JOINT PEEL-CALEDON

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (AAC)

William Goursky, Chair, presided.

1. CALL TO ORDER

William Goursky, Chair of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. and welcomed everyone present.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

RECOMMENDATION AAC-10-2007:

That the minutes of the March 27, 2007 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) meeting be amended under Item 8a. to move the Joint Municipal AAC meeting from May 15, 2007 to June 12, 2007;

And further, that the minutes of the March 27, 2007 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved, as amended.

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION AAC-11-2007:

That the agenda for the April 17, 2007 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved.

4. COMMUNICATION ITEMS

a. News Release, Region of Peel, dated March 23, 2007 Announcing the Appointment of the Members of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) for the 2006 to 2010 Committee Term

Received

b. Press Release, Ministry of Attorney General, Province of Ontario, dated April 2, 2007 Advising of the Establishment of the New Ontario Courts Accessibility Committee and Initiatives to Promote Barrier Free Courts in Ontario

Received

c. Press Release, Ministry of Community and Social Services, Province of Ontario, dated April 8, 2007 Seeking Applicants Interested in Participating in Accessibility Standards Development Process as a Member of the "Employment" and "Built Environment" Committees

Received

STAFF DIRECTION AAC-04-2007-1

The Accessibility Planning Specialist for the Region of Peel was requested to contact staff at the Ministry of Community and Social Services, Accessibility Directorate of Ontario to request that applicants for the Accessibility Standards Committees receive notification regarding the status of applications.

 

5. PRESENTATIONS

a. Lisa Jones, Transportation Accessibility Specialist, Social Services Department, Providing an Overview and an Update on the Region of Peel Accessibility Transportation Coordination Office (Oral)

Received

Lisa Jones, Transportation Accessibility Specialist and Melanie Stone, Transportation Resource Coordinator, Social Services Department, provided an update on the activities of the Region of Peel Accessibility Transportation Coordination Office to date and the status of initiatives that are currently underway.

Item 8d. was dealt with

8. REPORT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR

d. Sandra Hames, City Councillor, City of Brampton, Update Regarding City of Brampton, City of Mississauga and Region of Peel Initiatives to Coordinate Transit Services for Persons with Disabilities (Oral)

Received

Sandra Hames, City of Brampton Councillor introduced a new transportation model that is being developed in London Ontario, called "Just a ride". This initiative proposes a coordinated approach to providing transportation services to meet a wide range of service needs. Councillor Hames advised that she will obtain further information on the London initiative and will provide an update to the Committee at a future meeting. Lisa Jones responded that the Region of Peel Accessibility Transportation Coordination Office is working with Brampton Transit, Mississauga Transit, TransHelp and various other types of transportation providers including not-for-profit sector partners.

Continuation of discussion related to Item 5a.

Glenn Barnes spoke to the need for an accessible municipal transit route to provide more than just accessible buses. If traditional forms of transit are to be fully accessible, issues regarding loading/off loading pads, curb cuts, winter maintenance, driver training and signage all need to be incorporated before a route can be deemed fully accessible.

Naz Husain raised a concern regarding the ability of the Accessible Transportation Coordination Office to meet the training demands that exist within the community, especially with respect to independent travel training for young persons with various disabilities. Melanie Stone, Transportation Resource Coordinator, responded that group training is being offered to mitigate the impact of the demand and a fee for service model may need to be considered should training demands exceed the current resource capacity of the office. Naz Husain sought clarification on the nature of the training provided. Melanie Stone indicated that training is conducted on buses that are in service to ensure a real life experience is provided to the participants.

William Goursky thanked Lisa Jones and Melanie Stone for providing the Committee with an update. Lisa Jones advised that she would undertake to provide regular updates to the Committee.

STAFF DIRECTION AAC-04-2007-2

The Accessibility Planning Specialist for the Region of Peel was requested to work with the Region of Peel Accessibility Transportation Coordination Office to facilitate ongoing status reports to the AAC.

6. REPORTS

a. United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Received

Members of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee endorsed the following draft motion and recommended that the motion be forwarded to Regional Council for consideration.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-12-2007:

WHEREAS, the Region of Peel recognizes that approximately 650 million people of the global population live with a disability;

AND WHEREAS, the Region of Peel acknowledges that the World Bank estimates that 20 per cent of the world's poorest people, are people with a disability;

AND WHEREAS, the Region of Peel is aware that persons with disabilities are highly stigmatized and susceptible to discrimination;

AND WHEREAS, the Region of Peel acknowledges that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first treaty focusing exclusively on the rights of persons with disabilities, giving status and authority to disability as a human rights issue;

AND WHEREAS, persons with disabilities should be guaranteed their inherent right to life on an equal basis and that those rights be protected and advanced through Canadian and International law;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Regional Municipality of Peel and the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee hereby jointly request the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities immediately;

AND FURTHER, that the Government of Canada be requested to enact and implement laws, policies and procedures which advance and promote the requirements and spirit of the provisions prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

AND FURTHER, that the Regional Chair write to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Members of Parliament representing the citizens of the Region of Peel advising of this resolution.

