THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF PEEL

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

M I N U T E S   IRAC-2013-5


The Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) met on Thursday, November 7, 2013, at 11:08 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; J. Tovey
Members Absent:
Nil
Also Present:
D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer, S. VanOfwegen, Acting Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services; J. Smith, Commissioner of Health Services; J. Menard, Commissioner of Human Services; D. Labrecque, Commissioner of Public Works; D. Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations; L. Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations; C. Thomson, Committee Clerk; J. Schwartz, 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-10-2013:

That the agenda for the November 7, 2013 Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee meeting, be approved.


3. DELEGATIONS

a) Terrance Edgar, Executive Director and Doug Kwan, Staff Lawyer, Mississauga Community Legal Services (MCLS), Seeking Support for Fair Funding for Community Legal Services

Received

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-11-2013:

That the Regional Chair write to the Minister of the Attorney-General, on behalf of Regional Council, to request that a Community Legal Services clinic remain within the Region of Peel and funded at an equitable level as other such clinics located across the Province of Ontario.

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

Doug Kwan, Staff Lawyer, Mississauga Community Legal Services (MCLS), advised that MCLS is celebrating its 35th Anniversary of providing legal services to low income people in the Mississauga community. He stated that funding from the province has not kept up with the Region of Peel’s population growth which has created unequal access to legal aid funding compared to other parts of the province. He requested the support of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee in advocating for change to the provincial funding formula so that Mississauga residents have equal access to poverty law services.

Terrance Edgar, Executive Director, MCLS noted that the Community Legal Services clinic serving Brampton and Caledon residents is also underfunded, and he highlighted the difference in staff per population ratio between the Region of Peel and City of Toronto area clinics.

Terrance Edgar stated that through funding from Legal Aid Ontario, Toronto clinics commissioned a study to address the issue of access to justice. The report stated that clinic catchment areas should reflect the transit infrastructure used by clients to access clinic services and also recommended staffing models of 15 to 21 legal staff, with each clinic serving an overall population of 350,00 to 600,000. The MCLS currently has 10 staff, serving a population of 713,443.

In response to a question from Councillor Tovey, Terrance Edgar advised that Legal Aid Ontario is considering reducing the number of clinics in the Greater Toronto Area to four, with the locations yet to be determined. It is the position of staff at MCLS that one of the clinics should be located within the Region of Peel and that the realignment of clinics presents an opportunity to address the funding disparity issue.

Councillor Tovey suggested that a letter be sent to the Minister of the Attorney General to request that a Community Legal Services clinic remain located within the Region of Peel and that it receive funding equal to that of other clinics.

In response to a question from Councillor Moore, Doug Kwan advised that staff from MCLS have spoken with all Peel-area MPPs, some of whom have written letters of support to the Ministry of the Attorney General. The response from the Ministry was to refer the issue to Legal Aid Ontario who encouraged MCLS to participate in the Toronto Study; however, staff’s position is that such participation would not help to address the funding inequity.

Councillor Starr arrived at 11:12 a.m.
Councillor Paterak arrived at 11:15 a.m.


4. REPORTS

a) 2013 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Annual Conference Update (Oral)
Discussion led by Allan Thompson, Chair, Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee

Received

See also Communications - Item 6a

Councillor Thompson expressed his appreciation to Councillors Sanderson, Crombie, Starr and Tovey, as well as Mayor Morrison, for their attendance at the AMO Annual Conference and acknowledged the support provided by Executive Office staff.

b) Council Endorsed Advocacy Position Prioritization
Presentation by David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy

Received

RECOMMENDATION IRAC-12-2013:

That the general advocacy themes and specific advocacy positions outlined in Section 3 of the report of the Chief Administrative Officer, dated October 8, 2013, titled “Council Endorsed Advocacy Position Prioritization”, be endorsed;

And further, that the general advocacy themes and the corresponding specific advocacy positions as outlined in the subject report, be endorsed as the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee’s priority advocacy positions to be highlighted through advocacy and government relations activities for the reminder of the current term of Regional Council.

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

David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy and Government Relations, reviewed the methodology applied by staff to assess Council’s endorsed advocacy positions in order to prioritize general advocacy themes that most closely align with the approved Term of Council Priorities.


5. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS STATUS REPORT AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES (Oral)
Discussion led by L. Rubin-Vaughan, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, Executive Office

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

Received

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

Councillor Thompson requested that staff report to a future meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee regarding the potential impacts of Bill 6, The Great Lakes Protection Act, 2013, noting that if passed, it could have a significant financial impact on municipalities.

In response to a question from Councillor Tovey, David Arbuckle, Manager, Public Policy, confirmed that staff from the Integrated Planning Division are currently compiling existing positions related to the Ontario Municipal Board consultation process for the approval of Regional Council for submission to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

In a response to a question from Regional Chair Kolb regarding interest arbitration, David Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer, advised that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) would be hosting consultations with identified stakeholders to discuss the impact of the rising costs of emergency services on municipalities.

Councillor Thompson encouraged Committee members to attend the Goods Movement Workshop scheduled for November 29, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. at the International Centre in the City of Mississauga.


6. COMMUNICATIONS

a) Allan Thompson, Regional Councillor & Chair, Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee, Memo dated September 4, 2013, Regarding the 2013 Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference

Received

See also Reports – Item 4a

b) Draft Fall 2013 MP/MPP Advocacy Update

Received

c) Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Update: Dated October 28, 2013 Requesting Support for the National Housing Campaign

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 6, 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 12:21 p.m.