Grey County Committee of the Whole Meeting Transcript — December 11, 2025

00:20:24 Speaker 02: over to our committee. The whole.

00:20:25 Speaker 02: Good morning, County Council. Thank you

00:21:13 Speaker 02: very much, Deputy Warden, for stepping

00:21:15 Speaker 02: in for our council meeting. We

00:21:17 Speaker 02: will now begin our committee, the

00:21:18 Speaker 02: whole meeting, of December eleventh, twenty

00:21:20 Speaker 12: twenty-five. At this point in time,

00:21:22 Speaker 12: we'll. put a call out for

00:21:24 Speaker 12: any declarations of interest for this

00:21:25 Speaker 12: agenda, and seeing none online or

00:21:28 Speaker 12: here in the chamber, we will

00:21:30 Speaker 12: move on to business arising from

00:21:31 Speaker 12: minutes. And item three a, it's

00:21:35 Speaker 12: recommended that the evaluation of countywide

00:21:37 Speaker 12: library services be considered by the

00:21:39 Speaker 12: joint municipal services committee. So this

00:21:41 Speaker 12: is a notice motion from Councillor

00:21:43 Speaker 12: Greg. So Councillor Greg, I, do

00:21:45 Speaker 12: you have more wording to share?

00:21:51 Speaker 12: to move before I look for

00:21:52 Speaker 12: a seconder, or is it the

00:21:53 Speaker 12: way that it's been published? Okay,

00:21:55 Speaker 12: so as published, so I'll need

00:21:58 Speaker 12: a seconder for us to get

00:21:59 Speaker 12: it on the floor for discussion.

00:22:00 Speaker 12: I see it seconded by Councillor

00:22:01 Speaker 12: Mackie. It's now on the floor

00:22:03 Speaker 12: for discussion. I'll go to the

00:22:04 Speaker 12: mover to begin the discussion, and

00:22:06 Speaker 12: then I'll look for other hands.

00:22:07 Speaker 12: Thank you, Warden, and just a

00:22:08 Speaker 12: couple quick comments to this item,

00:22:13 Speaker 12: which I will just read so

00:22:16 Speaker 12: that you know it's on the.

00:22:18 Speaker 12: audio, but that the evaluation of

00:22:20 Speaker 12: countywide library services be considered by

00:22:22 Speaker 12: the joint municipal services committee. Why

00:22:24 Speaker 12: I think this is important is

00:22:27 Speaker 12: in the last election, our current

00:22:28 Speaker 13: board chair acknowledged during an all-candidates

00:22:31 Speaker 13: debate the significant challenges in front

00:22:35 Speaker 13: of us with tax levels

00:22:39 Speaker 13: in our municipality, and to the

00:22:41 Speaker 13: tune of wanting to create a

00:22:45 Speaker 13: committee to look at. means and

00:22:47 Speaker 13: ways of lowering the tax levels

00:22:50 Speaker 13: for our residents. So when I

00:22:51 Speaker 13: see this year that the budget

00:22:55 Speaker 13: ask was originally around eleven percent,

00:22:56 Speaker 13: I think I'm recognizing that there

00:23:00 Speaker 13: is a significant fundamental challenge challenge

00:23:03 Speaker 13: in today's economic times for libraries

00:23:06 Speaker 13: to be able to monitor and

00:23:09 Speaker 13: maintain budget increases that are commensurate

00:23:10 Speaker 13: with levels of inflation in the

00:23:14 Speaker 13: community. Of inflation in the communities,

00:23:17 Speaker 13: so I did get looking through

00:23:18 Speaker 13: Gray County, 2024 North Gray Public

00:23:21 Speaker 13: Library total expense expenses are 2.143

00:23:26 Speaker 13: million dollars, Mefford 1.113 million dollars.

00:23:31 Speaker 13: However, that is not net of

00:23:33 Speaker 13: 152 thousand, which is part of

00:23:40 Speaker 13: the On Sound Library contract. Hanover

00:23:42 Speaker 13: 722 thousand. Twenty-two thousand West Gray,

00:23:46 Speaker 13: five hundred eighty-two thousand Southgate, four

00:23:49 Speaker 13: hundred seventy-one point eight thousand Gray

00:23:53 Speaker 13: Highlands, seven hundred forty-one thousand dollars.

00:23:54 Speaker 13: Town of Blue Mountains, one point

00:23:57 Speaker 13: one seven six million dollars. Cumulatively,

00:24:00 Speaker 13: this to the Gray County taxpayers

00:24:03 Speaker 13: is seven six point seven six

00:24:06 Speaker 13: million seven hundred ninety-eight thousand one

00:24:09 Speaker 13: hundred ninety-six dollars. In two thousand

00:24:12 Speaker 13: twenty-four, in budget room. for the

00:24:15 Speaker 13: provision of library services across the

00:24:17 Speaker 13: county to our residents, as we

00:24:19 Speaker 13: know, Bruce County, right next door,

00:24:22 Speaker 13: has a countywide library system. Their

00:24:27 Speaker 13: total 2024 budget line item was

00:24:31 Speaker 13: three million seven hundred forty-two thousand

00:24:33 Speaker 13: dollars, three million seven hundred forty-two

00:24:36 Speaker 13: thousand six hundred ninety-four dollars. That

00:24:41 Speaker 13: is a big difference between Gray.

00:24:43 Speaker 13: County's cumulative total of six point

00:24:45 Speaker 13: seven nine eight million and the

00:24:48 Speaker 13: two thousand twenty four cumulative total

00:24:50 Speaker 13: in Bruce County for service provision

00:24:52 Speaker 13: of three point seven four two

00:24:54 Speaker 13: million dollars. So I think it

00:24:57 Speaker 13: does behoove us around this table

00:24:59 Speaker 13: to have our Joint Municipal Services

00:25:02 Speaker 13: Committee look at this item, see

00:25:05 Speaker 13: if there is a possibility of

00:25:08 Speaker 13: moving forward in a more partnership

00:25:11 Speaker 13: model, as opposed to the more

00:25:16 Speaker 13: isolated model that we're currently deploying,

00:25:19 Speaker 13: because as those numbers would indicate

00:25:21 Speaker 13: on the surface, we are significantly

00:25:23 Speaker 13: above Bruce County's cost of service

00:25:27 Speaker 13: provision for library services. Thank you.

00:25:29 Speaker 13: Okay, thank you for that introduction.

00:25:33 Speaker 13: I will look around the room

00:25:34 Speaker 13: for hands. I'll begin with Councillor

00:25:35 Speaker 13: Borden online. Thank you, Madam Warden,

00:25:38 Speaker 14: through you, and thank you. for

00:25:40 Speaker 14: the notice of motion. Just in

00:25:42 Speaker 14: relation to the, I think it's

00:25:44 Speaker 14: a very good idea. Looking at

00:25:46 Speaker 11: this, my question is: If Councillor

00:25:48 Speaker 11: Greg, through the Municipal Act, as

00:25:51 Speaker 11: you know, the funding model is

00:25:53 Speaker 11: set out pretty clearly for municipalities

00:25:54 Speaker 11: funding libraries at at the local

00:25:58 Speaker 11: level. Have we looked into that

00:26:01 Speaker 11: as well, from a regional perspective?

00:26:09 Speaker 11: Okay, so I think the question

00:26:10 Speaker 11: is directed to the mover. I

00:26:14 Speaker 11: have not personally looked into that

00:26:16 Speaker 11: and the opportunities that may lay

00:26:18 Speaker 11: within. That would be something that

00:26:20 Speaker 11: I would hope would be flushed

00:26:21 Speaker 11: out during the process of the

00:26:23 Speaker 11: Services Committee evaluating it. Thank you.

00:26:30 Speaker 11: Okay, so I don't see any

00:26:31 Speaker 11: further hands online. I'll look around

00:26:33 Speaker 11: the room, and I see Councillor

00:26:35 Speaker 15: Eccles. Thank you. Well, I still

00:26:40 Speaker 12: have the scars from the last

00:26:41 Speaker 12: time that I suggested this, and

00:26:43 Speaker 12: that's got to be 15 years

00:26:45 Speaker 16: ago. Maybe we should have a

00:26:53 Speaker 16: county library system, and then somebody

00:26:54 Speaker 16: could read the code of conduct.

00:27:02 Speaker 16: Yeah. I'm not as concerned about

00:27:10 Speaker 16: the dollars that are in the

00:27:12 Speaker 16: library system at the present moment.

00:27:15 Speaker 16: Some 15 or more years ago,

00:27:16 Speaker 16: when I first suggested this, and

00:27:19 Speaker 16: it died rather quickly. It was

00:27:23 Speaker 16: around our county neighbors. Wellington County

00:27:27 Speaker 16: has a library system. Simcoe County,

00:27:30 Speaker 16: I believe, has a library system.

00:27:32 Speaker 16: I'm not sure about Dufferin. I

00:27:34 Speaker 16: believe Huron Valley City was there,

00:27:38 Speaker 17: one of our neighbors as well,

00:27:41 Speaker 17: too. And where it came from

00:27:42 Speaker 17: at that point in time was

00:27:44 Speaker 17: access to some of the individuals

00:27:47 Speaker 17: in the community of West Grey

00:27:50 Speaker 17: that lived closer to some of

00:27:51 Speaker 17: those boundaries. And we couldn't get

00:27:53 Speaker 17: an agreement with those two, at

00:27:57 Speaker 17: least two counties, to talk about.

