THE JOINT PEEL- CALEDON

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Maureen Tymkow, Vice-Chair - presided

1. CALL TO ORDER

Maureen Tymkow, Vice-Chair of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee, called the meeting to order at 1:55 p.m. and welcomed everyone present.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of the Joint Peel - Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting held on July 29, 2004.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-20-2004

That the minutes for the July 29, 2004, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved, as amended.

Regional Councillor Pat Saito and Regional Councillor Richard Paterak requested that the July 29, 2004 meeting minutes be amended to reflect that they were unable to attend the July 29, 2004 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting because it was rescheduled from the original meeting date of July 13, 2004.

Maureen Tymkow requested that the minutes be further amended under Item 9 to indicate that the next meeting of the AAC will occur on Tuesday, August 17, 2004.

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION AAC-21-2004

That the agenda for the August 12, 2004 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved, as amended.

William Goursky, AAC Member, added an item under other business related to the Presentation by the Communications division that appeared as Item 6a on the July 29, 2004 agenda, requesting further discussion.

Giancarlo Cristiano, Policy Support Analyst, Executive Office, advised the Committee that he was attending the meeting on behalf of Regional Chair Kolb who was unable to attend because of Police Services Board business.

4. COMMUNICATION ITEMS

a. News Release: Canada-Wide Accessibility for Post-Secondary Students Second Annual Conference, "Breaking Down Barriers 2004" to be held October 2 and 3, 2004

Received

Heather Horn indicated that Marlow Horn, AAC Member, would be attending the Canada-Wide Accessibility for Post-Secondary Students Second Annual Conference. It was noted that Marlow had attended the conference last year and found it to be a very valuable experience.

b. News Release: The Brampton Guardian, dated July 4, 2004, Regarding the Second Annual Rick Hansen "Wheels in Motion" Event for Spinal Cord Injury Research

Received

Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Co-ordinator, Region of Peel, explained that a response to this article was necessary to correct the use of the term "victim" relating to persons with spinal cord injuries. A copy of the response from Meenu was provided as Item 4c.

c. News Release: The Brampton Guardian, dated July 21, 2004, Regarding the Article titled "People with Disabilities aren't Victims", written by Meenu Sikand, in Reply to the "Wheels in Motion" Brampton Guardian Article, dated July 4, 2004

Received

5. PRESENTATIONS

a. Bryan Hill, Planning Manager, Planning Policy and Research, and Wendy Ren, Planner, Long Range Planning, Research and Information, Region of Peel, Presentation Outlining the Amendment to Regional Official Plan Human Services Planning Policies

Received

Bryan Hill, Planning Manager, provided an overview of the Regional Official Plan Human Services. He confirmed that a public meeting was held on July 8, 2004 and that Regional Council will consider approval of the amendment at the Council meeting scheduled for September 9, 2004.

Bryan Hill focused on the portions of the Regional Official Plan Human Services Amendment that pertained to ensuring access for persons with disabilities and incorporated feedback that resulted from the public consultation process.

William Goursky questioned whether the language used for some of the recommendations was strong enough to result in action. Bryan Hill explained that some recommendations in question fall under the jurisdiction of the lower tier municipalities and as such, the Region negotiated the wording with our municipal partners.

Councillor Richard Paterak, AAC Member from Caledon, noted that a "Policy" is a statement of "where we want to go". If the policy requires more strength, then by-laws can be passed by the lower tier municipality.

Glenn Barnes, Chair of the AAC, inquired if the Planning department was seeking suggestions or changes to the Human Services Official Plan Amendment at this time. Bryan Hill indicated that it was very late in the process and he was presenting the amendment to the committee for information.

Meenu Sikand indicated that she had already reviewed and provided input, which has been incorporated into the Official Plan Amendment.

Glenn Barnes raised a concern about recommendation 6.2.2.13 in that it was not in line with the current policies of Transhelp used to assess eligibility for service access. Councillor Pat Saito, AAC Member, cautioned that the definition should be worded carefully to avoid the need for a future amendment to the Regional Official Plan should policies change.

Group discussion followed and the AAC suggested that Bryan Hill consider amending recommendation 6.2.2.13 by adding the following wording to the end of the clause:

"…as defined in the Transhelp eligibility criteria."

Meenu Sikand noted the value of this dialogue between staff and the AAC, recognizing the important role of the AAC, and valuable advice they can provide. She further commented that staff had actively negotiated stronger wording in the areas related to lower-tier municipal jurisdiction. Councillor Pat Saito suggested that this is an opportunity for the Regional AAC to communicate with the lower tier municipal AAC's requesting that they work with staff form the City of Mississauga and Brampton to strengthen policies and by-laws as they relate to improving accessibility for persons with disabilities.

Staff Direction AAC-08-2004-01

That the Chair of the Joint Peel-Caledon AAC write a letter to the Mississauga and Brampton Accessibility Advisory Committees requesting that they review the recommendations set out in Appendix I of the Regional Official Plan Amendment Number 11 - Amendment to Human Services Planning Policies, in an effort to strengthen wording related to accessibility in areas within the jurisdiction of the lower tier municipalities.

