Managing Expectations

Still not quite getting the hang of this selfie thing: me in Ottawa, August 19, 2019.

For the first time in a couple of years, I travelled for work this past week.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario held its annual conference in Ottawa and I had to go to support ministers taking meetings. 

The conference is always a big deal for provincial governments. Municipalities, either by themselves or in small coalitions, ask for "delegations" with ministers. There they ask the government to help them to boost local prosperity, create jobs, promote growth - that sort of thing. In the meetings I attended, municipalities wanted access to more and better energy, either electricity or natural gas or both.

When I was working in climate change and had Glen Murray for a minister, all I had to do at these sessions was watch and listen as the minister talked and made big promises.

This time, I still mostly listened but the ministers (we have two now, Rickford and Walker) were more circumspect. If I had to sum up their message, I would say it was "don't get your hopes up." 

When I travelled for the previous government, it was OK to fly to Ottawa. From the island airport, it was a half hour flight, and less than two hours from door to door. 

This government frowns on flying. So I took the train, which normally takes four and a half hours to get to Ottawa from Toronto. But for this trip, someone in Belleville chose my train as the means to end their life.  

The train sat on the track for more than three hours while emergency response crews, investigators and the coroner did their jobs. 

It took nine hours to get to Ottawa. The VIA crew helped as much as they could, handing out free water and snacks three times during the long wait.

The hundreds of people on the train were - at least the ones in my car - without exception resigned to their fate. No one complained loudly. Everyone coped. Even when we detrained en masse and congested the station and taxi queue, no one pushed or squabbled or got mad.

The municipalities at AMO could take a page from this book. 

Thanks for reading!

Have a great week!

Karen