00:28:00 Speaker 17: shared library service, as we were

00:28:03 Speaker 17: a lower tier service, and they

00:28:06 Speaker 17: were an upper tier, and they

00:28:08 Speaker 17: will not talk to a lower

00:28:10 Speaker 17: tier service. They weren't going to

00:28:12 Speaker 17: enter into a partnership. It still

00:28:14 Speaker 17: stands that way this today. So

00:28:17 Speaker 17: for that reason, to be able

00:28:20 Speaker 17: to work with our partners, not

00:28:23 Speaker 17: about as much about the dollar

00:28:25 Speaker 17: factor, but it is working and

00:28:27 Speaker 17: making access to libraries. by and

00:28:29 Speaker 17: for our community, that I would

00:28:32 Speaker 17: like to see this go forward

00:28:36 Speaker 17: and see what we can do

00:28:38 Speaker 17: with it. I will be supporting

00:28:39 Speaker 17: the motion. Okay, thank you. I

00:28:42 Speaker 17: can clarify that Simcoe County is

00:28:45 Speaker 17: not city, not county wide; it

00:28:47 Speaker 17: is lower tier, and we'll go

00:28:49 Speaker 17: to Councillor Nielsen online. Just a.

00:28:51 Speaker 17: Just unmute. Can you hear me

00:28:59 Speaker 17: now? Yes, we can. Thank you.

00:29:05 Speaker 17: My apologies for Microsoft. Just a

00:29:06 Speaker 17: quick question: If staff have a

00:29:08 Speaker 17: general idea, we have two hundred

00:29:10 Speaker 17: and fifty thousand dollars in the

00:29:11 Speaker 18: budget to do a study on

00:29:12 Speaker 18: garbage concepts. Is there an idea

00:29:15 Speaker 18: of what a study would cost

00:29:18 Speaker 18: to do this to carry through

00:29:19 Speaker 18: with this motion? Okay, we'll go

00:29:21 Speaker 18: to the CAO. Through you, Warden.

00:29:26 Speaker 18: Thank you for that question, Councilor

00:29:30 Speaker 18: Nielsen. I I do want to

00:29:32 Speaker 18: note that, and as as Councilor

00:29:34 Speaker 18: Eccles alluded to this, this this

00:29:36 Speaker 19: was reviewed back about twelve years

00:29:40 Speaker 19: ago, thirteen years ago. A report

00:29:43 Speaker 19: was brought forward in 2014, looking

00:29:44 Speaker 19: at at at this. At that

00:29:50 Speaker 19: time, former CEO Lance Thurston went

00:29:52 Speaker 19: through and did that that review.

00:29:55 Speaker 19: Followed. what what was called the

00:29:59 Speaker 19: collaborative decision making framework, and followed

00:30:01 Speaker 19: those steps. Did some analysis on

00:30:04 Speaker 19: the on the services at that

00:30:05 Speaker 19: time, and explored alternative models. So

00:30:09 Speaker 19: we do have some background information

00:30:10 Speaker 19: based on that previous review, recognizing

00:30:13 Speaker 19: it is about twelve thirteen years

00:30:15 Speaker 19: old. But there there are some

00:30:17 Speaker 19: findings that that came out of

00:30:18 Speaker 19: that that that we actually included

00:30:23 Speaker 19: that as part of our initial.

00:30:26 Speaker 19: report to the Joint Missile Services

00:30:28 Speaker 19: Committee, just as a bit of

00:30:29 Speaker 19: a framework in terms of what

00:30:31 Speaker 19: what services have been investigated and

00:30:33 Speaker 19: reviewed in the past, and again,

00:30:36 Speaker 19: staff will of course take direction

00:30:39 Speaker 19: from council regarding whether you want

00:30:42 Speaker 19: to review this matter further. However,

00:30:45 Speaker 19: similar to I think Councillor Nielsen's

00:30:48 Speaker 19: question in terms of the regional

00:30:51 Speaker 19: waste, based on the direction that's

00:30:52 Speaker 19: been provided by Joint Missile Services

00:30:54 Speaker 19: Committee. By Joint Mental Services Committee

00:30:56 Speaker 19: and supported by Council so far,

00:30:58 Speaker 19: there's three priority areas that that

00:31:00 Speaker 19: staff have been asked to to

00:31:02 Speaker 19: review, and and those are already

00:31:05 Speaker 19: in the those priority topics. So

00:31:08 Speaker 19: just cognizant in terms of of

00:31:10 Speaker 19: you know overall resources and capacity,

00:31:12 Speaker 19: whether or not this is something

00:31:14 Speaker 19: that staff could could review. If

00:31:16 Speaker 19: that's the case, it might take

00:31:18 Speaker 19: some time to review that topic,

00:31:21 Speaker 19: given the current workload and capacity.

00:31:23 Speaker 19: At the same time. you know

00:31:25 Speaker 19: there could be a consultant that's

00:31:27 Speaker 19: provided to to support this review.

00:31:28 Speaker 19: I don't know what the cost

00:31:31 Speaker 19: of that would be. We don't

00:31:33 Speaker 19: have any indicators in front of

00:31:34 Speaker 19: me at this point in time

00:31:35 Speaker 19: in terms of what that would

00:31:37 Speaker 19: look like. We'd be happy to

00:31:39 Speaker 19: to research that if the direction

00:31:40 Speaker 19: from council is to support this

00:31:42 Speaker 19: motion. We could bring that information

00:31:43 Speaker 19: back to the Joint Municipal Services

00:31:46 Speaker 19: Committee so they could have that

00:31:47 Speaker 19: that information. But this stage, I

00:31:50 Speaker 19: don't know what a consultant supported

00:31:53 Speaker 19: review would look like in terms

00:31:54 Speaker 19: of cost. Okay, thank you. Just

00:31:55 Speaker 19: before we go on to the

00:31:58 Speaker 19: next hand up, then. So for

00:31:59 Speaker 19: clarification, CAO, it should this motion

00:32:01 Speaker 12: pass the way that it is.

00:32:03 Speaker 12: You've identified that there that the

00:32:05 Speaker 12: Joint Services Committee has already identified

00:32:07 Speaker 12: three priorities. We we as a

00:32:09 Speaker 12: council have already supported putting some

00:32:10 Speaker 12: dollars behind that. So even if

00:32:13 Speaker 12: it were to be staff time,

00:32:14 Speaker 12: what would happen with this action

00:32:16 Speaker 12: if this is the direction that

00:32:17 Speaker 12: we provide the way that the

00:32:19 Speaker 12: notice of motion is written? Does

00:32:20 Speaker 12: that mean that it automates Does

00:32:22 Speaker 12: that mean that it automatically falls

00:32:23 Speaker 12: to the bottom of that queue

00:32:26 Speaker 12: and it becomes the fourth spot,

00:32:27 Speaker 12: or does the Joint Services Committee

00:32:29 Speaker 12: have some leverage to decide how

00:32:34 Speaker 12: they would like to allocate the

00:32:36 Speaker 12: time, staff time, as well as

00:32:38 Speaker 12: resources? Thank you, Gordon. A great

00:32:41 Speaker 12: question. With respect to to how

00:32:43 Speaker 19: it could play out if if

00:32:44 Speaker 19: Council supports this motion, how I

00:32:46 Speaker 19: would envision this at this stage

00:32:48 Speaker 19: is that staff would bring an

00:32:50 Speaker 19: initial report forward to the Joint

00:32:53 Speaker 19: Missile Service Committee based on. what

00:32:55 Speaker 19: was previously reviewed as part of

00:33:00 Speaker 19: the library services review, identifying what

00:33:02 Speaker 19: information was provided at that time

00:33:05 Speaker 19: and and and opportunities for efficiencies

00:33:07 Speaker 19: that were were identified and flagged

00:33:08 Speaker 19: at that time, but recommending that

00:33:11 Speaker 19: that rather than a countywide system

00:33:13 Speaker 19: was the end result of that

00:33:15 Speaker 19: study was to for the library

00:33:19 Speaker 19: boards to work together not only

00:33:20 Speaker 19: within the within within Gray County

00:33:22 Speaker 19: but the neighboring counties. and municipalities

00:33:25 Speaker 19: as well, so that was what

00:33:27 Speaker 19: was the end result in the

00:33:30 Speaker 19: recommendations at that stage. In terms

00:33:32 Speaker 19: of, and so we would bring

00:33:33 Speaker 19: that initial report forward. Obviously, further

00:33:35 Speaker 19: discussion today. In terms of, we're

00:33:38 Speaker 19: taking notes as as we speak.

00:33:41 Speaker 19: If it does get support, we

00:33:43 Speaker 19: would bring back further information for

00:33:44 Speaker 19: joint messrs to consider. That again,

00:33:47 Speaker 19: that committee makes recommendations to this

00:33:49 Speaker 19: council, so it would come back

00:33:51 Speaker 19: to this council in terms. of

00:33:53 Speaker 19: that review or that initial report,

00:33:55 Speaker 19: and and then seeking further council

00:33:57 Speaker 19: direction in terms of those pieces.

