The Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee met on Thursday, April 4, 2013, at 9:04 a.m. in the Council Chamber, Regional Administrative Headquarters, Suite A, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton.

Members Present:	E. Kolb; C. Fonseca; P. Mullin, J. Sprovieri; A. Thompson; J. Tovey; R. Whitehead
Members Absent:	N. Iannicca; P. Palleschi, due to illness; R. Starr
Also Present:	D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer; S. VanOfwegen, Acting Chief Financial Office and Commissioner of Corporate Services; A. Prasad, Director, Integrated Planning Division; M. Rae, Senior Legal Counsel; S. Banz, Manager, Rural/Environment Policy Development; J. Wong, Planner, Planning Policy and Research; A. Macintyre, Manager, Legislative Services, C. Law, Committee Clerk; J. Schwartz, Acting Legislative Assistant

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* See text for arrivals
¨See text for departures

Chaired by C. Law, Committee Clerk

1. ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR

RECOMMENDATION CAAC-1-2013:

That Councillor Tovey be elected Chair of the Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee, for a term ending November 30, 2014, or until a successor is appointed by Regional Council.

RECOMMENDATION CAAC-2-2013:

That Councillor Fonseca be elected Vice Chair of the Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee, for a term ending November 30, 2014, or until a successor is appointed by Regional Council.

Councillor Tovey assumed the Chair

2. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST – Nil

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION CAAC-3-2013:

That the agenda for the April 4, 2013, Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee meeting, be approved.

4. DELEGATIONS

a) Deb Martin-Downs, Director, Ecology, Toronto Region Conversation Authority (TRCA), Providing Background Information on the TRCA Budgeting with the Region of Peel

Received

A copy of the presentation is available from the Office of the Regional Clerk.

Deb Martin-Downs, Director, Ecology, Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) provided information regarding how priorities are set at the TRCA, and gave a summary of current projects being pursued in the area municipalities in the Region of Peel.

In response to a question from Councillor Mullin, Deb Martin-Downs acknowledged that due to additional Region of Peel funding, numerous system improvements have been accomplished for risk management directly related to climate change mitigation.

David Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer, added that a discussion paper focused on risk management and the risks facing the Region of Peel due to climate change could be brought back to the next Committee meeting.

Councillor Fonseca requested the report also address the legislative changes at the provincial and federal levels and how those changes can directly impact the budgets of the Region of Peel and the conservation authorities.

b) Rae Horst, Chief Administrative Officer; John Kinkead, Mike Puddister and Gerry Robin, Departmental Directors, Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Providing Background Information on the Peel Budget Preparation Process

Received

A copy of the presentation is available from the Office of the Regional Clerk.

Rae Horst, Chief Administrative Officer, Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), provided details on how funding is allocated and the differences between the general levy and special levy. She stated that a two per cent cost-of-living increase, plus a two per cent operational increase, will still leave the CVC budget short of funds to cover expenses for the upcoming year. She also provided a list of projects currently underway in the Region.

In response to a question from Councillor Mullin, Brian Denney, Chief Administrative Officer, TRCA informed the members that TRCA receives approximately $4 million in planning fees from developers. He stated that he works closely with the CVC team on coordinating and managing the process of collecting the development fees in a timely manner.

In response to concerns raised by Councillor Mullin regarding the differing processes of collecting development fees between municipalities and the conservation authorities, David Szwarc stated that staff will review the different processes to compare differences in consultation with area municipal staff and prepare a summary chart and report back to the next Committee meeting.

Councillor Fonseca also asked if the report could provide details of the different fee structures of individual development applications versus larger development applications on Greenfield space, and if there is a need to reform these costs.

5. REPORTS

Received

A copy of the presentation is available from the Office of the Regional Clerk.

Arvin Prasad, Director, Integrated Planning provided information regarding the Service Strategy Business Plan (SSBP), its primary objectives and other funding support to the conservation authorities and its activities to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Councillor Mullin asked that staff bring back this information during the 2014 Regional budget discussions.

Received

A copy of the presentation is available from the Office of the Regional Clerk.

Steve VanOfwegen, Director, Business Planning and Financial Support Services, provided information regarding how conservation authorities obtain their level of funding from the Region of Peel through both the general and special levies and other funding to support projects related to climate change amongst other operating costs.

In response to a question from Councillor Mullin, David Szwarc indicated that while the Region of Peel has been putting most of the increases in funding to conservation authorities on the utility revenue side as opposed to the property taxes, however future increases will be examined. He added that the forthcoming report related to risks and risk management will help shape the conversation on how much funding is necessary given the risks that the Region of Peel faces.

6. COMMUNICATIONS – Nil

7. IN CAMERA – Nil

8. OTHER BUSINESS

a) Scheduling of the Next Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee (CAAC) Meeting

RECOMMENDATION CAAC-4-2013:

That the next Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee (CAAC) meeting be held on June 27, 2013, from 8:00 a.m to 9:30 a.m., prior to the Regional Council Meeting, at 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, 5th Floor, Council Chambers.

9. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Conservation Authorities Advisory Committee is scheduled for June 27, 2013, at 8:00 a.m., Regional Administrative Headquarters, Suite A, Council Chamber, 5th floor, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, Brampton, ON.

Please forward regrets to Helena West, Committee Clerk, (905) 791-7800, extension 4697 or helena.west@peelregion.ca.

10. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:18 a.m.