Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien has decided not to attend a meeting of Canada's big city mayors.
He says there is not a lot to be gained by being there in person; he will drop in by phone.
The Big City Mayor Caucus is made up of mayors from Canada's 22 largest cities.
The meeting takes place Thursday and is meant to join forces on advocating for issues important to the future of Canadian cities.
Mayor O'Brien says the most effective part of forging relations with other cities happens before or after the actual meeting. He does not feel the Capital will suffer from his absence.
"We have a lot of meetings going on Thursday. We're going to be releasing the Lansdowne program."
So, business at home will keep Mayor O'Brien from the big city meeting in Toronto. One man who looks to take over his job though, says it does not send a good message.
"His dismissal really denegrates the work that the mayor's conference does do; and frankly we're missing a very important opportunity to work with our peers in dealing with the federal government," said mayoral candidate and Ottawa councillor Alex Cullen.
Past victories by the caucus include a gas tax rebate from the Canadian government. Key issues now are aging water systems, a need for a national housing strategy, and a looming deadline on infrastructure stimulus.
The meeting takes place a day before the the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Annual Conference. It is the largest gathering of municipal officials of the year.
O'Brien says he won't be able to make that either due to commitments to Ottawa Race Weekend.
With a report from CTV's John Hua …