00:34:00 Speaker 19: So whether it's a consultant supported

00:34:02 Speaker 19: review and what the cost would

00:34:05 Speaker 19: be for that, or staff review

00:34:07 Speaker 19: and and rejuggling of priorities based

00:34:10 Speaker 19: on what the direction's been provided

00:34:11 Speaker 19: by council today, that are those

00:34:13 Speaker 19: are all options, I guess, that

00:34:16 Speaker 19: can be unpacked by first considered

00:34:18 Speaker 19: by joint municipal service committee, but

00:34:21 Speaker 19: then ultimately approved and supported by

00:34:23 Speaker 19: council. Okay, thank you very much

00:34:26 Speaker 19: for that clarification on procedure. We'll

00:34:29 Speaker 20: go to Councilor McQueen online. Good

00:34:32 Speaker 20: morning, Madam Warden, and good morning,

00:34:33 Speaker 20: County Council. A couple questions. Should

00:34:34 Speaker 20: we not do maybe certainly going

00:34:36 Speaker 20: back to the committee? I would

00:34:38 Speaker 20: see that they'd have further discussion,

00:34:41 Speaker 20: but would we not do a

00:34:42 Speaker 20: simple poll to see what the

00:34:46 Speaker 20: lower tier municipalities are interested in

00:34:48 Speaker 20: doing? I know that for us

00:34:52 Speaker 20: in Grey Highlands, we have. For

00:34:54 Speaker 20: us in Grayhavens, we have three

00:34:55 Speaker 20: different branches service our municipality, and

00:34:56 Speaker 20: so I don't know. I think

00:34:58 Speaker 20: in the past, maybe our CEO

00:34:59 Speaker 20: maybe have some information here as

00:35:00 Speaker 20: well. But I think the last

00:35:02 Speaker 20: time we went through this, they

00:35:04 Speaker 20: did get circulated to the lower

00:35:06 Speaker 20: tiers, and some were maybe in,

00:35:09 Speaker 20: and some were maybe out. But

00:35:11 Speaker 20: if you don't have a full

00:35:13 Speaker 20: buy-in from the lower tier, I

00:35:15 Speaker 20: know it's a budgetary item from

00:35:18 Speaker 20: the local municipality. Any thoughts on

00:35:21 Speaker 20: that? Like. like if there's if

00:35:22 Speaker 20: there's a a great interest in

00:35:23 Speaker 20: the lower tier, then. But if

00:35:24 Speaker 20: there isn't, I don't know how

00:35:26 Speaker 20: how far you want to you

00:35:28 Speaker 20: know. Have that discussion if the

00:35:31 Speaker 20: if if you don't have the

00:35:34 Speaker 20: buy-in from and maybe you do,

00:35:35 Speaker 20: but I think you should have

00:35:37 Speaker 20: that opportunity to maybe check that

00:35:38 Speaker 20: out. Thank you. Okay, I'll look

00:35:40 Speaker 19: to the CAO for a comment

00:35:42 Speaker 19: on that. Through you, Warden, and

00:35:45 Speaker 19: again, if this if this

00:35:48 Speaker 19: motion gets supported, that I would

00:35:51 Speaker 19: assume we'd be part of. the

00:35:53 Speaker 19: review. Is is having further discussions

00:35:55 Speaker 19: with each of the library managers,

00:35:58 Speaker 19: each of the the library boards,

00:36:01 Speaker 19: our our neighboring municipalities, neighboring counties,

00:36:03 Speaker 19: looking at what models that they

00:36:05 Speaker 19: have. So that would be part

00:36:07 Speaker 19: of the the potential review of

00:36:11 Speaker 19: of looking at that, and then

00:36:13 Speaker 19: seeing if there's there's feedback from

00:36:14 Speaker 19: each of the municipalities in terms

00:36:16 Speaker 19: of interest, in terms of again

00:36:20 Speaker 19: whether the option is to join

00:36:21 Speaker 19: a. county-wide library service model, or

00:36:24 Speaker 19: or if there's other opportunities or

00:36:26 Speaker 20: options, and or in terms of

00:36:28 Speaker 20: creating some efficiencies amongst amongst the

00:36:31 Speaker 20: library boards in terms of shared

00:36:33 Speaker 20: service. Hello, Councillor McQueen. Yes, thank

00:36:36 Speaker 20: you for that, and that's good

00:36:39 Speaker 20: information. I think also there's probably

00:36:42 Speaker 20: a bit of a science behind

00:36:44 Speaker 20: each branch of the each library

00:36:46 Speaker 20: branch or library location that services

00:36:49 Speaker 20: a certain area, because I know

00:36:51 Speaker 20: we. in Grey Highlands certainly service

00:36:53 Speaker 20: provide service for West Grey and

00:36:55 Speaker 20: Chatsworth, along with the town of

00:36:56 Speaker 20: Collingwood provides service for certain residents

00:36:58 Speaker 20: in Grey Highlands. So we do

00:36:59 Speaker 20: have some workings that do work

00:37:01 Speaker 20: with other libraries and other municipalities

00:37:02 Speaker 20: as well. So you know, I

00:37:04 Speaker 20: don't know in the sense of

00:37:06 Speaker 20: that report if it would reflect

00:37:07 Speaker 20: on the level of service and

00:37:11 Speaker 20: the area that it's serving. I

00:37:12 Speaker 20: think that you need to maybe

00:37:14 Speaker 20: identify where all the libraries are

00:37:16 Speaker 12: as well to. maybe look at

00:37:18 Speaker 12: what level service is happening throughout

00:37:20 Speaker 12: the county. Anyway, thank you. Okay,

00:37:22 Speaker 12: thank you. And I would add

00:37:24 Speaker 12: to the comments of Councilor Queen

00:37:27 Speaker 12: as well. It's not just the

00:37:28 Speaker 12: geography and the the accessibility of

00:37:30 Speaker 12: how people can get to resources

00:37:32 Speaker 12: and branches, but it's also the

00:37:34 Speaker 12: nature of each of our each

00:37:35 Speaker 12: of the nine municipalities' library services.

00:37:36 Speaker 12: In the example of the Town

00:37:38 Speaker 12: of Blue Mountains, it's a glam,

00:37:39 Speaker 12: it's a gallery library, archive, and

00:37:43 Speaker 12: museum, all governed under. the one

00:37:44 Speaker 12: thing, so that may not be

00:37:46 Speaker 12: the same in the case of

00:37:47 Speaker 12: all of the municipalities. So there

00:37:49 Speaker 12: would have to be some clarification

00:37:50 Speaker 12: on what was meant by library

00:37:51 Speaker 12: services. Okay, all right. So I

00:37:53 Speaker 12: don't see any further hands online.

00:37:56 Speaker 12: I don't see any hands around

00:37:58 Speaker 12: the room. So looks like we're

00:38:00 Speaker 12: ready to call for the vote.

00:38:06 Speaker 12: So the vote is to consider

00:38:08 Speaker 12: whether or not that the evaluation

00:38:09 Speaker 12: of the countywide library services should

00:38:11 Speaker 12: be considered by the joint municipal

00:38:12 Speaker 12: services committee. I will call the

00:38:14 Speaker 12: vote. All those in favor. Okay,

00:38:16 Speaker 12: and that. All right. Thank you

00:38:18 Speaker 12: very much. And we will move

00:38:22 Speaker 12: on. We have one delegation today,

00:38:26 Speaker 12: but we do actually have three

00:38:29 Speaker 12: visitors in order to support that

00:38:31 Speaker 12: delegation. So at this point in

00:38:35 Speaker 12: time, we'll direct our attention online

00:38:39 Speaker 12: because the presenters are there. And

00:38:40 Speaker 12: welcome, Mr. Maurice Boisette, and also

00:38:42 Speaker 12: Chuck Bouillon, and also Ken Brown.

00:38:45 Speaker 12: Oh, and I understand, Mr. Voisin,

00:38:50 Speaker 12: you'll be doing the presenting. Yes,

00:38:52 Speaker 12: yes. Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm being

00:38:53 Speaker 12: somebody's just. I, I, I'm, I'm

00:38:54 Speaker 12: wanting to call you, Monsieur Voisin,

00:38:55 Speaker 12: but I'm understanding is it is

00:38:57 Speaker 12: is a Voisin instead. Yes, yeah,

00:39:00 Speaker 12: that's fine. All right, so Mr.

00:39:02 Speaker 12: Voisin, welcome, and you have the

00:39:03 Speaker 12: floor. I know that you have

00:39:06 Speaker 12: your colleagues with you, and what

00:39:08 Speaker 12: we'll do is we'll listen to

00:39:10 Speaker 12: your presentation, and then I'll put

00:39:12 Speaker 12: it out for questions. for for

00:39:18 Speaker 12: clarification coming from council members and

00:39:19 Speaker 12: direct them to you. Thank you

00:39:23 Speaker 12: very much. Good morning and welcome,

00:39:24 Speaker 12: and thank you for your time

00:39:32 Speaker 12: this morning. So I'm I've tried

00:39:33 Speaker 12: to start to share my screen.

00:39:34 Speaker 12: Can you see that? No, we

00:39:36 Speaker 12: just see yourself at the moment.

00:39:38 Speaker 12: I'll just look. Okay. The clerk.

00:39:39 Speaker 12: Okay. The clerk is making an

00:39:41 Speaker 12: adjustment. Just give us a moment.

00:39:44 Speaker 12: Sure. Okay, so our communication staff

00:39:47 Speaker 12: are going to be sharing it

00:39:48 Speaker 12: from their stations. So then,

00:39:52 Speaker 12: when you're ready for the next

00:39:55 Speaker 12: slide, you can just say "next

00:39:57 Speaker 12: slide," and we'll advance it for

00:39:59 Speaker 12: you. Excellent. Thanks very much. So,

00:40:02 Speaker 12: wanted to talk about five things

00:40:04 Speaker 21: this morning. First of all, the

00:40:06 Speaker 21: agenda—it's a once-in-a-generation and all opportunity

00:40:08 Speaker 21: for Saugeen Hospice and Grey County.

00:40:11 Speaker 21: The need for Saugeen Hospice, because

00:40:17 Speaker 21: the rationale for that, what benefits

00:40:20 Speaker 21: there are to the community, and

00:40:22 Speaker 21: just the whole aspect of community

00:40:25 Speaker 21: leadership and the benefits to Grey

00:40:27 Speaker 21: and Bruce County Councils, and finally

00:40:30 Speaker 21: a call to action. So, next

00:40:32 Speaker 21: slide, please. So, we're asking Grey

00:40:34 Speaker 21: County's consideration, along with Bruce County,

00:40:37 Speaker 21: to for exclusive naming rights for

00:40:40 Speaker 21: the Family Reflection Room of Reflection

00:40:43 Speaker 21: room available for three hundred and

00:40:46 Speaker 21: fifty thousand dollars combined for the

00:40:48 Speaker 21: two county councils for fifteen years.

