We landed in Ottawa yesterday just after 12:30pm and jumped right Into meetings on the hill!

First up was Rona Ambrose, Leader of the Opposition for the Conservative Party. We discussed the roll out of funds coming through the most recent budget, policy work and shared with her and other MP’s from her caucus our needs as municipalities across Ontario. One area we dwelt on was the shared economy which I am very passionate about! MP Alex Nuttall also jumped in explaining how he too thinks there are many possibilities across Canada on the shared economy. He reached out to me and invited me to speak with him later on that day which was very kind.

 Then we’re off to meet the Minister of Finance Bill Morneau! 

  
I communicated to him that we’re all very optimistic about the funding both in phase one and phase two for municipalities, however there’s a sense of urgency as well. Most cities have shovel ready projects and/or transit and social housing needs – the sooner cities can know how we can apply or how the funds will flow down the better.

We also stressed that we hoped that any of the processes do not become to cumbersome or complicated.

  
He was very nice to meet with and took time to answer all our questions.

Now I’m running over another building to MP Alex Nuttall’s office to discuss the shared economy and Maxime Bernier stopped by to discuss this topic. Lots happening in this sector and it was good to hear their perspective. I pitched to them some of the ideas I have around the shared economy and how Guelph could be positioned properly to embrace it.

  
After this meeting I had a wonderful dinner with MP Michael Chong. Ran into Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield, MP Lisa Raitt and mP Candice Bergen as well.

On the way out of Parliament building I took an important Guelph picture! 

  
Many mayors got together late last night and “talked shop”. Asking each other how things were going, what’s working and what’s not in their cities. These opportunities for networking are invaluable.

Today I have another busy schedule! Stay tuned for a recap of day 2 later on!

Take care,

Cam