A NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE FROM CAMA

PRESIDENT JACK BENZAQUEN

A Happy New Year to all our members! I hope that you were all able to have a restful holiday. 2022 promises to be another challenging year, however I know that it will also be a successful one for you and your communities. I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with a brief note to let you know to watch for more details during the month of January on the following programs and services:

Membership Renewals. You will be receiving your membership renewal for the April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 fiscal year by e-mail in the next two weeks. The deadline for payment is March 31, 2022 and you can do so by renewing it on line and paying by Visa or Mastercard, doing a direct deposit, or sending a cheque to the CAMA National Office.

Membership Promotion to Staff and Colleagues. CAMA also offers 50% off our already great value membership fees for the first year and are based on the population for the Primary Member and are currently just $150.00 for any additional members in your municipality. Think of which neighbouring local government leaders would benefit from access to CAMA`s resources or who in your organization is ready for leadership development. They can click here for the on-line registration link! 

2022 CAMA Awards of Excellence. The call for nominations and on-line registration forms for CAMA’s Awards of Excellence will be available later this week with the deadline being February 18, 2022. This year there is a new award category called the "CAMA Collaboration Award of Excellence" to recognize partnerships and collaboration with other municipalities and external organizations. All members will receive an e-mail with the details.

Long Service Recognition Awards. CAMA's Long Service Recognition Awards Program recognizes and celebrates CAMA members’ dedication to public service and municipal management. These awards are based on the number of years of full-time, paid employment in municipal government in a management capacity (a Chief Administrative Officer or reporting directly to a Chief Administrative Officer). They are granted at ten years and given in five year increments and presented each Spring. The 10 and 15 year awards are mailed and the 20+ year awards are presented at the Annual Conference.  How do you know if you are to receive an award? Staff will be generating a list of members whose records indicate that they will be eligible for service awards this year.  You will be contacted in late January/early February by e-mail if you are receiving an award.



CAMA Honourary for Life Membership. The Honorary Life Membership in CAMA is an honour presented to long serving CAMA members who have made an extraordinary contribution to the field of municipal administration and to the work of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA). The nomination forms are available now on the website with a deadline of February 18^th, 2022.

If you have any questions on any of the above-noted programs and services, please contact Jennifer Goodine, CAMA Executive Director at 1-866-771-2262 or [email protected]

On behalf of my fellow Board members and staff, I wish you and your family a safe and prosperous 2022.

We hope that you will continue to support our Association and the municipal profession and find value in your membership.

Jack Benzaquen

CAMA President

FUND FOR RAILWAY ACCIDENTS INVOLVING DESIGNATED GOODS 

The Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods was created following the derailment of July 2013 in Lac-Mégantic, which highlighted the need to strengthen the liability and compensation regime for rail in Canada. The Fund compensates victims of damages caused by a major crude-by-rail accident. Compensation starts after railway companies have paid damages up to the amount required by law.  A new video series has been launched. In the four (4) episode video series, you will learn about the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, and the steps taken to better protect Canadians from bearing the cost of accidents in the transport of crude oil by rail. 



• Episode 1: Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Discussion with Lisa Raitt, Former Transport Minister
• Episode 2: Lessons Learned and Changes to Rail Transportation: An Expert Panel Discussion
• Episode 3: About the Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods (FRAIDG)
• Episode 4: How FRAIDG Works for You

Start 2022 Strong with 43 Mentors at Your Side

Join us for a Netflix-style series that takes you Backstage for Real Talk about what happens when Politics meets Bureaucracy. Season 6 of The Political Acumen Accelerator with 10 NEW episodes, opens on January 5th.

43 Politicians, Bureaucrats, Municipal Leaders, Media Experts, Indigenous Leaders, Provincial and Federal Leaders share stories and personal experiences during our LIVE Panels. 

Join us weekly live or skip a few weeks and binge-watch to catch up. You're in control over how and when you tune in.

Your Virtual Seat is Waiting 

www.publicsectorleadership.ca

2021 CAMA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SUBMISSIONS

THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF MARKHAM, ON

Willis Award for Innovation Nomination

Population Over 100,000

Community Hub Partnership Model

City of Markham launched the first-ever community hub at its Aaniin Community Centre in spring, 2018. The Aaniin Community Hub (Hub) piloted a new and transformative model to serve the diverse needs of the marginalized and socio-economically challenged neighbourhoods in the South East area of Markham by improving residents’ access to services, removing physical and financial barriers to participation, and connecting community partners to new users to improve individual well-being and community outcomes through a program of ‘givebacks’.

The Hub demonstrated sound policy development, extensive community consultations, stakeholder engagements, and data mining. Key neighbourhood characteristics included newcomer populations, seniors experiencing isolation, high rates of diabetes, heart disease and other comorbidities, and difficulties in accessing local and regional services.

Markham secured interest from community organizations and selected them based on the needs gaps they can fill.  The Hub offers much-needed services onsite from 25 partner organizations drawn from the regional government, health institutions, community agencies, associations, and clubs. Feedback and usage data confirmed the Hub was a resounding success!

To view the entire award submission, visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (Search Community Hub)

Willis Award for Innovation Nomination

Population Over 100,000

City of Markham COVID-19 Virtual Assistant

The City of Markham is well known for its exceptional and innovative services to residents and businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, timely, accurate communication to the public has been essential to identify impacts on services; dispel myths; provide health and safety updates and other information, and help break the chain of COVID transmission.

In April 2020, the City of Markham became the first Canadian municipality to implement IBM Watson™ Assistant for Citizens to enhance customer service. As the pandemic continues to evolve, this Artificial Intelligence-driven virtual telephone and web “Bots” provide reliable, accurate, timely and localized information to residents and businesses in Markham – 24/7.

The virtual assistant uses innovative AI technology to understand and respond to common questions about COVID-19. It also draws the most up to date information daily from the City of Markham, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ontario Ministry of Health and York Region Public Health websites to ensure accurate data is available for users at all times. The Virtual Assistant is constantly learning and being trained through machine learning to improve answer quality with each user session.

To view the entire award submission, visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (Search for COVID-19.)

WELCOME NEW CAMA MEMBERS

François Fréchette, Directeur général, Ville de Coaticook, QC

David Oakes, Chief Administrative Officer, City of St. Catharines, ON

Shane Thomson, General Manager, Village of Rexton, NB

Lucie Maynard, Chief Administrative Officer, RM of Stuartburn, MB

Sheila Lupul, Chief Administrative Officer, Village of Andrew, AB

Oliver Jerschow, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Innisfil, ON

Lanie Hurdle, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Kingston, ON