00:40:51 Speaker 21: That's renewable. The family reflection room

00:40:56 Speaker 21: will serve as a comforting space

00:40:59 Speaker 21: for families, and it'll promote some

00:41:02 Speaker 21: some regional pride. It's basically the

00:41:04 Speaker 21: first room that you'll recognize when

00:41:09 Speaker 21: you come in, and we think

00:41:10 Speaker 21: it'll be quite well utilized. And

00:41:12 Speaker 21: next slide, please. This is a

00:41:15 Speaker 21: location of the of the family

00:41:17 Speaker 21: reflection room. So it is fairly

00:41:19 Speaker 21: central in the in the building

00:41:21 Speaker 21: at the new Sogin Hospice. And

00:41:25 Speaker 21: next slide, please. And this is

00:41:30 Speaker 21: the scene from the back. So

00:41:33 Speaker 21: all of the rooms look out

00:41:35 Speaker 21: to a very picturesque view of

00:41:37 Speaker 21: of an open field behind them,

00:41:39 Speaker 21: and the family reflection room is

00:41:42 Speaker 21: circled in green there. on your

00:41:44 Speaker 21: on your screen, and next slide,

00:41:47 Speaker 21: please. So our statistics are based

00:41:49 Speaker 21: on that the number of deaths

00:41:51 Speaker 21: in Graham Bruce annualized is around

00:41:53 Speaker 21: eighteen hundred people a year. That

00:41:55 Speaker 21: impacts close to nine thousand people.

00:41:58 Speaker 21: We do have an aging population,

00:42:00 Speaker 21: and according to Ontario Health West,

00:42:01 Speaker 21: over people over sixty five in

00:42:03 Speaker 21: ten years will make Five and

00:42:07 Speaker 21: ten years will make up more

00:42:11 Speaker 21: than one third of the populations

00:42:13 Speaker 21: in Grey and Bruce counties, which

00:42:15 Speaker 21: could result in lots of caregiver

00:42:18 Speaker 21: burnout, and certainly it's on the

00:42:22 Speaker 21: rise. So today in Grey Bruce,

00:42:24 Speaker 21: just to give you a snapshot,

00:42:28 Speaker 21: there's 12 active hospice residents beds

00:42:30 Speaker 21: for our population of about 175,000

00:42:32 Speaker 21: people, and based on at the

00:42:35 Speaker 21: bottom of the screen there, based

00:42:37 Speaker 21: on the 2024 Ontario Health West

00:42:40 Speaker 21: needs analysis. Grey Bruce requires 18

00:42:43 Speaker 21: hospice residence beds, so that's where

00:42:45 Speaker 21: the six beds comes from proposed

00:42:47 Speaker 21: for Saugeen Hospice. So the Saugeen

00:42:50 Speaker 21: Hospice will fill a critical gap

00:42:53 Speaker 21: of these six hospice residence beds

00:42:56 Speaker 21: that's been identified by Ontario Health

00:42:58 Speaker 21: West as that. The other benefits,

00:43:00 Speaker 21: and you can go to the

00:43:03 Speaker 21: next slide, please. You know, the

00:43:05 Speaker 21: it's closer to home. It fills

00:43:07 Speaker 21: that. critical gap of six additional

00:43:09 Speaker 21: hospice residence beds needed in Southern

00:43:12 Speaker 21: Gray Bruce. So closer to family,

00:43:14 Speaker 21: more time together, less travel for

00:43:17 Speaker 21: families. They mean means they can

00:43:20 Speaker 21: visit more often, stay longer without

00:43:21 Speaker 21: the strain of of lengthy commutes.

00:43:24 Speaker 21: You can see the how it

00:43:26 Speaker 21: kind of completes the picture of

00:43:31 Speaker 21: Gray Bruce at the the lower

00:43:33 Speaker 21: part of Gray and Bruce counties,

00:43:37 Speaker 21: and also closer to local community

00:43:45 Speaker 21: support. for that stronger emotional support

00:43:45 Speaker 21: for people that are transitioning, and

00:43:49 Speaker 21: the residents and their families can

00:43:52 Speaker 21: remain connected. Their faith groups can

00:43:54 Speaker 21: continue to visit them, and local

00:43:58 Speaker 21: counselors, while accessing Saugeen Hospice in

00:44:00 Speaker 21: dedicated grief and bereavement services. So

00:44:04 Speaker 21: it's really a dedicated service that

00:44:05 Speaker 21: that we're proposing. And next slide,

00:44:06 Speaker 21: please. So just to give you

00:44:10 Speaker 21: an idea, so Sogin Hospice was

00:44:13 Speaker 21: incorporated in 2021. It's a not-for-profit

00:44:17 Speaker 21: community corporation. The plan is to

00:44:22 Speaker 21: build a freestanding six-bed hospice in

00:44:24 Speaker 21: Southern Bruce County and East Ridge

00:44:28 Speaker 21: Park in Walkerton. Brockton has donated

00:44:31 Speaker 21: three acres of land, and that's

00:44:34 Speaker 21: the picture you see at the

00:44:35 Speaker 21: top of the of the screen.

00:44:38 Speaker 21: And we're anticipating welcoming. our first

00:44:40 Speaker 21: resident in the summer of 2028.

00:44:43 Speaker 21: So, and next slide, please. So

00:44:47 Speaker 21: this is kind of a aerial

00:44:49 Speaker 21: view of the of the of

00:44:50 Speaker 21: the Saugeen Hospice. You can see

00:44:53 Speaker 21: that we've incorporated a number of

00:44:55 Speaker 21: parking spaces on it. We hope

00:44:58 Speaker 21: that it becomes a training center.

00:45:00 Speaker 21: We hope that there are lots

00:45:01 Speaker 21: of visitors. We Lots of visitors.

00:45:05 Speaker 21: We've also considered our Amish and

00:45:07 Speaker 21: Mennonite neighbors, and there's three horse

00:45:11 Speaker 21: tie-ups in the at the edge

00:45:13 Speaker 21: of the parking lot for for

00:45:15 Speaker 21: their convenience. And and like I

00:45:16 Speaker 21: said, the the building, all of

00:45:18 Speaker 21: the rooms face a field at

00:45:20 Speaker 21: the back, so that that would

00:45:22 Speaker 21: be the scene when they would

00:45:25 Speaker 21: look out their their windows and

00:45:30 Speaker 21: their patios. There, we also have

00:45:35 Speaker 21: cuddle beds in the plan. so

00:45:37 Speaker 21: that individuals that are that are

00:45:39 Speaker 21: residents there can go out

00:45:42 Speaker 21: with the bed. It'll pass through

00:45:44 Speaker 21: the patio doors, and they can

00:45:46 Speaker 21: spend time on the patio to

00:45:48 Speaker 21: enjoy the sunshine and the view

00:45:49 Speaker 21: with their family members or their

00:45:51 Speaker 21: treasured pet, whatever whatever they desire.

00:45:56 Speaker 21: And next slide, please. So this

00:45:59 Speaker 21: is the opportunity, the the call

00:46:02 Speaker 21: to action. a three hundred and

00:46:03 Speaker 21: fifty thousand dollar investment secures exclusive

00:46:05 Speaker 21: naming rights for the family reflection

00:46:08 Speaker 21: room for fifteen years. You can

00:46:17 Speaker 21: see to the left there that

00:46:19 Speaker 21: that they would be welcomed. That

00:46:20 Speaker 21: this was sponsored by Gray and

00:46:23 Speaker 21: Bruce County Councils, so high visibility,

00:46:26 Speaker 21: lots of media coverage as well

00:46:31 Speaker 21: as well as you know newsletters

00:46:33 Speaker 21: and Gray County and Bruce County

00:46:35 Speaker 21: would be recognized on our donor

00:46:39 Speaker 21: walls. and at community events as

00:46:43 Speaker 21: well. And next slide, please. So

00:46:50 Speaker 21: the family reflection room will become

00:46:53 Speaker 21: a place of comfort, respite, and

00:46:55 Speaker 21: regional pride. We envision that the

00:46:58 Speaker 21: room itself will have landmarks and

00:47:00 Speaker 21: pictures of local municipalities in both

00:47:01 Speaker 21: Gray and Bruce counties, so that

00:47:03 Speaker 21: and and the name. And and

00:47:05 Speaker 21: the names of the contributing municipalities

00:47:08 Speaker 21: as well as Gray and Bruce

00:47:11 Speaker 21: County. And next slide, please. And

00:47:13 Speaker 21: just that we'd like to consider

00:47:19 Speaker 21: local artwork and familiar landscapes, and

00:47:22 Speaker 21: to develop it into a real

00:47:25 Speaker 21: you know home-like atmosphere where piece

00:47:26 Speaker 21: of a resident is sleeping. The

00:47:29 Speaker 21: family will be able to come

00:47:32 Speaker 21: here for some. comfort and family

00:47:36 Speaker 21: time while they allow their family

00:47:38 Speaker 21: member to to rest and so

00:47:41 Speaker 21: this we think this will be

00:47:43 Speaker 21: a very well utilized part of

00:47:46 Speaker 21: Saugeen Hospital. And next slide, please.

00:47:48 Speaker 21: So this is just a little

00:47:51 Speaker 21: expansion that the family reflection room

00:47:52 Speaker 21: will be a place of comfort

00:47:55 Speaker 21: for respite and and also regional

00:47:58 Speaker 21: pride. elements would include paintings or

00:48:00 Speaker 21: photographs of familiar landscapes in Gray

00:48:04 Speaker 21: and Bruce counties. It'll have comfortable

00:48:05 Speaker 21: seating, armchairs, couches, and and some

00:48:10 Speaker 21: soft lighting to evoke that home

00:48:15 Speaker 21: atmosphere, and also some some you

00:48:18 Speaker 21: know reflective touches like bookshelves and

00:48:21 Speaker 21: quilts and a coffee and tea

00:48:24 Speaker 21: nook so people can refresh themselves

00:48:26 Speaker 21: and and and take a break.

