INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

M I N U T E S  IRAC-2011-4

The Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) met on September 1, 2011, at 11:04 a.m. in the Council Chamber, 5th Floor, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, Brampton.

Members:	P. Foley; E. Moore; R. Paterak; J. Sanderson; R. Starr¨; A. Thompson; J. Tovey
Members Absent:	E. Kolb, due to vacation; S. Hames, due to vacation; G. Miles, due to other municipal business; P. Saito, due to a personal matter
Also Present:	J. Smith, Acting Chief Administrative Officer; M. Goldrup, Acting Commissioner of Employee and Business Services; N. Trim, Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services; S. Pace, Acting Commissioner of Human Services; C. Reid, Regional Clerk; D. Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy & Government Relations; L. Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations; C. Thomson, Committee Clerk

Chaired by Councillor Thompson.

1. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST - Nil

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-9-2011:

That the agenda for the September 1, 2011 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting, be amended to include an additional communication from the Minister of Transportation, to be dealt with under Item 6b;

And further, that the agenda for the September 1, 2011 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting, be amended to include an oral update on recent discussions with staff of the Peel-area Local Health Integration Networks (LHINS), to be dealt with under Other Business – Item 8b;

And further, that the agenda for the September 1, 2011 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting, be approved, as amended.

See also Items 6b and 8b

3. DELEGATIONS

a) Wladyslaw Lizon, MP, Mississauga East-Cooksville, Regarding Opportunities for Collaboration on Issues within the Mississauga East-Cooksville Riding

Received

Wladyslaw Lizon, Member of Parliament (MP), Mississauga East-Cooksville, provided a summary of his experience as a newcomer to Canada from Poland and noted that one of his priorities as a Member of Parliament is to address the current immigration process which is longer and more cumbersome than the system that was in place in the late 1980’s when he arrived in Canada. He stated his willingness to work with Regional Council to improve the quality of life for residents of the Region of Peel and requested that meetings of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee try to be scheduled during breaks in the legislature so that local MPs are available to attend.

Councillor Tovey highlighted the long wait list for affordable housing in the Region of Peel and noted that since 2002, the Region of Peel has paid $162.3 million in interest related to mortgages on the Peel’s housing stock. He suggested that there is an opportunity for partnerships among all three levels of government whereby new affordable housing projects are cost shared among the three levels and mortgages are provided interest free. Such a partnership would enable the Region to re-invest up to $50 million per year for affordable housing.

Wladyslaw Lizon stated that he does not support subsidized housing as a lifetime solution but rather, supports programs that assist citizens to become financially independent.

Councillor Starr suggested that staff prepare a list of topics that could be discussed at a round table session with Peel’s elected officials.

Wladyslaw Lizon noted that the Conservative Party has a Greater Toronto Area Caucus that is positioned to raise issues at the National Caucus.

Councillor Paterak expressed disappointment at the cancellation of the long form Census, stating that Region of Peel staff have always strived to plan the Region comprehensively by referencing data obtained from the Census. The loss of the long form will restrict the ability to plan and understand the future needs of the Region.

Councillor Moore noted that the Region of Peel receives a large number of newcomers and has many programs for which funds are targeted to settlement services and suggested that Regional staff provide Wladyslaw Lizon with statistics that would help him to advocate for the shared responsibility of immigrant success.

Councillor Starr departed at 11:44 a.m.

4. REPORTS

Received

Councillor Thompson acknowledged IRAC members, Councillors Foley, Moore, Sanderson and Tovey for their participation at the FCM Annual Conference, noting that the various policy forums held were informative and provided the opportunity to raise Peel’s perspective on a variety of issues including affording housing, immigration, policing and long-term infrastructure investments.

Received

Councillor Thompson extended his appreciation to staff from the Office of Strategic Innovation and Policy for the support provided to Region of Peel attendees at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference. During the Conference, Peel’s delegation met with seven Ministers, along with leaders and deputy leaders of the four main political parties in Ontario. Councillor Thompson also acknowledged the attendance of Councillor Fonseca at the meeting with Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Councillor Sanderson stated that the messages conveyed from Regional representatives are resonating with both federal and provincial officials and extended his appreciation to the Chief Administrative Officer, staff of the Office of Strategic Innovation and Policy and the members of the Intergovernmental Governmental Relations Advisory Committee for their ongoing support.

a) Federal News
b) Provincial News
c) Local News

Received

A copy of the Government Relations Status Report and Current Activities presentation will be distributed to all Members of Regional Council.

Councillor Tovey requested that staff analyse the provincial party platforms as they are released and identify those issues that align with the Region of Peel’s identified priorities, as well as, issues that are not aligned with Peel’s identified priorities.

