By Gazette Staff
August 22nd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
City of Burlington’s mayor, some councillors and staff recently attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) 2025 Annual General Meeting and Conference in Ottawa to meet with provincial government leaders. The City delegation, led by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, sought to advance Burlington’s top strategic priorities, such as environmental sustainability, economic health and housing, with provincial leaders to encouraging outcomes.
Look on it as a report card on what City Councillors (not all of them) and the Mayor achieved while in Ottawa
Burlington representatives met with government officials including cabinet ministers, MPPs and industry contributors to discuss and advocate for housing affordability; protecting local greenspaces; providing predictable infrastructure and transit funding to municipalities; local economic growth and skills development.
Strategic discussions took place with:
- Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Honourable Rob Flack
- Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria
- Minister of Energy and Mines, the Honourable Stephen Lecce
- Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Mike Harris
- Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, the Honourable Nolan Quinn
- Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance, M.P.P. Michelle Cooper
Outcomes from these delegation meetings include:
Burlington Skyway Bridge
- Ministry of Transportation (MTO) officials recognized the ongoing need for careful coordination with City of Burlington to communicate and ease local traffic impacts. Next steps will include more communication from the MTO to drivers and looking at additional mitigation measures during Burlington Skyway Bridge lane closures. This will work towards the City’s goal to minimize spillover impacts during necessary maintenance.
What does that mean? The deck of the bridge has to be maintained- better notice would help.
Address housing affordability and homelessness
- Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) confirmed that the review of City of Burlington’s Official Plan Amendment No. 2 will soon be complete that will enable the advancement of several key housing development approval improvements including the adoption of a Community Permitting and Planning System (CPPS) that would simplify multiple pre-application documents into a single application. This will enable the City to prepare a CPP Bylaw for the City’s three MTSAs.
That had to be done – did it mean a trip to Ottawa to meet with the Minister when all the other municipalities wanted to meet with the man.
Protecting local greenspaces
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- Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) staff engaged in strategic dialogue with the Burlington delegation around advancing the options to protect areas around Mount Nemo and the Niagara Escarpment. This significant Burlington greenspace could be protected by using provincial land designations that would prohibit or limit certain types of land uses and aggregate extractions. Burlington requested that the province redesignate the lands at Mount Nemo as Escarpment Natural and Escarpment Protection to ensure the long-term viability of our local ecosystems.
Very important – no mention of what the city got in the way of response.
Mohawk College expansion to Burlington
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- Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES) officials discussed the college’s planned healthcare-focused campus expansion into the City of Burlington with Burlington’s delegation and Mohawk College President, Paul Armstrong. Moving forward, MCURES remains strategically engaged with the college and the City in the planning process for this transformative investment to advance skills development and grow Ontario’s economy.
Now this one made sense. It was a place where all the people involved were in the room; City people, Ministry people, and people from Mohawk College. Hopefully there was enough time to cover all the bases.
Electricity Infrastructure
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- The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) team engaged in a lengthy discussion with Burlington delegates to better understand local energy infrastructure challenges and its impacts on municipal housing starts. The group engaged in conversations with City staff about the actions and investments required to support Burlington and its development partners in unlocking further housing potential through electricity infrastructure. They came to a mutual recognition that additional provincial resources may be required to advance prospective projects, particularly in Burlington’s Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs).
I was with them on this one until the word “may” was used.
Strengthening the Municipal-Provincial Fiscal Relationship to Protect Our Communities
- Ministry of Finance (MOF) officials recognized the challenging impacts that current economic conditions are having on municipalities and provided assurances that municipalities will be eligible for future components of the province’s $5B Building Ontario Fund so planned municipal priority projects can proceed on time and on budget.
The Burlington delegation, Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan, Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman; Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna; CAO Curt Benson; Head of Corporate Affairs, Leah Bortolotti and Corporate Strategic Leads of Government Relations, Jayson Doll and Paul Szachlewicz, participated in strategic meetings and conference programming relevant to Burlington’s Strategic Plan priorities.
Municipalities are creatures of the province. Expecting the province to give up very much of the power they have is unrealistic. But they will continue to press for more.
Mayor Meed Ward serves as the Chair of Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) and led OBCM’s discussions with:
- Deputy Premier, and Minister of Health, the Honourable Sylvia Jones
- Minister of Finance, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy
- Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Honourable Rob Flack
- Minister of Infrastructure, the Honourable Kinga Surma
- Attorney General, the Honourable Doug Downey
- Solicitor General, the Honourable Michael Kerzner
- Associate Attorney General, the Honourable Michael Tibollo
- Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, the Honourable Vijay Thanigasalam
The Province of Ontario Government made these announcements responding directly to key municipal priorities for AMO members:
- The Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP) will invest an additional $1.6 billion to speed up construction on homes and critical infrastructure. This investment nearly doubles the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP) to $4 billion, building on the province’s most recent $400 million increase in the 2025 provincial budget and giving municipalities and Indigenous communities the resources to build roads, bridges and water systems for new housing.
