Rural municipal leaders head to Toronto for 2019 ROMA Conference

TORONTO, Jan. 22, 2019 /CNW/ - More than 1,000 rural municipal officials from across the province will participate in the 2019 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference in Toronto from Sunday, January 27 to Tuesday, January 29 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen Street West, Toronto.

This will be ROMA's third standalone conference and is expected to be the largest to date. Coming six months into the change in provincial government, the conference focuses on the pressing challenges and emerging opportunities facing rural communities in Ontario.

The conference will help municipal leaders to forge relationships and foster partnerships, learn about new opportunities and advocate for change. The program features about four dozen plenary sessions and workshops reflecting the broad scope of municipal responsibilities. Key session topics relate to cannabis, energy and labour matters.

Keynote presenters include:

• Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario (invited)
• Hon. Steve Clark, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
• Hon. Ernie Hardeman, Ontario's Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs
• Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Ontario NDP
• John Fraser, Interim Leader, Ontario Liberal Party
• Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario
• Jamie McGarvey, AMO President

The conference will also host the Ministers' forum, a popular open question and answer period. Other speakers include inspirational author Lance Secretan and Peter Kenyon, Founder of the Bank of I.D.E.A.S., an Australian economic development consultancy. Program information is available online at www.roma.on.ca.

In addition to the conference program, municipal elected officials will take part in more than 400 delegation meetings with provincial and federal ministries.

All media are required to register in the VIP Room on the Concourse Level at the Sheraton Centre. Attending media are encouraged to book accommodation as soon as possible, if needed.

About ROMA
ROMA takes pride in promoting, supporting and enhancing strong and effective rural governments. About 270 of Ontario's 444 municipalities have populations of less than 10,000, while scores more are rural in character. The rural arm of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, ROMA advocates for policies and programs that will help build thriving rural Ontario communities.

Follow the conference on Twitter: @ROMA_Ont, Hashtag: #RuralMatters

SOURCE Rural Ontario Municipal Association