OTTAWA, ON — Ontario Liberal Interim Leader John Fraser delivered the following remarks at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Annual Conference today:

Good morning everyone. It’s wonderful to be back here at AMO.

For those of you I haven’t met, I’m John Fraser and I’m honoured to be serving as the interim leader of the Ontario Liberal party…

Again.

Third time actually. What do they say? Three times the charm.

All kidding aside, I am proud to lead our incredibly dedicated, hardworking and talented caucus. We’re a small but mighty team and

Y’know I’ve learned something from politics: if people know where to find you, they’ll keep asking you to help.

Truth be told, they’ve always known where to find me.

I’ve lived within about fifteen minutes of where I was born my entire life.

My schools were here. My first job was here. I met my wife Linda here. Our kids grew up here. I still run into past classmates, my parents friends and people I’ve been seeing for decades.

Living in one place for that long teaches you…

That community isn’t a slogan.

It’s the people who coach hockey after work,

It’s the volunteer firefighter,

It’s the councillor who gets the call when someone needs help,

It’s the mayor trying to balance the budget while making sure that the arenas stay open.

That’s why I’ve always believed Ontario can’t just be led from Queen’s Park.

Leadership starts in the community.

And let’s never forget that the Ontario government – no matter which party is in power – is elected by most of the communities.

But AMO represents all 444 communities.

Everyone. In every corner of Ontario.

Which means nobody understands Ontario better than the people in this room.

Because when something goes wrong, your phone rings.

When housing doesn’t get built, your phone rings.

When basements flood, your phone rings.

When a family can’t find childcare, your phone rings.

When people can’t find a family doctor, your phone rings.

When people are worried about safety in their neighbourhood, your phone rings.

Long before Queen’s Park notices, you’ve already been working on it.

You don’t get to wait for the next election cycle.

You don’t get to debate whether something is someone else’s responsibility.

You just get to work.

And that’s what local government is all about.

And it’s why municipalities deserve more than another flashy announcement or ad campaign or another responsibility downloaded from Queen’s Park.

They deserve respect.

Ontario’s municipalities deserve much better from this provincial government.

Nothing should be done for you … without you.

And that has not been the case.

And over the last eight years, municipalities have been asked to do more with less,

While Queen’s Park micromanages everything from your secondary plan densities right down to speed cameras and bike lanes.

Ontario Liberal Party

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