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2011 CAMA E-Brief Partner: April 11, 2011            

 
This year's CAMA Conference is taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 30th to June 1st, 2011.  Don't forget that the only way to sign up is to register on-line.   Have your credit card ready.  For those wishing to pay by cheque, register online then forward payment to the CAMA National Office.
 
To register as a Delegate:  http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/cama2011.asp
 
To register as a Partner:  http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/cama2011_partners.asp
 
To register for the Golf Tournament:  http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/cama2011_golf.asp

The full Conference Program is available on the CAMA Conference website at http://www.camacam.ca/en/conference/2011annualconference.asp.

Overflow Hotel - Block Open Until April 25, 2011

The block of rooms at the Delta Halifax Hotel (located at 1990 Barrington Street) which is connected to the World Trade and Convention Centre via an indoor pedway is now SOLD OUT!   A second block of rooms has been secured at the Delta Barrington Hotel which is across the street from the Delta Halifax located at 1875 Barrington Street with the same special Conference rates being offered.   To make a room reservation, please call the Reservations Department at 1-888-423-3582 or by e-mail at [email protected].  To ensure the special rates, please identify yourself as attending the CAMA Conference or Block Code "BOCAMA". This room block will be open until April 25th, 2011.

New Gold Partner: Citi

We are pleased to announce that Citi has signed on as a Gold level Partner for the 2011 Conference in Halifax, N.S.   Citi representatives will present the CAMA Awards of Excellence in Education and Environment at the Wednesday luncheon.  Citi has been operating in Canada for more than 50 years. Today, the company  remains one of Canada’s most global financial services organizations, with connections to operations and teams on the ground in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions around the world.

Citi’s key strategic focus in Canada includes continuing to grow its Global Transaction Services (GTS) business. GTS is one of the leading providers of securities and fund services to the Canadian fund industry. GTS also offers integrated cash management, treasury, trade financing, custody, clearing, securities financing, depositary receipt, and agency and trust services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations.  In Canada, GTS employs 1,000 staff in Toronto, Mississauga, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary. 

Welcome Trade Show Exhibitors! 

We are pleased to announce the following exhibitors:

1. CitiTech Systems

CitiTech Management Software exceeds Canada's new PSAB 5130 reporting requirements.  It is a powerful performance-based management system designed for maintenance organizations that integrates work, assets and resources into a simple-to-use solution.  It has bi-directional GIS integration to simplify asset management. Modular-based and licensed on a concurrent user basis, it is a very cost-effective solution.

2. ParkSmart Inc.

ParkSmart Inc. is the largest independent processor of parking tickets in Canada, and is the national distributor of AutoCITE and AutoISSUE handheld ticket writers and software. ParkSmart Inc. is also a leading supplier and operator of innovative parking systems in Canada. With its experience in transaction processing, its national service organization, and its innovations in smart card technology, ParkSmart delivers unique parking solutions for Municipalities, Institutions, Private Parking Operators and Commercial & Multi-family Property Managers.

3. Rick Hansen Foundation

The Rick Hansen Foundation is a non-profit organization working to inspire leaders, influencers and the public to contribute to Rick Hansen's continuing journey to accelerate progress towards a more heatlhy and inclusive world.  For more information: www.rickhansen.com

Survey - Affiliation Agreement with AFOA and CAMA

CAMA is pleased to have entered into an Affiliation Agreement with the Aboriginal Finance Officers Association of Canada (AFOA) during a signing ceremony at the 2011 AFOA National Conference held in Vancouver this past February.  President Des Ormeaux and Mr. Kelly Daniels, CAMA's International Chair and Board representative for British Columbia and Yukon, had the pleasure of attending this event.    AFOA has a national membership of first nations communities that includes not only Finance Officers but Administrators.  AFOA and CAMA believe there are many benefits this alliance will bring to the communities they represent.  We are currently exploring ways in which we can best work together to meet the needs of our members and would ask you to take a few minutes to answer this short questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6WK8FTN