Staff Direction AAC-08-2004-02

That Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Co-ordinator, Region of Peel, contact the Mississauga and Brampton Co-ordinators in an effort to increase communication between the committees through the sharing of meeting minutes and agendas.

b. Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Coordinator, Region of Peel, Presentation of the 2004 - Accessibility Plan

Received

Meenu Sikand provided the AAC with a high level overview of the 2004 Accessibility Plan for the Region of Peel. She noted that the draft 2004 Plan was compatible with the Service Strategy Business Planning process currently used by all Regional departments. This change from the 2003 Plan will ensure accessibility planning is consistent with other Regional planning processes and is incorporated in the departmental planning process. Meenu Sikand also noted that the 2004 Plan was drafted in a manner that would ensure the "outside" reader would have all the necessary resources and background information through various appendices to understand the Regional accessibility planning process.

Councillor Pat Saito requested that a list of the AAC Members be added to the introduction of the 2004 Draft Accessibility Plan for the Region of Peel. Further, she noted the Regional URL on page 2, section A of the Plan that should read "peelregion.ca".

Group discussion followed where a number of the Committee Members noted that they did not have sufficient time to review the 2004 draft Accessibility Plan. Councillor Pat Saito suggested that consideration of the 2004 Plan be deferred to the September 14, 2004 meeting of the AAC to provide additional review time for the members. She indicated that the Provincial deadline of September 30, 2004 is not set out in legislation. Kent Gillespie, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Regional Solicitor, concurred with Councillor Saito that the AAC need not be bound by the September 30, 2004 deadline, if the members require additional time to fully consider the 2004 Draft Accessibility Plan, recognizing that the plan will be finalized by early October. Group discussion resulted in the following recommendation and staff direction:

RECOMMENDATION AAC-22-2004

That consideration of the 2004 Draft Accessibility Plan for the Region of Peel be deferred to the September 14, 2004 AAC meeting

Staff Direction AAC-08-2004-03

Members of the AAC were requested to forward all of their suggestions and feedback regarding the 2004 Draft Accessibility Plan to Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Co-ordinator, Region of Peel, who will compile and incorporate this feedback for the September 14, 2004 AAC meeting.

6. REPORT FROM THE ACCESSIBILITY PLANNING COORDINATORS

a. E. Eglite, Acting Director of Recreation and Property Services, Town of Caledon

Received

E. Eglite, Acting Director of Recreation and Property Services, Town of Caledon, confirmed that he would be prepared to provide a brief presentation on the 2004 Draft Town of Caledon Accessibility Plan to the September 14, 2004 meeting of the AAC.

b. Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Coordinator, Region of Peel

Received

7. REPORT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR

Received

Maureen Tymkow, Vice-Chair of the AAC, asked for an update on the staff sensitivity training session. Meenu Sikand indicated that approximately 31 staff members representing various departments and levels within the organization attended the training session. The comments received were favourable. William Goursky indicated that the session was a good foundation and it was well done. Glenn Barnes, who participated as a trainer for the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, stated that the Coalition would be working to tighten the presentation prior to future sessions including the session planned for Regional Council on September 16, 2004.

Maureen Tymkow read an e-mail from Heather and Marlow Horn regarding the patience required to process complex information that is frequently provided to members shortly before a meeting or presented during a meeting with the expectation that the Committee will provide feedback under such time constraints. The letter also noted that the members are bound together by their dedication and this has contributed to the successes of the Committee. Maureen Tymkow echoed these comments thanking the members for their continued dedication. Glenn Barnes noted that these concerns have been raised with Kent Gillespie about the speed and the complexity of the issues brought before the AAC. The recent presentation by the Communications division was an example of how things could be done to ensure the members are not overwhelmed by the information presented during a meeting. He also encouraged AAC members to request the Chair of the AAC to slow down the proceedings if the members need additional time to process information.

Maureen Tymkow expressed thanks to staff at the Battleford Community Recycling Centre (CRC) for the assistance they provided during the recent AAC inspection of the facility. She suggested that perhaps the Committee could consider creating a certificate of recognition for the facilities that have been inspected. Meenu Sikand encouraged AAC members to send recognition awards and thank you letters to Regional departments for their good work. However, she reminded the members to develop a criteria or standard for this recognition initiative. Glenn Barnes suggested that common recognition standards could be established by the three Committees in Peel and awards be presented to businesses that achieve a pre-determined level of accessibility.

Maureen Tymkow explained that awards of this nature can be very valuable to small business owners. Councillor Pat Saito suggested that the recognition could be in the form of a sticker, including the "Making Way" logo, the Region of Peel logo and the appropriate municipal logo which could be placed in the front window of the business, similar to the commonly seen credit card "accepted here" stickers.

Maureen Tymkow stated that she would contact the members to arrange a sub-committee meeting to develop and review the criteria and the form of recognition.

8. OTHER BUSINESS

Received

William Goursky, following up on item 6a from the July 29, 2004 AAC meeting, inquired if outside agencies could be contacted to supply human interest stories for posting on the accessibility web page.

Staff Direction AAC-08-2004-04

Staff from the Communications division of the Corporate Services Department at the Region of Peel was requested by the Members of the AAC to contact agencies representing persons with disabilities in an effort to obtain additional human interest stories for posting on the Accessibility Page of the Region of Peel Website.

9. NEXT MEETING

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 (1:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.)
Region of Peel Headquarters
Council Chambers, 5th floor
10 Peel Centre Dr.
Brampton, Ontario

10. ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.