00:48:30 Speaker 21: There will be a recognition wall

00:48:33 Speaker 21: with a plaque. and framed noting

00:48:35 Speaker 21: that this room was in place

00:48:38 Speaker 21: because of support from the county

00:48:40 Speaker 21: councils of Gray and Bruce. And

00:48:42 Speaker 21: next slide, please. So we're hoping

00:48:45 Speaker 21: that that there will be a

00:48:49 Speaker 21: shared sponsorship, a legacy in compassionate

00:48:51 Speaker 21: care. That the counties of Gray

00:48:53 Speaker 21: and Bruce will be recognized as

00:48:58 Speaker 21: being proactive. That they Active that

00:49:01 Speaker 21: they are fulfilling, providing dignity and

00:49:06 Speaker 21: compassionate end of life support for

00:49:09 Speaker 21: residents, and as well as providing

00:49:11 Speaker 21: support for local families. And that

00:49:14 Speaker 21: this is a response to a

00:49:19 Speaker 21: real local needs that's been identified

00:49:21 Speaker 21: by the Ontario West Health Association

00:49:26 Speaker 21: and making hospice residents care accessible

00:49:30 Speaker 21: as well as closer to home

00:49:33 Speaker 21: and closer to family. We certainly

00:49:35 Speaker 21: would. envision visible community recognition through

00:49:37 Speaker 21: plaques and donor materials, and also

00:49:39 Speaker 21: family gratitude. It provides a legacy

00:49:41 Speaker 21: of regional stewardship that we would

00:49:45 Speaker 21: want to build across both counties,

00:49:47 Speaker 21: and will lay the groundwork for

00:49:50 Speaker 21: future collaboration. And then finally, just

00:49:53 Speaker 21: wanted to touch on our call

00:49:55 Speaker 21: for action. So the Sogin Hospice

00:49:57 Speaker 21: Board respectfully requests that Gray County

00:49:59 Speaker 21: Council considers directing its treasurer to

00:50:01 Speaker 21: work collaboratively with the treasurer of

00:50:04 Speaker 21: Bruce County, and the joint effort

00:50:06 Speaker 21: would aim to develop a feasibility

00:50:10 Speaker 21: report detailing the financial and operational

00:50:11 Speaker 21: considerations of a three hundred and

00:50:13 Speaker 21: fifty thousand dollar shared sponsorship for

00:50:15 Speaker 21: the family reflection room in the

00:50:18 Speaker 21: planned Sogin Hospice, and. This and

00:50:24 Speaker 21: just a note there: the the

00:50:25 Speaker 21: funding model may involve equal annual

00:50:27 Speaker 21: contributions from each county, spread over

00:50:28 Speaker 21: a term of one to five

00:50:31 Speaker 21: years, beginning in 2026. So it

00:50:33 Speaker 21: wouldn't necessarily have to be all

00:50:35 Speaker 21: at once in one year. And

00:50:37 Speaker 21: once the joint report is complete,

00:50:40 Speaker 21: it will be presented to both

00:50:42 Speaker 21: Graham Bruce County Councils for review

00:50:45 Speaker 21: and a formal vote by their

00:50:47 Speaker 21: respective councilors. So that's kind of.

00:50:49 Speaker 21: I think we were kind

00:50:51 Speaker 21: of allotted ten minutes to

00:50:55 Speaker 21: provide those slides. So that was

00:50:58 Speaker 21: a fairly quick review. But I

00:51:02 Speaker 21: would we would invite questions. Chuck

00:51:06 Speaker 21: is our business manager, and Ken

00:51:09 Speaker 21: Brown is the first vice chair

00:51:12 Speaker 21: of the Sogin Hospice Board. I

00:51:13 Speaker 21: recently joined the board in May

00:51:14 Speaker 21: and and live in Mildmay. And

00:51:16 Speaker 12: but I worked at Southeast Grey

00:51:18 Speaker 12: Support Services and in Council McQueen's

00:51:20 Speaker 12: area for twenty years. supporting adults

00:51:22 Speaker 12: with developmental disabilities, so well informed

00:51:24 Speaker 12: about the Gray County aspects of

00:51:25 Speaker 12: of this of our area. So

00:51:27 Speaker 12: open to questions, Madam Warden or

00:51:28 Speaker 12: councilors that you may have to

00:51:30 Speaker 12: follow up on the slides. Okay,

00:51:32 Speaker 12: thank you. And first of all,

00:51:35 Speaker 12: thank you for the service that

00:51:36 Speaker 12: you provide for our residents in

00:51:37 Speaker 12: both Gray and Boost Counties. We

00:51:39 Speaker 12: very much appreciate that. and thank

00:51:41 Speaker 12: you for sharing your detailed presentation

00:51:43 Speaker 12: to give us that information upfront.

00:51:45 Speaker 12: So I will, in a moment,

00:51:47 Speaker 12: just put it out to Council

00:51:49 Speaker 12: Committee, the whole members, if they

00:51:51 Speaker 12: have any questions, and I'll direct

00:51:53 Speaker 12: the questions to you, or perhaps

00:51:54 Speaker 12: maybe to one of your team.

00:51:56 Speaker 12: And normally, what we do is

00:51:57 Speaker 12: we don't pass a motion at

00:51:59 Speaker 12: the end of a delegation. In

00:52:03 Speaker 12: your particular case, you have indicated

00:52:06 Speaker 12: that there is an ask, a

00:52:10 Speaker 12: financial ask, that would require a

00:52:14 Speaker 12: motion to to ask for a

00:52:17 Speaker 12: staff report, for example. So that

00:52:19 Speaker 12: may happen at the end, depending

00:52:21 Speaker 12: on on how the committee, the

00:52:23 Speaker 12: whole, so wishes. So with that,

00:52:27 Speaker 12: I will put it out to

00:52:28 Speaker 12: questions. I'll look online for any

00:52:29 Speaker 12: hands raised, and I will look

00:52:33 Speaker 12: around the room. Okay, I'm not

00:52:37 Speaker 12: seeing any hands here in the

00:52:39 Speaker 12: room, and we'll begin with Doug

00:52:41 Speaker 12: Hutchinson online. Yes. Good morning, Warden

00:52:42 Speaker 21: and and staff. Question for Mister

00:52:44 Speaker 21: Foyzen. For Mr. Foyzen, you mentioned

00:52:46 Speaker 21: about the funding from Grey

00:52:51 Speaker 21: and Bruce Counties, and you also

00:52:56 Speaker 21: mentioned that Minto may be involved

00:52:58 Speaker 21: with some usage. Are you expecting

00:52:59 Speaker 21: funding from Minto or in some

00:53:01 Speaker 21: of the other regions in the

00:53:03 Speaker 12: area also? Yes, we we did

00:53:04 Speaker 12: a presentation for Minto Council back

00:53:05 Speaker 12: in October, and so asking them

00:53:08 Speaker 12: as well as a number of

00:53:09 Speaker 12: other municipalities that we went out

00:53:11 Speaker 12: just to give an update and

00:53:12 Speaker 12: let them know. Date and let

00:53:15 Speaker 12: them know that our building fund

00:53:17 Speaker 12: is active and consideration for budgetary

00:53:18 Speaker 12: consideration for 2026. Okay, thank you.

00:53:20 Speaker 12: Okay, thank you. I'll look around

00:53:22 Speaker 12: the room to see if there

00:53:25 Speaker 12: are further questions, and not seeing

00:53:26 Speaker 12: any in the room or online,

00:53:28 Speaker 12: I will just ask a question.

00:53:29 Speaker 12: I know that I've asked it

00:53:31 Speaker 12: before when when those when representation

00:53:32 Speaker 12: has come forward, and it's just

00:53:35 Speaker 12: a good opportunity for members of

00:53:37 Speaker 12: the public following along to understand

00:53:38 Speaker 12: as well. in the map it

00:53:40 Speaker 12: shows it shows your locations and

00:53:41 Speaker 12: where you hope to expand into

00:53:43 Speaker 12: your location, and it is wonderful

00:53:45 Speaker 12: that you're looking to to do

00:53:47 Speaker 12: that, extend your service. As the

00:53:49 Speaker 12: mayor of the Blue Mountains over

00:53:51 Speaker 12: in the east side of the

00:53:52 Speaker 12: county, we do a lot of

00:53:57 Speaker 12: work with Georgian Triangle Hospice. So

00:54:00 Speaker 12: I just wonder if you could

00:54:04 Speaker 12: just explain what the relationship is

00:54:08 Speaker 12: between the hospices around the region

00:54:10 Speaker 12: in order to make sure that

00:54:12 Speaker 12: we're doing a wraparound opportunity for

00:54:16 Speaker 12: all residents in Gray County to

00:54:18 Speaker 12: find. some some place close to

00:54:20 Speaker 22: home, as you're trying to do

00:54:22 Speaker 22: further south in our county. Yeah,

00:54:25 Speaker 22: for to Chuck to answer

00:54:29 Speaker 22: that, I think Kim can handle

00:54:33 Speaker 22: that because he's been part of

00:54:35 Speaker 22: this for 12 years. Yeah. Okay,

00:54:37 Speaker 22: we've been working discussing this with

00:54:40 Speaker 22: Chapman House here in Shores Hospice

00:54:42 Speaker 22: and Gray Bruce Hospice. Originally spearheaded

00:54:44 Speaker 22: this project, this was going to

00:54:46 Speaker 22: be a satellite of Chapman of

00:54:48 Speaker 22: Gray Bruce Hospice, along with Chapman

00:54:52 Speaker 22: House, but we took over about

00:54:55 Speaker 22: four years ago. We haven't been

00:54:57 Speaker 22: doing a great deal because while

00:55:00 Speaker 22: Chapman House is providing the service

00:55:02 Speaker 22: presently, we're still focusing on organizing

00:55:03 Speaker 22: infrastructure, government relations, the build. So

00:55:05 Speaker 22: it will be. It won't be

00:55:07 Speaker 12: for another year until we've got

00:55:09 Speaker 12: something concrete to offer. that we'll

00:55:11 Speaker 12: be reaching out formally to the

00:55:14 Speaker 12: other two hospices to see how

00:55:20 Speaker 12: we can work together. Right now,

00:55:24 Speaker 12: we're strictly on paper, but we

00:55:26 Speaker 22: are looking forward to working closely

00:55:28 Speaker 22: with them when we have shovels

00:55:29 Speaker 22: in the ground and we're getting

00:55:30 Speaker 22: closer to opening. Okay, thank you.

