M I N U T E S   IRAC-2013-2

The Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) met on April 4, 2013, at 11:00 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; A. Thompson; J. Tovey
Members Absent:	R. Starr
Also Present:	D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer; D. Labrecque, Commissioner of Public Works; J. Smith, Commissioner of Health Services; J. Menard, Commissioner of Human Services;D. Bingham, Treasurer & Director of Corporate Finance;D. Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations; L. Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, Executive Office; A. Macintyre, Manager, Legislative Services; 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-5-2013:

That the agenda for the April 4, 2013 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting include an oral update regarding “Queens Park Day”, to be dealt with under Other Business – Item 8a;

And further, that the agenda for the April 4, 2013 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting, be approved, as amended.

See also Other Business – Item 8a

3. DELEGATIONS - Nil

4. REPORTS

a) Council Endorsed Advocacy Positions “Report Card”

Received

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations, noted that the Council Endorsed Advocacy Positions “Report Card” attached as Appendix I to the report, contained an error on the first page and that a revised page had been distributed.

Councillor Saito suggested that an additional column be added to the Report Card to capture proposed actions related to the responses that have been received. She noted that with respect to the Seniors’ Dental Program, as an example, that the Region of Peel has advocated to the provincial government to have the costs removed from the property tax base however, the response from the province was that their current priority is to deal with dental care for children. Councillor Saito indicated that the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) should consider either developing recommendations for continued advocacy or take no further action on the matter. She noted that engaging with staff related to each of the advocacy areas would assist the Committee in developing a work plan that could be provided to Regional Council for endorsement.

Councillor Thompson cautioned against requesting staff to devote significant time and resources to developing recommendations that may not be supported by the Committee.

Councillor Saito suggested that Members of Regional Council be requested to provide feedback on advocacy priorities prior to the next meeting of the IRAC, noting that such an exercise would help to ensure that the IRAC focuses its efforts on issues that are supported by the majority of Councillors.

Councillor Moore noted that there are different types of priorities, such as those that are best advanced prior to provincial or federal elections and those that are considered long-term. She suggested that the items on the report card be grouped under larger categories, such as; underfunding, tax reform, local tools, and reviewed in that context to determine if there may be different approaches to advocacy efforts.

Councillor Moore further noted that, with the exception of the Seniors’ Dental Program, the advocacy issues relate to programs which the Region of Peel is mandated to provide, and she requested that staff investigate whether other Regions have implemented Seniors’ Dental Programs.

David Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer, noted that the Term of Council Priorities (ToCPs) is the Region of Peel staff’s action plan and the Report Card before the Committee are items for which staff and the IRAC were requested to advocate on.

Members discussed options for obtaining feedback from Regional Council regarding advocacy priorities. The Regional Chair, the Committee Chair and Vice Chair and the CAO were requested to determine the best method to obtain the feedback in order that the responses may be reviewed at a future meeting of the IRAC.

b) 2013 Provincial Election Readiness Strategy Follow-Up Report

Received

c)	Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board Meeting Update (Oral)
		Discussion led by Councillor Fonseca

Received

Councillor Fonseca provided an update on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board of Directors meeting held March 6 – 9, 2013 in St. Georges, British Columbia, stating that the focus of the meeting was on the Federal budget. Members of the Board of Directors were pleased with the permanent indexing of the gas tax which provides for predictable, sustainable funding; however, it was noted that the budget did not include many new investments. The lack of rental housing vacancies was noted as being a concern across the country and was identified as an FCM Board priority. Other topics discussed included municipal rights-of-way and the impact of telecommunications towers on municipalities, as well as, the property tax funding of infrastructure and storm water management.

Councillor Fonseca stated that those present at the meeting representing Regions and municipalities were called upon to request feedback from their municipalities with respect to items that FCM should be advocating for; matters that could be dealt with more efficiently, and; suggestions on how FCM could work better for municipalities.

Regional Chair Kolb noted that for a number of years, federal funding commitments to immigration have not been realized and he requested that staff report to a future meeting of the IRAC with details related to immigration funding that could be submitted to FCM for advocacy.

d)	Rural Ontario Municipal Association/Ontario Good Roads Association (ROMA/OGRA) Annual Conference Summary (Oral)
		Discussion led by Allan Thompson, Chair, Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee

Received

Councillor Thompson thanked Councillors Sanderson, Starr and Tovey for their participation in the Region of Peel delegation at the 2013 Rural Ontario Municipal Association/Ontario Good Roads Association Combined Conference and acknowledged Mayor Morrison who attended the meeting with the Ministry of Natural Resources. He stated that issues discussed at the combined conference were more aligned with the Conference themes including highlighting the Region of Peel’s transportation, infrastructure, agriculture and natural resources concerns.

Councillor Thompson stated that the Ministers are relatively new to their portfolios and the Conference provided an excellent opportunity to introduce Region of Peel initiatives and work. Several Ministers indicated their interest in betting understanding the needs of the Region of Peel which may present a good opportunity for the Region of Peel to demonstrate the needs in areas including leveraging the progress the Goods Movement Taskforce has been making over the past number of years.

Councillor Thompson commended the Chief Administrative Officer and staff from the Executive Office for the support provided to the Region of Peel Councillors.

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

Received

Councillor Saito departed at 11:54 a.m.

Regional Chair Kolb inquired if staff would be reporting to a future meeting with recommendations related to Bill 27, Social Assistance Programs Consolidation Act, 2013 currently in First Reading, which recommends the merger of programs established by the Ontarian Disability Support Program Act 1997 and the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

Janet Menard, Commissioner of Social Services, responded that the Commissioners of Social Assistance Review recommended that the two programs be brought together to help modernize social assistance. She stated that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA) are not opposed to Bill 27 but have cautioned against it resulting in the downloading of costs to municipalities and have called for municipalities to be fully involved in any changes.

Councillor Fonseca requested that staff determine whether the federal announcement regarding funding for housing and homelessness is considered new funding or is a continuation of previous funding programs.

Councillor Thompson requested that the future report regarding federal housing funding be provided to a Regional Council meeting so that all members of Regional Council are apprised of the situation.

Janet Menard noted that staff would include details regarding the withdrawal of federal housing funding at the upcoming Council Workshop on housing issues.

6. COMMUNICATIONS

a) Draft Spring 2013 MP/MPP Advocacy Update

Received

b) Region of Peel 2013 Federal Pre-Budget Submission

Received

c) Region of Peel 2013 Provincial Pre-Budget Submission

Received

7. IN CAMERA MATTERS - Nil

8. OTHER BUSINESS

Additional Item – Item 8a:

a) Queen’s Park Day – Update (Oral)

Received

See also Agenda Approval

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations advised that the Councils of the City of Brampton and the Town of Caledon accepted the invitation to participate with the Region of Peel in a Queen’s Park Day; the City of Mississauga declined the invitation. He indicated that the Brampton and Mississauga Boards of Trade have expressed interest in participating and the Town of Caledon Chamber of Commerce has yet to respond. He noted that staff would report to a future meeting of the IRAC with an update on the planning of the event.

9. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee is scheduled for Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 11:00 a.m., Council Chamber, 5^th 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 12:22 p.m.