- The new Capital Funding Program (CFP) will build more long-term care homes faster, especially in regions like the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and northern Ontario impacted by labour shortages, supply chain constraints and other challenges. This new funding model is part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario by creating good jobs and building for the future, while making sure seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve.
- The province’s $1.2B Building Faster Fund (BFF) eligibility criteria will be amended to better reflect current market conditions and the efforts of local municipalities to achieve provincially mandated housing starts. The BFF provides $400 million in annual funding for three years (2024-26) to municipalities that are on target to meet provincial housing targets by 2031. Municipalities that reach 80 per cent of their annual target each year become eligible for funding based on their share of the overall goal of 1.5 million homes. Municipalities that exceed their target receive a bonus on top of their allocation.
The City of Burlington will continue to advocate to all levels of government to advance the strategic priorities of Council and looks forward to future opportunities to engage with both federal and provincial officials.
Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is a non-profit organization representing most of Ontario’s municipal governments. AMO supports and enhances strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada’s political systems. Each year, Burlington leads a delegation to the conference and arranges meetings with key ministries and Members of Cabinet, and opposition party leaders to discuss and advocate for the City’s top priorities.
This year’s conference had over 3,000 attendees in Ottawa for three days of education, delegation meetings and networking opportunities.
From left to right: Burlington Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman, Mohawk College President, Paul Armstrong, Burlington Ward 6 Councillor, Angelo Bentivegna, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, and Burlington Chief Administrative Officer, Curt Benson, at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa for the 2025 AMO Conference.
does CHARLATAN apply here ???
Lynn,
I feel the same way about how these council members presented themselves in Ottawa.
It is unfortunate that the men can’t seem to afford either a suit or a sports jacket that would go with the pants they wear.
I have said previously that members of this council need to have some lessons on how to dress.
You are right when you say it is an embarrassment, but I have come to expect no better. As they say “past history is a good indicator of future behaviour”.
Perhaps Councillors Kearns and Stolte decided that they could accomplish more by staying in Burlington.
Lets not forget the City of Burlington, “extraordinary increase in municipal taxes” are being used by rental owners to appeal to the LTB to justify rental increases to 5% or more versus the normal 2.9% allowed by legislation. The proposed 2026 tax increase of over 5% will add more even more pressure to the affordability of rental accommodation in Burlington.
Here is a question, why did COBbnot locate the Ron Joyce/Degrotte, Brock and Mohawk campuses on easy to get to and from go stations and bus routes?
Joe, was that a decision within the City’s purview. Should you not be directing that question at Brock and Mohawk? I appreciate that might be inconvenient for your anti-mayor agenda
I don’t think that Joe has an “anti-mayor agenda” at all. He makes valid points that are generally directed at Council writ large. Perhaps, your consistently apologetic stance causes you to confuse the direction of his “bark” – er, also his bite.
Bruce, with respect, my question is very much within the City’s purview. The City of Burlington has proudly promoted its role in attracting Brock and Mohawk campuses, highlighting them as local accomplishments. If City Hall claims credit, it is fair to also question whether the planning decisions—such as campus location and accessibility—best serve residents.
This is not an “anti-mayor agenda.” My record in the Gazette shows I take a pro-democracy approach by holding politicians accountable for what they do, not just what they say. Accountability is not partisan—it’s good governance.
And on taxes, when extraordinary increases are approved, it is disingenuous to ignore how those increases ripple down to renters through LTB applications. Burlington residents deserve open debate on these issues, not dismissal.
Bruce,
The City of Burlington mandates Bus Routes and Transportatation within the City of Burlington.
If the COB wants to encourage easy transportation by bus for all as they claim, then the COB Bus Routes should be adjusted as needed on an ongoing basis.
I totally agree with you, Caren. The bus routes are certainly within the City’s purview and should be adjusted to provide easy access to these two campuses for all staff and students.
The City certainly deserves credit for attracting these two institutions to Burlington. However, I do not see how, as another has suggested, that confers some sort of right to dictate where either of these institutions or any business should locate operations.
Why does the mayor never take councillor Stolte – the Deputy Mayor of Housing – and Councillor Kearns to her photo-op-heavy trips? Maybe the two of them don’t want to attend. Either way, it’s noticeable and curious.
Why do our council members and mayor continue to dress in the most unprofessional manner possible? I’m referring to several other photos also all over social media which are embarrassing and are causing a lot of funny comments as they circulate …
Lynn,
My thoughts exactly!
Looking at the multiple photo ops from the recent AMO Conference in Ottawa and other events held previously, the COB needs to implement a proper dress code for our elected representatives.
After all, they are out there representing us, as Burlington residents.