Federation of Canadian Municipalities – 2021 Convention

 

FCM delegates meet once a year to discuss issues of concern between the Federal Government and the various Local Governments across Canada. This is the Agenda of events that I attended between May 31st & Jun 4th 2021. This year (scheduled in Montreal) was held virtually due to COVID19 health protocols. I found the more interesting workshops that are always heavily booked in advance much more accessible with the online format. Much of this material will be available at or from FCM.

FCM – 2021 Annual Convention

Monday May 31

• Connecting Rural & Remote Canada
  • Canada’s post-pandemic recovery is an opportunity to move our country forward—together. For rural and remote communities, that needs to start with closing the digital divide. Join us for a discussion on connecting unserved and underserved rural and remote communities. You’ll hear from service providers that have practical experience working with municipalities to deploy broadband internet using a variety of different solutions—from satellite to wireless to fibre—including the latest innovative platforms such as 5G and next generation Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Tuesday Jun 01

• President’s Forum
• Political Keynote | Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
• Using location-based, crowd-sourced information-sharing to fight property crime
  Presented by MRF Geosystems Corporation Learn how a county and a crime watch association in Alberta are using new technologies to effectively fight property crime.
• Five easy steps to understanding the financial management lifecycle
  Presented by Questica Learn the fundamentals of the budget lifecycle and how a continuous improvement program will shorten your planning time in the long run.
• Your post-COVID workforce: new tools to manage employees (S/I)
  • COVID-19 has changed so much about how we manage workplaces and employees. Within that change are valuable lessons local governments can learn and apply—even as we move forward beyond the pandemic. Join us to hear more about Ceridian’s 2021 Pulse of Talent Survey, conducted in partnership with Nielsen. We’ll explore the HR challenges organizations face in 2021 and beyond. You’ll gain new strategies and tools to help your municipality better adapt to the new ways of work.
• Empowering western innovation to drive economic recovery
  • FCM’s Western Economic Solutions Taskforce (WEST) brings together rural and urban municipal leaders to drive concrete solutions that support western communities. And it continues to get results. In this interactive session, you’ll learn more about WEST’s work, as well as the deep economic anxiety facing western communities. And you’ll explore how empowering local western innovation is key to protecting western jobs today—while creating long-term prosperity for communities in the west, and across Canada.
• 1st Vice-President candidate speeches and election launch
• Political Keynote: Erin O’Toole (S/I)
• Regional Caucus Meeting BC

Wednesday Jun 02

• Welcome Day 3 // Political Keynote: Jagmeet Singh, Leader, New Democratic Party
• Building better communities with CSA standards
  Presented by CSA Group – Explore how CSA standards, training, and research can help municipalities build resilient infrastructure, mitigate flood risks, and reduce carbon emissions.
• Levels of service and sustainable asset management Presented by MuniSight – Learn what levels of service mean to sustainable asset management and what they mean to your budgeting over the long term.
• Infrastructure challenges and solutions for municipalities and homeowners
  Presented by Service Line Warranties of Canada – Explore partnership solutions to improve water/sewer infrastructure, recover lost revenue, educate and protect homeowners and assist low- and moderate-income citizens.
• Climate change impacts and adaptation in Canadian municipalities
  Presented by National Resources Canada – Hear key findings from Canada’s national knowledge assessment on climate change impacts and adaptation in cities, towns, and rural and remote communities.
• Food security and community leadership (S/I) – The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important local communities are to our daily lives. That includes ensuring Canadians have access to local, year-round, sustainable food production—no matter where they live. In this workshop, you’ll hear from a farmer, a food supply and agricultural expert, as well as a not-for-profit leader, about the vital role of a strong domestic agriculture system. We’ll explore what steps we need to take to protect and strengthen food security and community resilience as Canada move forward into a post-pandemic future.
• 1st Vice-President election results and process for Directors’ selection
• Plenary: In Conversation: Canada’s Housing Opportunity (S/I) – In Conversation: Canada’s Housing Opportunity – Canada’s housing challenges affect communities in every tangible way: from our local economies, to social infrastructure, to creating a sense of belonging for marginalized residents. Join FCM CEO Carole Saab and President & CEO of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Romy Bowers as they discuss the future of housing in Canada—and how municipalities can lead the way in ensuring every Canadian has a place to call home.
• Selection of candidates for Board of Directors – Candidate Speeches and Voting (BC)

