M I N U T E S   IRAC-2014-1

The Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) met on Thursday February 6, 2014, at 11:02 a.m. in the Council Chamber, 5th Floor, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, Brampton.

Members Present:	B. Crombie*; C. Fonseca¨; S. Hames; E. Kolb; E. Moore*; R. Paterak; P. Saito; J. Sanderson; R. Starr; A. Thompson
Members Absent:	J. Tovey, due to other municipal business
Also Present:	D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer; J. Smith, Commissioner of Health Services; D. Labrecque, Commissioner of Public Works; D. Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations; L. Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, Executive Office; K. Lockyer, Regional Clerk and Director of Clerk’s; C. Thomson, Committee Clerk; R. Comacchio, Legislative Assistant

_______________________________
* See text for arrivals
¨See text for departures

Chaired by Councillor A. Thompson

1. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST - Nil

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-1-2014:

That the agenda for the February 6, 2014 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting, be approved.

3. DELEGATIONS - Nil

4. REPORTS

a) 2014 Government Relations Strategic Opportunities and Advocacy Priorities

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-2-2014:

That the Government Relations Strategic Opportunities and Advocacy Priorities identified in the report of the Chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee, dated December 5, 2013, titled, “2014 Government Relations Strategic Opportunities and Advocacy Priorities”, be approved.

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-3-2014:

That the Commissioner of Health Services thank Brampton Civic Hospital for their efforts in helping to reduce paramedic offload delay.

Regional Chair Kolb noted that paramedic offload delay has been significantly reduced at Brampton Civic Hospital and he requested that they be formally thanked for their efforts.

Regional Chair Kolb requested that the federal and provincial governments’ role in infrastructure funding be identified and discussed at a future meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC).

Councillor Fonseca stated that the federal Conservative Caucus has launched a Housing and Construction Caucus to address housing issues and she requested that Brad Butt, Member of Parliament (MP), Mississauga-Streetsville, who is a member of that Caucus, be invited to a future meeting of the IRAC to discuss the work of the Caucus, and to share with him the Region of Peel’s priorities with respect to affordable housing.

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy, undertook to contact the MP’s office to determine the appropriate method of conveying the Region of Peel’s priorities to the Housing and Construction Caucus.

Councillor Thompson advised that the City of Ottawa suspends the payment of Development Charges (DCs) for affordable housing projects and if at some future point, those projects change to full market value units, DC’s would be payable at the current rate at the time of change. The Chief Administrative Officer undertook to speak with staff at the City of Ottawa to determine if such a practice would be applicable for the Region of Peel.

Councillor Moore arrived at 11:07 a.m.
Councillor Crombie arrived at 11:16 a.m.

a) Federal News

b) Provincial News

c) Local News

Received

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

Lowell Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, Executive Office, noted that Industry Canada has announced changes to the Antenna Tower Siting Policy that will require telecommunication companies to consult with residents and municipalities on all tower installations, regardless of height, among other new requirements. He undertook to forward a copy of the announcement to the City of Brampton and Town of Caledon.

Item 6d was dealt with.

d) Resolution Number 1 Regarding Extreme Weather Event, from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Mayors and Chairs meeting held on January 17, 2014

Received

Councillor Paterak inquired if the IRAC could assist in ensuring that municipal applications for emergency storm funding are addressed by the provincial and federal governments.

David Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer advised that the resolution passed by the GTA Mayors and Chairs on January 17, 2014 requests both levels of government to provide a response by March 1, 2014. He suggested that at this time, it would be appropriate for the IRAC to continue to monitor the situation.

In response to a question from Councillor Sanderson, David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy, undertook to prepare a briefing note related to the impact of the December 22, 2013 extreme weather event for the IRAC members who will be attending the Rural Ontario Municipal Association/Ontario Good Roads Association Annual Conference.

Councillor Moore stated that taxpayers should be made aware of the potential impact to the residential tax rate should the provincial and federal governments not provide funding to assist with the storm clean up.

Councillor Paterak suggested that staff determine the potential impact to the tax rate and include it in a press release that would encourage residents to contact their provincial and federal representatives to convey their support for the requested financial assistance.

Councillor Fonseca departed at 11:34 a.m. due to other municipal business.

Councillor Paterak requested that staff monitor the application by Enbridge Gas to reverse one of its major pipelines to move crude oil to eastern Canada, noting that such a change could result in an increase to propane costs. He advised that the cost of propane has doubled in the past year.

6. COMMUNICATIONS

a) Draft Winter 2014 MP/MPP Advocacy Update

Received

b) Region of Peel 2014 Federal Pre-Budget Submission

Received

c) Region of Peel 2014 Provincial Pre-Budget Submission

Received

d) Resolution Number 1 Regarding Extreme Weather Event, from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Mayors and Chairs meeting held on January 17, 2014

This item was dealt with earlier in the meeting

7. IN CAMERA MATTERS – Nil

8. OTHER BUSINESS

9. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee is scheduled for Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 11:00 a.m., Council Chamber, 5th floor, Regional Administrative Headquarters, Suite A, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton, Ontario.

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 11:50 a.m.