00:55:32 Speaker 22: So, just to clarify, then, when

00:55:33 Speaker 12: you say the other two, you

00:55:35 Speaker 12: mean Chapin House and the one

00:55:36 Speaker 12: that's located in Collingwood, because that

00:55:38 Speaker 12: is the one that. that no,

00:55:39 Speaker 12: I was saying here in Shores

00:55:42 Speaker 12: in Tiverton. Okay, we haven't had

00:55:44 Speaker 12: any correspondence with Collingwood yet, but

00:55:45 Speaker 12: we will once we. Okay. Okay.

00:55:47 Speaker 12: Thank you very much. That that

00:55:48 Speaker 12: is very helpful. Okay. So with

00:55:50 Speaker 12: that, then I'll just look to

00:55:51 Speaker 12: council to many of the whole

00:55:53 Speaker 12: members to see if there is

00:55:54 Speaker 12: a will to do a motion.

00:55:57 Speaker 12: It does say that you're here

00:55:58 Speaker 12: early in your plans, which is

00:56:00 Speaker 12: always. very helpful for us to

00:56:01 Speaker 12: be able to follow through and

00:56:04 Speaker 12: follow through on the progress. And

00:56:07 Speaker 12: I'm not seeing any hands to

00:56:09 Speaker 12: make a motion, so it looks

00:56:11 Speaker 12: like we will just will will

00:56:12 Speaker 12: take this information away with us.

00:56:14 Speaker 12: And then, as if you keep

00:56:15 Speaker 12: in touch with our with our

00:56:17 Speaker 12: county staff as you get closer

00:56:19 Speaker 12: to particular moments in time where

00:56:22 Speaker 12: you really do need to ask

00:56:24 Speaker 12: about commitments into the next year,

00:56:25 Speaker 12: and then we'll be able to

00:56:27 Speaker 12: entertain information coming from staff about

00:56:30 Speaker 12: that. So, thank you very much.

00:56:32 Speaker 12: Thank you. Thank you very much.

00:56:33 Speaker 12: Okay. Thank you. So that concludes

00:56:35 Speaker 12: all of our delegations for this

00:56:37 Speaker 12: morning. So we will move on

00:56:39 Speaker 12: to item five, which would be

00:56:40 Speaker 12: the call for consentage items that

00:56:44 Speaker 12: need to be pulled. There are

00:56:50 Speaker 12: eleven items in item six that

00:56:51 Speaker 12: are scheduled on the consent agenda.

00:56:53 Speaker 12: Eleven items going down to six

00:56:54 Speaker 12: K. So I will just ask

00:56:56 Speaker 12: now for any hands to be

00:56:59 Speaker 12: raised on any items in the

00:57:00 Speaker 12: consent agenda that somebody wishes to

00:57:02 Speaker 12: have a separate discussion for. I

00:57:03 Speaker 12: know there is a. relationship in

00:57:05 Speaker 12: in terms of the correspondence that

00:57:07 Speaker 12: came with regards to the conservation

00:57:09 Speaker 12: authorities, but of course we have

00:57:10 Speaker 12: that topic coming up later in

00:57:12 Speaker 12: our in our items for discussion

00:57:15 Speaker 12: already. Okay, I do not see

00:57:17 Speaker 12: any hands up, Madam Clerk, for

00:57:24 Speaker 12: any items to be pulled from

00:57:26 Speaker 12: those eleven items. So in that

00:57:34 Speaker 12: case, then it's recommended that the

00:57:36 Speaker 12: following consent agenda items be received,

00:57:37 Speaker 12: and that staff be authorized to

00:57:39 Speaker 12: take the action. Be authorized to

00:57:41 Speaker 12: take the actions necessary to give

00:57:43 Speaker 12: effect to the recommendations in the

00:57:45 Speaker 12: staff reports, and that correspondence be

00:57:48 Speaker 12: supported or received for information as

00:57:51 Speaker 12: recommended in the consent agenda.

00:57:53 Speaker 12: May I ask for a move?

00:57:56 Speaker 12: Move by the Deputy Warden, seconded

00:57:57 Speaker 12: by Councillor Dickert. Any discussion? All

00:57:59 Speaker 12: those in favour? And that motion

00:58:02 Speaker 12: is carried. Madam Clerk. Right. Doing

00:58:04 Speaker 12: well for time. We will move

00:58:07 Speaker 12: on. Two items for discussion. So

00:58:09 Speaker 12: the first item to get on

00:58:12 Speaker 12: the floor for discussion. It's recommended

00:58:14 Speaker 12: that the Budget and Finance Committee

00:58:17 Speaker 12: meeting minutes, dated November twenty six,

00:58:20 Speaker 12: twenty twenty five, be adopted as

00:58:22 Speaker 12: presented, and the following resolutions contained

00:58:25 Speaker 12: therein be endorsed. Number one, that

00:58:28 Speaker 12: report FRBFC twenty two twenty five

00:58:30 Speaker 12: regarding corporate financial update as September

00:58:32 Speaker 12: thirtieth be received for information, and

00:58:35 Speaker 12: number two, that the thirty thousand

00:58:36 Speaker 12: dollar expenditure. for the social pinpoint

00:58:39 Speaker 12: be referred to county council for

00:58:41 Speaker 12: further discussion in the 2026 budget

00:58:43 Speaker 12: discussions. Number three, that the matter

00:58:45 Speaker 12: regarding the proposed increase to asset

00:58:47 Speaker 12: management reserve contributions for 2026 be

00:58:49 Speaker 12: referred to county council during the

00:58:51 Speaker 12: 2026 budget discussions. Number four, regarding

00:58:52 Speaker 12: the possibility of the GTR GTR

00:58:54 Speaker 12: fare increases, be referred to county

00:58:56 Speaker 12: council 2026 budget discussions. And number

00:58:57 Speaker 12: five, that the report F. That

00:59:01 Speaker 12: the report FRBFC twenty four twenty

00:59:02 Speaker 12: five regarding the twenty twenty six

00:59:05 Speaker 12: draft budget be received, and that

00:59:07 Speaker 12: finally number six that the twenty

00:59:09 Speaker 12: twenty six draft budget be presented

00:59:11 Speaker 12: and be forwarded to county council

00:59:13 Speaker 12: for consideration. So this, of course,

00:59:15 Speaker 12: these were these were minutes that

00:59:17 Speaker 12: were done at a very close

00:59:19 Speaker 12: knit in terms of timeline. Meeting

00:59:20 Speaker 12: the budget and finance committee met

00:59:22 Speaker 12: on November twenty six, and then

00:59:26 Speaker 12: right next week we are already

00:59:28 Speaker 12: discussing the budget, and here we

00:59:30 Speaker 12: are gathered. ready, and poised to

00:59:34 Speaker 12: do our second part of the

00:59:35 Speaker 12: discussions tomorrow. So these items here,

00:59:37 Speaker 12: this is just simply to be

00:59:41 Speaker 12: receiving the minutes and the the

00:59:45 Speaker 12: motions that were contained therein, which

00:59:48 Speaker 12: is something we're already acting on.

00:59:51 Speaker 12: So any discussion about these items

00:59:53 Speaker 12: should really be reserved for tomorrow.

00:59:55 Speaker 12: Tomorrow during the day, as we

00:59:59 Speaker 12: crack open the draft budget and

01:00:01 Speaker 12: continue with our deliberations. So with

01:00:07 Speaker 12: that, I'll ask for a mover

01:00:08 Speaker 12: and a seconder. Move by Councillor

01:00:11 Speaker 12: Mackey. Seconder. Seconded, seconded by Councillor

01:00:13 Speaker 12: Carlton, to receive these minutes and

01:00:17 Speaker 12: the motions that are contained therein.

01:00:19 Speaker 12: Is there any discussion? Okay. Seeing

01:00:21 Speaker 12: no hands, then I will call

01:00:23 Speaker 12: the vote. All those in favor,

01:00:26 Speaker 12: and that motion is carried. Thank

01:00:28 Speaker 12: you. Okay. So the next one

01:00:31 Speaker 12: required for discussion is item seven

01:00:33 Speaker 12: B, and it is recommended that

01:00:35 Speaker 12: PDR CW seventy twenty. CW 7025

01:00:37 Speaker 12: be received, and that county staff

01:00:40 Speaker 12: be directed to submit report PDR

01:00:43 Speaker 12: CW 7025 as the County of

01:00:45 Speaker 12: Grey comments on on environmental registry

01:00:47 Speaker 12: posting 0251257, and that the County

01:00:50 Speaker 12: of Grey requests assurance from

01:00:52 Speaker 12: the province that the establishment of

01:00:55 Speaker 12: the new provincial Ontario provincial conservation

01:00:57 Speaker 12: agency will will not be funded

01:00:59 Speaker 12: by the municipal portion of the

01:01:03 Speaker 12: conservation authority levies. and that it

01:01:06 Speaker 12: will not be funded by from

01:01:06 Speaker 12: current Conservation Authority budgets, and that

01:01:11 Speaker 12: Grey County requests that the province

01:01:13 Speaker 12: pause on passing any further changes

01:01:15 Speaker 12: to the Conservation Authority structure until

01:01:16 Speaker 12: further analysis has been conducted and

01:01:18 Speaker 12: additional details are released on the

01:01:22 Speaker 12: new proposed models, and that Report

01:01:24 Speaker 12: PDR CW seventy twenty five be

01:01:26 Speaker 12: shared with members of Provincial Parliament

01:01:28 Speaker 12: Paul Vickers and Brian Sanderson, as

01:01:29 Speaker 12: well as member municipalities aim. Member

01:01:31 Speaker 12: municipalities, AMO, and conservation authorities having

01:01:32 Speaker 12: jurisdiction in Gray County, and that

01:01:34 Speaker 12: staff be authorized to carry out

01:01:36 Speaker 12: the above prior to county council

01:01:40 Speaker 12: approval, as per Section 26.6B of

01:01:42 Speaker 12: the Procedural Bylaw 51.513422. So, with

01:01:43 Speaker 12: that, may I ask for a

01:01:45 Speaker 12: mover and a seconder to get

01:01:47 Speaker 12: it on the floor? Okay. It's

01:01:50 Speaker 12: moved by Councilor Gregg, seconded by

01:01:51 Speaker 12: Councilor Dobrin. It's now on the

01:01:53 Speaker 12: floor for discussion. So, I. do

01:01:55 Speaker 12: know that Deputy CAO, the Deputy

01:01:57 Speaker 12: CAO, and Director Taylor will be

01:02:02 Speaker 12: presenting some information with a slideshow.