7. REPORT FROM THE ACCESSIBILITY PLANNING COORDINATORS

a. Colleen Grant, Town Prosecutor and Solicitor, Town of Caledon (Oral)

Received

Colleen Grant, Town Prosecutor and Solicitor, Town of Caledon advised the members of the Joint Peel-Caledon AAC of her intent to bring a draft traffic by-law from the Town of Caledon before the Committee at the next AAC meeting scheduled for May 15, 2007.

Maureen Tymkow expressed her concerns regarding accessible parking infractions within the Town of Caledon and the current level of enforcement. Colleen Grant noted that the Town has limited enforcement resources and encouraged anyone witnessing suspected infractions to report details to the by-law enforcement office at the Town of Caledon.

Maureen Tymkow inquired if a site plan for the addition to the Region of Peel Supportive Housing project, known as Walker Road, in the Town of Caledon will be brought before the Committee for comment. Chair Kolb assured the members of the Committee that the site plan would be brought before the Committee for comment.

b. Jeff Payne, Acting Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel (Oral)

Received

Glenn Barnes inquired if attendant services would be provided for the Joint Municipal AAC meeting scheduled for June 12, 2007. Jeff Payne, Acting Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel, advised that a decision to provide attendant services will be based upon the invitation responses and the accessibility services requirements identified by attendees.

Jeff Payne recognized the citizen members of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee in light of National Volunteers Week. The members were thanked for their dedication and commitment to the citizens of Peel Region. Regional Chair Kolb and R. Kent Gillespie, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Regional Solicitor were called upon to make a presentation to the volunteer members of the Committee.

8. REPORT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR

a. Glenn Barnes, Citizen Member, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee, Update Regarding Transportation to the Oshawa Accessibility Advisory Committee (O.A.A.C.) Forum (Oral)

Received

The event will occur on Monday, May 7, 2007 and the following members are confirmed to attend: William Goursky; Naz Husain; Glenn Barnes; Harvinder Bajwa and Jan Spry. Other members interested are requested to confirm with Jeff Payne, Acting Accessibility Planning Specialist, as soon as possible if they wish to attend so that registration and transportation arrangements can be confirmed.

b. Glenn Barnes, Citizen Member, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee, Update Regarding the Coalition for Persons with Disabilities Connections 2007 Resource Fair (Oral)

Received

Members were reminded that the 2007 Connections Resource Fair will be on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5, 2007. To date the following members have volunteered to attend: Harvinder Bajwa; William Goursky and Jim Hardman. Other members interested in volunteering to assist at the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory table are asked to confirm with Jeff Payne, Acting Accessibility Planning Specialist, at their earliest convenience to ensure adequate coverage.

c. William Goursky and Naz Husain, Citizen Members, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee, Update Regarding the Peel Children's Water Festival (Oral)

Received

Naz Husain advised the members that Public Works staff will be providing the disability sensitivity training for the student volunteers and as such member participation in the training sessions is no longer required. The members were reminded that the Community Day will be on Saturday, May 26, 2007 (10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Heart Lake Conservation Area) and any member wishing to attend should inform Jeff Payne, Acting Accessibility Planning Specialist, to ensure all necessary arrangements are confirmed.

d. Sandra Hames, City Councillor, City of Brampton, Update Regarding City of Brampton, City of Mississauga and Region of Peel Initiatives to Coordinate Transit Services for Persons with Disabilities (Oral)

This Item was dealt with earlier in the meeting

e. Naz Husain, Citizen Member, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee, Update Regarding the Spring 2007 Joint Meeting of Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committees (Oral)

Received

The Joint Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting date was confirmed as follows:

Date:	Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Time:	1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location:	Council Chamber, 5th Floor, Region of Peel Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Dr., Brampton, ON

Committee members requested that the minutes of the March 27, 2007 AAC meeting be amended accordingly. Meeting details will be further communicated to the Mississauga and Brampton AAC's.

Members were asked to contact Jeff Payne, Acting Accessibility Planning Specialist, to advise of any persons or groups that they wish to have added to the Joint Municipal AAC meeting invitation list.

9. OTHER BUSINESS

Glenn Barnes asked that an item be added to the May 15, 2007 AAC agenda regarding inclusion of residents of Peel Living Properties in the renovation process for the units they occupy.

 

10. NEXT MEETING

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Region of Peel Administrative Headquarters
Council Chamber, 5th floor
10 Peel Centre Dr.
Brampton, Ontario

11. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.