Strong Cities, Strong Communities, Strong Canada - FCM's 2011 Election Platform

Working together in recent years, federal and municipal governments have started to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and fight the global recession. As election day approaches, Canadians want to know that all parties in the House of Commons are ready to expand that partnership – and have a plan to build communities that will drive our economy and protect our quality of life for years to come.  All governments must continue working together to meet other pressing national challenges too, including traffic congestion, the growing burden on front-line police, struggling rural communities and a broken housing system that leaves thousands of Canadians out in the cold.   Here are FCM's recommendations:

Infrastructure:  For 25 years, the $123-billion municipal infrastructure deficit has placed a growing burden on our economy and quality of life. Now, the federal government has the opportunity to turn recent gains into a lasting solution.  All parties must commit to legislate a long-term infrastructure plan and:

  • index the federal Gas Tax Fund – like other federal transfers – to keep up with inflation, population growth and economic growth
  • renew the soon-to-expire Building Canada Fund; and 
  • pay the federal share of new infrastructure costs downloaded onto municipalities.

Transportation and Public Transit:  Canada needs to implement a national strategy to cut commute times, improve public transit and bridge gaps in the national transportation system.  All parties must:

  • legislate clear targets for cutting commute times and improving public transit;
  • replace expired federal transit programs with a new share of gas tax revenues for public transit; and
  • prioritize and address strategic gaps in Canada’s air, rail, road and marine networks.

Policing and Community Safety:  All federal parties must commit to an action plan that strengthens front-line policing and makes the most of every dollar governments invest fighting crime. This action plan must:

  • replace the soon-to-expire Police Officer Recruitment Fund and guarantee new RCMP contracts will not download new costs onto municipal property tax payers;
  • ensure federal parties sit down with provinces, territories and municipalities to establish a more-equitable distribution of policing roles and responsibilities; and
  • support front-line programs that attack the causes of crime and stop troubled youths from becoming career criminals.

Affordable Housing and Homelessness:  Canada’s housing system is broken: it is time to fix it. All parties must commit to:

  • legislate 10-year targets to eliminate homelessness and give all Canadians greater access to housing they can afford;
  • renew expiring federal housing programs and subsidies, and protect affordable housing investments in the long-term fiscal framework; and
  • provide private-sector incentives to increase rental unit construction by 10 per cent per year.

Rural, Remote and Northern Communities:  Many rural, remote and northern communities are fighting for their survival. They are struggling against growing odds to secure a future for themselves in a country they helped build. All parties must commit to securing these communities’ future and:

  • appoint a rural affairs minister to give rural communities a strong voice in all corners of the federal government and coordinate polices across federal departments;
  • implement Budget 2011-12 measures to support volunteer firefighters and improve access to medical services; and
  • dedicate sufficient infrastructure funding for rural, remote and northern communities.

For more information, please contact [email protected], visit FCM's website at www.fcm.ca/election2011 .

City of Medicine Hat: Providing Organizational Clarity for Employees

“The City of Medicine Hat was looking for a way to engage employees and help connect them to the entire organization,” said Ray Barnard, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Medicine Hat. “An Internal Communications Survey was conducted a few years ago and employees indicated that a visual representation of the organization was needed and Jostle provided this solution quickly and seamlessly for the City.”  The City of Medicine Hat employs approximately 1,200 people, with many field based workers who don’t have regular access to computers or the City network. As a web-deployed cloud solution, Jostle enables employees to stay in touch with the organization regardless of their physical location.  All employees can securely connect to Jostle from any internet-enabled device, including their home computers and mobile devices, to find out who’s doing what.

“Being able to search the organization by job function or department has made it much easier for our employees to connect with each other to get the job done,” said Colleen Brown, Corporate Communications Manager for the City of Medicine Hat. “Jostle has provided a platform for the City to display our employee contact information in one place, making it easier to connect to the right people.”

For more information, contact The City of Medicine Hat, Colleen Brown, Corporate Communications Manager at [email protected] or Jostle Corporation, Michelle Mercier, Director of Marketing at [email protected]

Welcome New Members

Welcome to the following new members:

Andrew Daggett, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Montague, PEI

Grant Hood, Senior Administrative Officer, Town of Inuvik, NT

Gregory Morash, Senior Administrative Officer, Community Government of Gameti, NT


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CAMA e-Brief is published every two weeks. Watch for the next issue on:  The week of April 25th, 2011
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