01:02:04 Speaker 12: I do recognize that CAO Tim

01:02:05 Speaker 12: Lanthier is also present in the

01:02:06 Speaker 12: room with additional expertise that may

01:02:08 Speaker 12: come in handy in terms of

01:02:10 Speaker 23: the discussion. Thank you very much

01:02:11 Speaker 23: for spending your time here today.

01:02:13 Speaker 23: And is Jennifer Vincent? No. Okay.

01:02:15 Speaker 23: There. I'm sorry. Oh. Okay. There

01:02:17 Speaker 23: you go. Sorry, I didn't see

01:02:20 Speaker 23: you there behind the chair. Okay.

01:02:22 Speaker 23: We also have representation from Saugatuck.

01:02:24 Speaker 23: Also have representation from Sogee Valley,

01:02:25 Speaker 23: the general manager. General manager, so

01:02:28 Speaker 23: thank you very much for both

01:02:30 Speaker 23: of you being present here today.

01:02:33 Speaker 23: I will turn it over,

01:02:35 Speaker 23: turn to the lectern for the

01:02:37 Speaker 23: WCAO. Good morning, Warden. Good morning,

01:02:39 Speaker 23: members of County Council, and through

01:02:41 Speaker 23: you, I'm going to go through

01:02:42 Speaker 23: a slide deck which highlights some

01:02:45 Speaker 23: of the key parts from the

01:02:46 Speaker 23: report. I recognize it's a fairly

01:02:49 Speaker 23: lengthy report that's in front of

01:02:51 Speaker 23: you today. It's been drawn together

01:02:54 Speaker 23: through some collaboration both within Gray

01:02:58 Speaker 23: County. Collaboration both within Grey County,

01:03:00 Speaker 23: with some of our member municipalities,

01:03:02 Speaker 23: and as indicated, with conservation authorities

01:03:05 Speaker 23: that that have a role

01:03:08 Speaker 23: to play within within Grey County.

01:03:09 Speaker 23: So I'm I'm hoping to pull

01:03:11 Speaker 23: out some of the the finer

01:03:12 Speaker 23: elements of the report to to

01:03:14 Speaker 23: highlight those for councils awareness. So,

01:03:17 Speaker 23: so a quick bit of background:

01:03:18 Speaker 23: conservation authorities are formed underneath the

01:03:20 Speaker 23: Conservation Authorities Act, that was passed

01:03:22 Speaker 23: in 1946. It hasn't been a

01:03:25 Speaker 23: static act by any stretch of

01:03:27 Speaker 23: imagination, and has gone through

01:03:28 Speaker 23: successive. changes, including one of the

01:03:30 Speaker 23: most notable ones, which was probably

01:03:33 Speaker 23: in 1954, after following Hurricane Hazel.

01:03:36 Speaker 23: The Act has been strengthened and

01:03:38 Speaker 23: changed, and and focused over various

01:03:39 Speaker 23: different points in time. Most recently,

01:03:41 Speaker 23: to introduce a single mandate for

01:03:42 Speaker 23: a single policy regulation for all

01:03:45 Speaker 23: 36 conservation authorities, and to introduce

01:03:46 Speaker 23: some key performance indicators that conservation

01:03:48 Speaker 23: authorities need to report to the

01:03:51 Speaker 23: province on. That's important because it's

01:03:53 Speaker 23: one of the. things that the

01:03:55 Speaker 23: the provincial proposals in front of

01:03:57 Speaker 23: us today are actually indicating are

01:04:00 Speaker 23: are seeking to address. And so

01:04:02 Speaker 23: some of that stuff is already

01:04:04 Speaker 23: within the act. The act has

01:04:08 Speaker 23: been changed by the current provincial

01:04:09 Speaker 23: government in order to help address

01:04:11 Speaker 23: some of the development priorities that

01:04:15 Speaker 23: they've indicated, including the building of

01:04:17 Speaker 23: one and a half million new

01:04:19 Speaker 23: homes. They are unique in many

01:04:21 Speaker 23: respects as a as a as

01:04:24 Speaker 23: an agency and as a body.

01:04:28 Speaker 23: They are formed at the request

01:04:31 Speaker 23: of their member municipalities. So

01:04:33 Speaker 23: the Act creates a legislative environment

01:04:35 Speaker 23: for a conservation to be a

01:04:37 Speaker 23: conservation authority to be formed,

01:04:40 Speaker 23: but the conservation authority being formed

01:04:42 Speaker 23: is a municipal process. It's embedded

01:04:44 Speaker 23: in local municipalities who have the

01:04:48 Speaker 23: voice to request the establishment

01:04:50 Speaker 23: of a conservation authority, have the

01:04:53 Speaker 23: ability to request the amalgamation, growth,

01:04:56 Speaker 23: change of mandate of a conservation

01:04:58 Speaker 23: authority, and have the ability

01:05:02 Speaker 23: to request the dissolution of a

01:05:03 Speaker 23: conservation. authority. So, whilst they are

01:05:04 Speaker 23: formed by provincial legislation and operate

01:05:06 Speaker 23: within a legislative context and have

01:05:09 Speaker 23: reporting relationships to ministries, which has

01:05:12 Speaker 23: changed over time, they are in

01:05:14 Speaker 23: essence formed at the request, changed

01:05:16 Speaker 23: at the request of the member

01:05:18 Speaker 23: municipalities. That is structured through boards

01:05:19 Speaker 23: of governance, which currently represent just

01:05:21 Speaker 23: member municipalities. Again, a change which

01:05:24 Speaker 23: has strengthened municipal voices over recent

01:05:25 Speaker 23: years around. the conservation authority tables,

01:05:28 Speaker 23: again, that's important because some of

01:05:31 Speaker 23: the changes that are being proposed

01:05:34 Speaker 23: actually shake the change that fundamental

01:05:36 Speaker 23: relationship between municipalities and conservation authorities

01:05:37 Speaker 23: by introducing a new provincial oversight

01:05:38 Speaker 23: body, which has fairly significant powers

01:05:40 Speaker 23: of control over the work of

01:05:41 Speaker 23: of local municipal local conservation authorities.

01:05:44 Speaker 23: So there's 36 of them in

01:05:45 Speaker 23: the province at this point in

01:05:48 Speaker 23: time. As I say. there's a

01:05:50 Speaker 23: history of amalgamations, a history of

01:05:54 Speaker 23: conservation authorities being created and changed

01:05:56 Speaker 23: over time. But currently, there are

01:05:57 Speaker 23: 36 of them. Once again, they're

01:06:00 Speaker 23: established at the request of

01:06:03 Speaker 23: member municipalities. And in Grey County,

01:06:05 Speaker 23: at the minute, there are four

01:06:08 Speaker 23: operating conservation authorities: Saugeen and Grey-Swobbel

01:06:11 Speaker 23: being the two largest, but we

01:06:12 Speaker 23: do have Grand River Conservation Authority

01:06:13 Speaker 23: in the south and Nottawasaga, obviously,

01:06:15 Speaker 23: over towards the east. One of

01:06:18 Speaker 23: the other things, which is perhaps

01:06:20 Speaker 23: a little bit silent in some

01:06:23 Speaker 23: of the materials coming from the

01:06:25 Speaker 23: province, but we feel is an

01:06:27 Speaker 23: important part of this conversation, is

01:06:28 Speaker 23: source water protection. As we know,

01:06:30 Speaker 23: in in Grey and Bruce counties,

01:06:31 Speaker 23: and particularly within Grey, we have

01:06:33 Speaker 23: a very strong reliance on groundwater

01:06:35 Speaker 23: and water supplies, which residents pull

01:06:37 Speaker 23: through wells and and rely on

01:06:39 Speaker 23: for their drinking water. And so,

01:06:43 Speaker 23: source water protection is a body

01:06:44 Speaker 23: of work which sits very closely

01:06:46 Speaker 23: aligned with. conservation authorities, and in

01:06:49 Speaker 23: Grey County we have one, two

01:06:50 Speaker 23: source water protection regions and two

01:06:54 Speaker 23: source water protection committees, and so

01:06:55 Speaker 23: that's the fine lines and the

01:06:59 Speaker 23: thicker lines on this map

01:07:02 Speaker 23: in front of you, and they

01:07:06 Speaker 23: help manage and ensure risks are

01:07:09 Speaker 23: managed to source water

01:07:11 Speaker 23: protection areas. So they define areas

01:07:13 Speaker 23: where there are risks for water

01:07:14 Speaker 23: public water supplies and help to

01:07:16 Speaker 23: manage those. And again, that work

01:07:19 Speaker 23: is very closely aligned with the

01:07:20 Speaker 23: work of conservation authorities. at this

01:07:21 Speaker 23: time, and it is unclear in

01:07:23 Speaker 23: some of the provincial recommendations where

01:07:25 Speaker 23: source water protection would sit and

01:07:27 Speaker 23: how that would be managed on

01:07:29 Speaker 23: a go-forward basis. So the proposed

01:07:31 Speaker 23: changes that are in front of

01:07:33 Speaker 23: us by the province are break

01:07:35 Speaker 23: down into essentially two parts. And

01:07:38 Speaker 23: the first part is the formation

01:07:39 Speaker 23: of a new provincial conservation agency.

