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.
Your responsibilities have grown,
Your costs have grown,
Unfair blame directed your way has grown,
And your ability to affect change at Queen’s Park has shrunk.
While at the same time … your policy expertise has grown. Your professionalism has grown. You have more to contribute than ever before …
But your seat at the table is smaller.
And too often you’re expected to clean up a mess you didn’t make…
And way too often, you end up taking the blame for schemes and ideas that would have been far more effective … might have actually worked … if only someone had asked your opinion.
It’s no wonder people are frustrated and cynical.
Life is more expensive.
Housing is harder to afford.
And communities are growing faster than the infrastructure needed to support them.
Look, the Premier likes to say he hasn’t raised taxes.
But every year, you have had to make incredibly difficult decisions about property taxes.
Not because you wanted to.
Because you had to.
Keeping provincial taxes low by putting more pressure on municipalities isn’t solving the affordability crisis.
It’s just moving the bill from one envelope to another.
You’re expected to build the roads, the pipes, the community centres and the transit that growth requires,
While continuing to navigate changes to development charges and rising costs.
Residents don’t always distinguish between provincial and municipal responsibilities, they just know life feels harder.
And you’re the person they see at the grocery store, not the Premier.
You’re the one they can email and phone. Not the Premier.
And they take it out on you. Not the Premier.
At least not yet
That’s not fair to you … or to your municipalities,
And it’s not good government.
Because good government starts with trust.
It starts by recognizing that you understand your communities better than anyone sitting in an office at Queen’s Park.
It means respecting local democracy.
When your residents elect an official, that decision should matter. It should stick.
Municipal elections should be respected.
This government likes to say that municipalities are “creatures of the Province,”
But if you ask me,
It’s the Province that’s behaving like a creature.
You deserve the ability to shape your own future.
Not through top-down directives,
But through real partnership.
Because no two communities are the same.
The challenges facing Kenora, aren’t the same as Windsor.
The opportunities in Thunder Bay, aren’t the same as Mississauga.
The problems in Timmins, aren’t the same as Ottawa.
And the priorities of a township with one stoplight,
Aren’t the same as a city of one million people.
Ontario is stronger because our communities are different.
But sometimes, it feels like all the attention goes to the biggest projects.
The next highway,
The next airport,
The next headline.
Those investments matter, but so do the communities that feed Ontario.
Small towns working hard to attract new businesses,
Rural municipalities keeping our farms productive,
Our roads connected,
And our small towns alive,
Northern communities creating opportunity,
Main streets trying to stay vibrant.
Every community deserves a government that sees them.
Not just the ones that make the evening news.
Because if Ontario is built community by community, then we believe every community deserves a seat at the table.
And it’s not just what we believe. It’s how we’ve governed.
When Ontario Liberals have had the privilege of serving, we’ve worked with municipalities as equal partners, not as a “lower” order of government.
We uploaded more than 1 billion dollars, the largest upload at the time.
Most importantly we’ve always understood that the best results come when Queen’s Park sits around the table with municipalities, not at the head of it.
And that’s the kind of Ontario Liberal Party we’re building.
A party that listens, not lectures,
A party that works with municipalities instead of around them,
And a party that understands that strong communities create a stronger province.
That’s why we’ve spent this summer travelling across Ontario as a part of our leadership race.
Holding conversations,
Listening to people,
Listening to municipal leaders,
Listening to communities.
Because the future of our party and Ontario shouldn’t be decided behind closed doors,
It should be shaped by the people who know Ontario best.
And we’d like you to be part of that journey.
We’d like you to come meet our leadership candidates.
We’d like you to listen to our debates.
We’d like you to challenge us.
We need you to help us build something bigger than just a leadership race.
A movement.
One that’s rooted in communities, grounded in partnership, and focused on the future of Ontario.
This fall, Ontario Liberals will choose a new leader.
It’s an exciting moment for our party,
And for me too.
Most importantly, it’s an opportunity to welcome new people.
To bring forward new ideas.
And to show Ontarians that there is a credible alternative ready to lead.
Because after eight years, people are asking a simple questions…
Is my family better off? Is Ontario better off?
It’s not. Life is more expensive. It’s harder. People are hurting.
We have a responsibility to offer them something better.
A better relationship with municipalities, and a better Ontario.
And a government that understands communities are not obstacles to manage, they’re skilled, smart, capable partners to work alongside.
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about community, it’s that the strongest communities aren’t built because one person has all the answers,
They’re built because people trust one another.
They listen.
They show up.
They work together.
And governments should do the same.
Queen’s Park should show up for municipalities.
Not just when your mayor has to beg for favours in the Premiers basement.
Not just when there’s a ribbon to cut,
Not just when there’s an announcement to make,
Every. Day.
Because when our communities succeed, Ontario succeeds.
That’s the partnership we believe in.
That’s the future we’re working toward. Thank you.