Earlier this month I attended the annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and was invited to speak to the delegates in what was my first major address since becoming Leader of the Ontario PC Party and Official Opposition.

The annual AMO conference brings together officials from all levels of government, as well as municipal organizations and other interested stakeholders to discuss solutions to the challenges facing Ontario’s regions, cities and towns. This was the 12th AMO conference I have attended – some as a Minister, opposition critic and now in my new capacity as Leader of the PC Party.

This year, I met with a dozen Mayors from Tillsonburg to North Bay to Pelham, to discuss what the Province should be doing to help municipalities. I also met with organizations like the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) to receive their advice and hear their concerns.

Each year, AMO chooses a central theme for the conference that best encompasses the issues of the day. This year’s theme was Changing Times, recognizing the impact of the recession and the need to take Ontario down a very different path if we are to recover from it.

In my address to delegates, I spoke about the direction the Ontario PC Party will take, and the values and principles that will guide our decisions.

I spoke about our campaign to fight the implementation of the harmonized sales tax grab, which we call the Dalton Sales Tax or DST, and recognized dozens of municipal councils across Ontario that have introduced motions calling on the government to scrap the DST, increase rebates and introduce more exemptions to protect taxpayers.

I also offered our ideas for immediately stimulating the economy and for creating jobs, such as suspending the provincial Land Transfer Tax for one year, and measures to curb runaway government spending by ensuring public sector wage contracts reflect private sector realities.

I believe that government has a responsibility to create the climate for the private sector to create jobs and then get out of the way. That means the government must live within its means. It must respect the taxpayers of Ontario and recognize that every dollar it has comes directly from the people it serves.

I firmly believe that we have the collective skills, experience and knowledge to make our province the powerhouse of Confederation once again. It’s going to take leadership at all levels of government and the strength to make the right decisions – even if they’re the ones that are the most difficult to make. But I firmly believe that Ontario’s brightest days are ahead of her.