Neighbouring towns Innisfil and Bradford are both set to help provide a voice for the province’s small urban municipalities.
Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin and Bradford Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney were both elected to the board for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) as part of the small urban caucus on Aug. 20, during the association’s annual conference at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
By bringing together nearly all 444 municipalities in Ontario, AMO works to promote and support municipal government while providing a channel of communication with the provincial government.
AMO is governed by a board of directors including 43 municipal councillors and/or staff members who are elected to the board at every other annual conference and who meet five times each year.
For Duhaney, being elected to the board for the first time is “an incredible honour,” through which she hopes to advocate for all small urban communities across Ontario, especially Bradford.
“I’m excited to bring our town’s voice to the table,” she said via email.
As part of her new role, Duhaney’s ambition is to consult with residents and community leaders to create a cohesive plan that pushes for policies to enhance local infrastructure, improve access to community services and support sustainable development.
“I will ensure that our voices shape solutions that directly benefit our residents and address our unique challenges,” she said.
Duhaney wanted to run as a way to bring a “fresh, diverse voice” to the caucus that “champions the needs and aspirations,” of small urban municipalities.
“We need to drive progress and ensure every community thrives,” she said.
That’s all part of the importance the councillor sees in the small urban caucus and its ability to focus on the specific needs and challenges of those communities to ensure they are addressed effectively.
“Such a caucus helps to create targeted solutions and equitable support tailored to our unique community,” she said.
For Innisfil’s mayor, being re-elected is “very humbling and exciting at the same time.”
Dollin noted that only elected officials can cast votes and estimated this year’s conference and election saw record participation.
That’s a reversal of the trend toward declining voter turnout seen in recent federal and provincial elections, which is something AMO is hoping to address through its Healthy Democracy project, and one of the reasons Dollin said she wanted to run again this year.
Another reason was AMO’s Workforce Development project which aims to improve recruitment and retention of municipal staff.
Despite AMO estimating Ontario municipalities employ more than 235,000 different positions that “are really rewarding and pay pretty well,” plus come with a pension, Dollin said many municipalities are having trouble attracting staff.
That could become a problem within the next five years as Dollin estimates “probably a quarter of our workforce” are reaching retirement age.
When it comes to the importance of the caucus, Innisfil’s mayor compared the challenges facing small urban municipalities as being similar to “the awkward teenage years,” as they grow from rural towns into big cities, while sharing common issues with both.
“It’s wonderful to just have that opportunity to network and share ideas with so many different sizes and places across Ontario,” she said.
With more than a decade of experience on the board since 2011, including as president for the 2016-18 term, Dollin has also been selected to chair the small urban caucus for one more year — a position she’s held since 2022.
“I was very pleased to be selected chair for another year,” she said.
That makes her part of the board’s executive committee, which also meets with provincial ministers as part of memorandum of understand (MOU) which requires the province to consult with AMO prior to implementing certain policies.
While the MOU includes a non-disclosure agreement, Dollin explained it offers the opportunity to express agreement or disagreement directly to the government’s policies, and even if the province pushes ahead with a poor idea, the committee can at least say, “make sure you do A, B, and C.”
Beyond that, Dollin is also happy to see a “really diverse group,” within the caucus, but noted that three out of the five members are newcomers and one is returning for only their second term, putting Dollin in a senior leadership role.
While members are typically from a wider range of the province, four of the five selected this term are from the County of Simcoe — Innisfil, Bradford, Collingwood and Orillia — leaving Dollin “a little concerned.”
“We’re going to need to work really hard to make sure that small urban communities around the province know that we have their backs and it’s not all about Simcoe County,” she said.
