MPP Runciman Meets With Top Regional Government Officials at
Council of State Governments’ Eastern Regional Conference 2006 Meeting
Ontario’s Opposition House Leader and MPP for Leeds-Grenville Bob Runciman is meeting this week with high-ranking state government officials and policy experts from across the Northeast to discuss regional priorities on a wide range of timely issues including regional energy policy, U.S.-Canada relations, illegal immigration, the overstretched national guard, No Child Left Behind, health coverage for the uninsured and federal-state relations at the Council of State Governments’ Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC) 46th Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum held in Philadelphia from July 30 – August 2, 2006.
"This is a key event for states and provinces in our region," MPP Runciman said. "Meeting with colleagues from around the Northeast, Eastern Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands presents a great opportunity to gather best practices and take ideas back to Ontario."
Distinguished state leaders and commentators will also address the attendees including three governors – Ruth Ann Minner (DE), James Douglas (VT) and Jon Corzine (NJ); Senator Kenneth McClintock, Senate President, Puerto Rico; presidential historian Michael Beschloss; Washington Post columnist David Broder; and National Journal founder Neal Peirce keynoting a session entitled The Northeast Energy Future: Challenges and Opportunities.
"The policy challenges that we face in Ontario are not unlike those faced by our neighbors," said MPP Runciman. "Sharing solutions to our common problems is very useful, and working together to push regional priorities at the federal level is a proven formula for success."
In addition, David Hughes, President of Amtrak, will address the Executive Committee on The Future of Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor. Further, the Honorable Paul Cellucci, former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and former Governor of Massachusetts, will address delegates on the pressing topic of U.S.-Canada Border Issues.
CSG/ERC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1937, serving legislative, executive and judicial branch officials in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the Eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Québec.
The mission of CSG/ERC is to provide a forum for new ideas; promote successful state policy innovations; advocate multi-jurisdictional problem solving; advocate regional interests at the federal level; offer leadership training and technical assistance; serve as a catalyst for public/private dialog; and forecast policy trends affecting the region.