Thursday Jun 03

• Welcome Day 4 // Plenary: Overcoming online harassment of women and elected officials // FCM Resolutions
• Political Keynote: Annamie Paul (S/I) –
• Plenary: Overcoming online harassment of women and elected officials
  The internet and social media are powerful tools for elected officials to reach out and connect with their constituents. But they can also be incredibly harmful—especially to women and girls. Online attacks and harassment continue to grow in frequency and intensity, even reaching levels of violence. This trend disproportionately impacts women and their online networks. In this session, you’ll hear from a panel of women in politics and academics, as well as other stakeholders, about their personal experiences with online harassment. And you’ll learn from new research and strategies about how to overcome cyberviolence.
• Resolution Plenary
  • Preventing Accidental 9-1-1 Calls on Personal Devices – Category A – Concurrence (Adopt as FCM policy) carried
  • Strengthening Canada’s Hate Speech Laws – Category A – Concurrence (Adopt as FCM policy) carried
  • Expand the Rural and Remote Stream of the Reaching Home Program – Category A – Concurrence (Adopt as FCM policy) carried
  • Emergency Federal Support for Inter-Community Passenger Bus Service – Category A – Concurrence (Adopt as FCM policy) carried
• Political Keynote | Annamie Paul, Leader, Green Party of Canada
• Change and opportunity: the future of Rural Canada (S/I)
  • Rural communities have shown incredible resilience and leadership all pandemic long—keeping residents safe and protecting local businesses. They’ve also faced unique challenges, from the lack of broadband Internet to heavy losses in key industries to emerging population shifts. As Canada looks toward a post-COVID future, our expert panel of rural leaders and thinkers will analyze what we’ve learned and will answer the big question: how can rural communities preserve and build upon their unique strengths in this time of significant change, while moving Canada forward to recovery?
• Our Connected Lab series is back and better than ever! Delegates have plenty of great options to choose from with these informative 15-minute sessions led by our conference sponsors and exhibitors. Learn from solution-oriented presentations by some of Canada’s private and public sector industry leaders.
  • Canada’s plan for used nuclear fuel – Presented by Nuclear Waste Management Organization – Learn more about NWMO’s work to contain and isolate used nuclear fuel in a manner that protects people and the environment.
  • IPL’s organic product series for food and yard waste – Presented by IPL – Learn how the curbside collection of food and yard waste is simple and can become part of your municipality’s routine. – Helping your residents host care-free events – Presented by Duuo Insurance Services – As in-person events return, discover how municipalities are going digital with their event insurance to help create special community moments.
  • Support and funding for municipal innovation – Presented by Mitacs – Find out how Mitacs can help you access expertise and funding to address your community’s needs and challenges.
  • Last mile delivery: a sustainability perspective (S/I) – Fast and efficient last mile delivery is crucial to both businesses and consumers. Yet it faces growing disruption from a wide variety of sources—from urban congestion to greenhouse gas emissions. In this session, Canada Post will present key findings of a traffic simulation conducted with Deloitte to help you better understand the environmental impact of different types of last mile delivery models. Equipped with this important information, you’ll be better able to make sustainability decisions for your community.
  • How to protect your municipality from fraud – Presented by Intact Public Entities – Fraud has become much more sophisticated and complex in recent years. Fraudulently induced transfer crimes (otherwise known as social engineering)—where an employee is tricked into parting with their employer’s money or information—is a growing concern for municipalities. While hackers look to exploit network vulnerabilities, a social engineer looks to exploit human vulnerability. With emotions running high during COVID-19, the risk is even greater. In this session, you’ll gain key information and tools to protect your municipality. Join us to learn more about if you’re covered, how to educate your staff, and more.
  • Welcome Day 5 // AGM // Closing Remarks