M I N U T E S   IRAC-2012-5

The Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) met on November 1, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. in the Council Chamber, 5th Floor, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A, Brampton.

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

_______________________________
* 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-9-2012:

That the agenda for the November 1, 2012 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) meeting include an additional communication from the Minister of Transportation, to be dealt with under Communications – Item 6a;

And further, that the agenda for the November 1, 2012 IRAC meeting, be approved, as amended.

3. DELEGATIONS - Nil

4. REPORTS

a) Social Media Strategy for Advancing Public Policy and Advocacy Initiatives

 

Received

Councillor Sanderson inquired if the Region of Peel has dedicated staff to manage social media messaging. Lowell Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, advised that currently, program staff provide content to staff at the Customer Contact Centre who sends out the material.

Councillor Tovey requested clarification regarding the statement in the subject report related to there being a gap in Council’s adequacy efforts and the use of social media. Lowell Rubin-Vaughan stated that, to date, the Region of Peel has not dedicated any resources to using social media and does not currently have a long-term strategy for utilizing social media to advance its advocacy efforts.

Councillor Saito suggested that the Region of Peel’s Facebook presence should be expanded, noting that not everybody uses Twitter and that information on Facebook can be easily shared.

Lowell Rubin-Vaughan also noted that staff will look at utilizing other social media tools to promote future advocacy campaigns.

David Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer, noted that the Region of Peel is in its infancy of using social media and that there are program specific Facebook pages maintained by individual departments. He advised that the Executive Management Team recognizes that traditional means of communicating to the community, such as issuing press releases, are becoming antiquated and that staff would be reporting to Regional Council in 2013 with a Social Media Strategy.

Councillor Saito suggested that staff contact her office to obtain information about a new service that enables subscribers to send their own videos straight to television stations.

Councillor Fonseca stated that any social media strategy should include a variety of formats in order to reach all target audiences.

Councillor Paterak suggested that instructional videos could be produced and put on YouTube to demonstrate various waste related programs such as proper recycling.

The Regional Clerk was requested to provide Councillor Tovey with the average number of viewers of Regional Council meetings on Rogers Television.

b) 2013 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) and Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) Annual Conference

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-10-2012:

That the advocacy issues identified in the report of the Chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee dated October 4, 2012 titled “2013 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (RO MA) and Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) Annual Conference,” be endorsed;

And further, that staff develop briefing notes on the identified advocacy issues to support discussions with various Ministry representatives at the RO MA/OGRA Conference.

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations, noted that there would likely be cabinet changes as a result of the prorogation of the provincial legislature. He stated that staff would continue to monitor and provide updates to the Committee regarding opportunities to delegate at the combined ROMA/OGRA Conference.

In response to a question from Councillor Tovey, David Arbuckle stated that the Opposition Leaders could be requested to include Party Critics at the delegation meetings.

Councillor Tovey noted that the Council of the City of Mississauga recently received a report indicating that the Ontario government has provided $9.5 billion for transit initiatives and that of that total amount, over $8 billion was provided to the City of Toronto. Councillor Tovey suggested that the ROMA/OGRA Conference would be a good forum for the Region of Peel to reinforce the Province’s commitment to the municipalities in the Region of Peel for transit, noting that Brampton and Mississauga received a disproportionate share of the funds.

Councillor Sanderson suggested that the issue of Conservation Authorities be included as a topic of discussion at the Conference, noting that downtown Brampton flooding issues need to be addressed.

David Arbuckle undertook to review previously Council-endorsed policy positions related to Conservation Authorities.

In response to a question from Regional Chair Kolb, Councillor Tovey confirmed that applications for transit funding are submitted to Metrolinx for assessment and that the Ministry of Infrastructure Renewal determines who receives funding.

Councillor Tovey undertook to request staff from the City of Mississauga to prepare a report on the application and funding process associated with transit initiatives.

Councillor Fonseca suggested that it would be helpful to know how much money the Region of Peel has received from provincial investments, such as Metrolinx and she reiterated the importance of emphasizing the Region of Peel’s need for fair share funding.

David Arbuckle responded that when meeting with Ministers, Peel’s delegation highlights the benefits of the investments the Region has received and he undertook to try to determine the total amount of funding that has been received from the various sources.

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

Received

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

6. COMMUNICATIONS

Additional Item 6a:

a) Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Letter dated September 4, 2012, Thanking Regional Chair Kolb and the Region of Peel Delegation to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Annual Conference for the Opportunity to discuss Infrastructure and Transportation Concerns

Received

7. IN CAMERA MATTERS - Nil

8. OTHER BUSINESS - Nil

9. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee is scheduled for Thursday, February 7, 2013 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 12:05 p.m.