01:07:41 Speaker 23: This would be to undertake

01:07:43 Speaker 23: some strategic management and leadership of

01:07:46 Speaker 23: newly formed regional conservation authorities. This

01:07:49 Speaker 23: provincial body would sit alongside the

01:07:51 Speaker 23: municipalities, ministries in the province, which

01:07:54 Speaker 23: conservation authorities already have relationships with.

01:07:56 Speaker 23: At this point in time,

01:07:57 Speaker 23: it would be MECP. It's been

01:08:00 Speaker 23: MNRF in the past, but currently

01:08:02 Speaker 23: MECP that they work with. It

01:08:04 Speaker 23: would be governed by a board

01:08:05 Speaker 23: of five to twelve. There's no

01:08:07 Speaker 23: real clarity on how that board

01:08:10 Speaker 23: would be selected or how that

01:08:11 Speaker 23: board would be representative of the

01:08:13 Speaker 23: work of conservation. authorities across the

01:08:16 Speaker 23: province, and there's some information around

01:08:17 Speaker 23: what the expectations of that provincial

01:08:18 Speaker 23: agency would be, which is

01:08:21 Speaker 23: as general as providing broad oversight,

01:08:23 Speaker 23: but also goes down as far

01:08:26 Speaker 23: as indicating that they would have

01:08:27 Speaker 23: control over how conservation authorities procure

01:08:29 Speaker 23: items and and the work that

01:08:31 Speaker 23: conservation authorities do. So, as its

01:08:33 Speaker 23: pace posted at the minute, that

01:08:35 Speaker 23: provincial conservation body would have fairly

01:08:38 Speaker 23: broad suite of powers and influence

01:08:40 Speaker 23: over. the work that conservation authorities

01:08:41 Speaker 23: would do. It's indicated by the

01:08:43 Speaker 23: province that this board would be

01:08:46 Speaker 23: funded by the conservation authorities at

01:08:51 Speaker 23: this point in time, or have

01:08:52 Speaker 23: the ability to levy its costs

01:08:53 Speaker 23: out to conservation authorities. And so,

01:08:55 Speaker 23: it's unclear how much that would

01:08:58 Speaker 23: cost and how exactly that would

01:08:59 Speaker 23: trickle down. Further, the second part

01:09:02 Speaker 23: of the proposals that sit in

01:09:03 Speaker 23: front of us is the amalgamation

01:09:06 Speaker 23: of the thirty-six existing conservation

01:09:09 Speaker 23: authorities into what are being called

01:09:11 Speaker 23: regional conservation authorities. or RCAs, and

01:09:14 Speaker 23: there would be seven of those

01:09:16 Speaker 23: that they've been proposed at this

01:09:18 Speaker 23: point in time. It's worth indicating

01:09:21 Speaker 23: that repeatedly the province has indicated

01:09:25 Speaker 23: there are no changes to services,

01:09:27 Speaker 23: there are no job losses, and

01:09:29 Speaker 23: will do will continue to be

01:09:32 Speaker 23: the same tomorrow as it is

01:09:33 Speaker 23: today, just with these new regional

01:09:35 Speaker 23: structures and this new conservation agency

01:09:38 Speaker 23: at the provincial level. So, as

01:09:40 Speaker 23: I mentioned at the beginning of

01:09:43 Speaker 23: the presentation, there are key. At

01:09:44 Speaker 23: the presentation, there are key performance

01:09:45 Speaker 23: indicators already in place for conservation

01:09:47 Speaker 23: authorities, which are required to be

01:09:49 Speaker 23: reported to the province on an

01:09:52 Speaker 23: annualized basis. So, one of

01:09:54 Speaker 23: the one of the drivers behind

01:09:56 Speaker 23: this change is to instigate consistency

01:09:58 Speaker 23: and performance consistent performance across the

01:10:01 Speaker 23: province of Ontario. And so, just

01:10:06 Speaker 23: to reiterate, a few years ago,

01:10:08 Speaker 23: all thirty six conservation authorities had

01:10:10 Speaker 23: slightly different regulations. They had their

01:10:12 Speaker 23: own founding regulations, which informed how

01:10:13 Speaker 23: they managed natural hazards in their

01:10:15 Speaker 23: watershed and guided how and where

01:10:17 Speaker 23: they permitted were able to permit

01:10:19 Speaker 23: development. That was standardised a number

01:10:22 Speaker 23: of years ago. We now have

01:10:24 Speaker 23: a single regulation that all 36

01:10:27 Speaker 23: conservation authorities operate under, and they're

01:10:29 Speaker 23: required to meet timelines for permit

01:10:31 Speaker 23: approvals under that. And I detailed

01:10:33 Speaker 23: what they are, but basically there's

01:10:34 Speaker 23: a 30 and a 60 day,

01:10:36 Speaker 23: a 30 and a 90 day

01:10:38 Speaker 23: window that they have to review

01:10:40 Speaker 23: completed permit. applications and make those

01:10:44 Speaker 23: decisions. Double-checked with the two conservation

01:10:46 Speaker 23: authorities that are in the in

01:10:48 Speaker 23: the room today as we prepared

01:10:49 Speaker 23: the report today. And in 2024,

01:10:52 Speaker 23: GSCA attained more than 99 compliance

01:10:54 Speaker 23: with those targets and met 100

01:10:55 Speaker 23: of the major permits. So they're

01:11:01 Speaker 23: they're meeting those KPIs. And whilst

01:11:02 Speaker 23: I didn't get the information from

01:11:04 Speaker 23: Eric in time to include with

01:11:06 Speaker 23: this, the story is very similar

01:11:08 Speaker 23: within Sorging. And in fact, the

01:11:11 Speaker 23: 30 and the 90-day window is

01:11:14 Speaker 23: is that can sometimes feel like

01:11:18 Speaker 23: it's taking 29 or 89 days,

01:11:19 Speaker 23: and they're achieving those targets. It's

01:11:22 Speaker 23: usually they are significantly quicker than

01:11:24 Speaker 23: that. And in fact, in Sorgine

01:11:25 Speaker 23: and Eric, please correct me if

01:11:28 Speaker 23: I'm wrong. I believe the average

01:11:31 Speaker 23: permit time is about four days,

01:11:32 Speaker 23: and so these permits are being

01:11:35 Speaker 23: processed and reviewed quite promptly. The

01:11:37 Speaker 23: province has also taken a strong

01:11:40 Speaker 23: control in terms of planning

01:11:44 Speaker 23: fees, and so again. these have

01:11:46 Speaker 23: been largely taken out of the

01:11:49 Speaker 23: control of local conservation authorities, and

01:11:51 Speaker 23: we are, I think, entering into

01:11:53 Speaker 23: the third year of a planning

01:11:55 Speaker 23: permit fee freeze. So, what are

01:11:58 Speaker 23: we looking at in terms of

01:12:00 Speaker 23: the new areas? So, Grey County

01:12:02 Speaker 23: would be part of two of

01:12:04 Speaker 23: the new regional conservation authorities, or

01:12:07 Speaker 23: RCAs, the Huron Superior RCA and

01:12:10 Speaker 23: the Lake Erie RCA. Southgate, as

01:12:11 Speaker 23: a member municipality, would also be

01:12:14 Speaker 23: part of both the two

01:12:15 Speaker 23: new regional conservation authorities. So it's

01:12:17 Speaker 23: not that Grey County and all

01:12:19 Speaker 23: of its member municipalities go from

01:12:22 Speaker 23: having multiple conservation authorities to having

01:12:26 Speaker 23: just one. We are still have

01:12:27 Speaker 23: two that cover Grey County, and

01:12:30 Speaker 23: our member municipalities at times also

01:12:32 Speaker 23: have more than one. The amalgamation

01:12:33 Speaker 23: would see for Lake Erie eight

01:12:35 Speaker 23: existing conservation authorities combined, and they

01:12:38 Speaker 23: would. serve under Lake Erie. Around

01:12:40 Speaker 23: about 81 municipalities would now be

01:12:42 Speaker 23: served by that regional conservation authority.

01:12:44 Speaker 23: And for Huron Superior, it would

01:12:46 Speaker 23: combine seven existing CAs and would

01:12:47 Speaker 23: serve approximately 80 municipalities. So these

01:12:50 Speaker 23: are significantly larger than they they

01:12:52 Speaker 23: were before. For all conservation authorities,

01:12:55 Speaker 23: this is a change in their

01:12:57 Speaker 23: watershed boundary. Despite these still being

01:12:59 Speaker 23: watershed-based areas, these are a change

01:13:00 Speaker 23: for all the conservation authorities, with

01:13:02 Speaker 23: the exception of one. so

01:13:04 Speaker 23: Toronto Region Conservation Authority boundary stays

01:13:06 Speaker 23: exactly the same, but it does

01:13:07 Speaker 23: see a name change to the

01:13:09 Speaker 23: Central Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority.

01:13:10 Speaker 23: Just for some context, and there's

01:13:12 Speaker 23: a number of different things, and

01:13:13 Speaker 23: I thank Mr. Lanthier for his

01:13:17 Speaker 23: his comments on this one. And

01:13:18 Speaker 23: I had to bring in something

01:13:20 Speaker 23: which reflects my accent, of course.

01:13:21 Speaker 23: And so, just just for some

01:13:23 Speaker 23: context on how large these areas

01:13:27 Speaker 23: are, you could. drive from the

01:13:28 Speaker 23: southernmost tip, Lands End, for anyone