunities that are available to assist communities across the region. Join us to understand how all of the region’s post-secondary teaching and research institutions support companies and economic development initiatives in your area. Bring us your problems… and we will use our networks of collaboration to find a solution!

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Evidence Based Decision Making Workshop
Thursday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Neil Carbone, The Corporation of the County of Prince Edward

Trevor Crowe, The Corporation of the County of Prince Edward

 

This presentation is for both Economic Development officials and councilors looking to incorporate data driven decision making. This workshop will be on:

  • Better understand and develop key metrics beyond just the number of jobs created.
  • Establishing municipal priorities using evidence based decision making.
  • How to establish proper Key Performance Indicators that effectively gauge economic initiatives or projects.
  • Digital Tools for effective reporting and communication to council.
  • A look at Prince Edward County’s Community & Economic Development Commission (CEDC) as a municipal model.

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