6. COMMUNICATIONS

a) Draft: MP/MPP Advocacy Update – Fall 2011

Received

Staff were requested to provide copies of the MP/MPP Advocacy Update – Fall 2011 to all members of Regional Council once completed.

Additional Item – Item 6b:

b) Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Transportation, Letter dated August 29, 2011, Thanking Members of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee for their Attendance at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in London, Ontario

Received

See also Approval of Agenda

7.IN CAMERA MATTERS – Nil

8. OTHER BUSINESS

Received

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-10-2011:

That the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee endorse a “Peel in Ottawa Day”;

And further, that staff be authorized to commence planning a “Peel in Ottawa Day” for October 18 – 19, 2011;

And further, that staff provide an update on the status of the planning of the “Peel in Ottawa Day” at the October 6, 2011 meeting of the IRAC.

Lowell Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, requested the endorsement of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee to hold a “Peel in Ottawa Day” which was part of the previously endorsed federal election advocacy campaign. He noted that Bob Dechert, MP, Mississauga-Erindale has offered his assistance in coordinating meetings between Peel’s representatives and Ministers. Lowell Rubin-Vaughan proposed that the event be organized for October 18 – 19, 2011 and noted that support for the event could be accommodated within the budget of the Office of Strategic Innovation and Policy and that travel expenses for Committee members could be charged to individual Councillors’ travel accounts.

Members of the IRAC expressed their support for the proposed event and undertook to advise Lowell Rubin-Vaughan of their availability, noting that a small delegation would be appropriate to ensure efficient meetings and to manage costs.

Councillor Thompson requested that staff develop a draft budget for the event and provide details via email to members of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee.

Additional Items – Item 8b to 8d inclusive:

b) Update on Discussions with the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) (Oral)

Received

See also Approval of Agenda

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy, advised that staff met with the LHINs Board Chairs and Chief Executive Officers regarding ways Regional Council and the IRAC can assist them in their advocacy efforts related to their priority issues that are of importance to Peel; such as seniors funding, ambulance dispatch, seniors’ dental and paramedic offload delays.

Janette Smith, Commissioner of Health Services stated that the LHIN representatives advised that Peel area hospitals and communities received increased base funding for growth over the past three years which has helped those areas, however, there is still a severe lack of home care support services and community support services for seniors, particularly in Brampton. Janette Smith stated that there is a need to help support and build up the non-profit sector to provide those supports for seniors, noting that the over 85 age group is the fastest growing demographic.

Janette Smith advised that staff will be reporting to a future meeting of the IRAC with an update on the challenges of the two Peel-area Community Care Access Centres (CCAC) which are among the lowest funded in the Province.

c) Update on “peelaskswhy.ca” (Oral)

Received

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy, stated that the “peelaskswhy.ca” website was launched in June and now has 136 followers and 85 ‘likes” and receives approximately 200 unique visits per week, which is very impressive for a new site. He noted that staff are investigating opportunities for Regional Chair Kolb to submit opinion/editorial pieces for local newspapers and are developing a postcard that can be downloaded by visitors to the website so that they can be printed and sent to local candidates.

Councillor Sanderson undertook to investigate the opportunity to share a timeslot on Rogers cable television to promote the Region of Peel’s election messaging.

Councillor Foley encouraged Members of Council to include information on “peelaskswhy.ca” in their newsletters and on their blogs.

Councillor Tovey requested that staff contact his office to arrange to have the “peelaskswhy.ca” site linked to his website.

Councillor Tovey suggested that staff investigate the potential of utilizing the online radio station “HAZE FM” which is played in the Mississauga Transit Terminal, to promote Peel’s election messaging.

d) Affordable Housing Mortgages (Oral)

Received

Councillor Tovey requested comments on his proposal to advocate for zero-interest mortgages for affordable housing.

Councillor Paterak stated that prior to any advocacy efforts, clarity is needed as to where the various funding comes from related to affordable housing.

The Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services and the Commissioner of Human Services and the General Manager, Peel Living, were requested to report to a future meeting of the IRAC with details related to the various funding sources related to affordable housing.

9. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee is scheduled for Thursday, October 6, 2011, at 11:00 a.m., Regional Council, in the Council Chamber, 5th floor, Regional Administrative Headquarters, Suite A, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton, Ontario.

Councillor Thompson noted that the agenda for the October 6, 2011 meeting will include strategies for the Peel in Ottawa Day and encouraged all members of the Committee to attend.

Please forward regrets to Christine Thomson, Committee Clerk, (905) 791-7800, ext. 4582 or at christine.thomson@peelregion.ca.

10. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.