Grey County County Council Meeting Transcript — December 11, 2025

00:11:38 Speaker 01: I'll bring the meeting to order

00:11:39 Speaker 02: and welcome all that are here

00:11:40 Speaker 02: with us today and online. So

00:11:43 Speaker 02: if you would rise as able,

00:11:45 Speaker 02: we'll sing "O Canada." our home

00:11:58 Speaker 02: and native land, true patriot love

00:12:06 Speaker 02: in all of us command. With

00:12:11 Speaker 02: glowing hearts, we see thee rise,

00:12:16 Speaker 03: the true North, strong and free.

00:12:20 Speaker 03: from far and wide, O Canada,

00:12:24 Speaker 03: we stand on guard for thee.

00:12:29 Speaker 03: God keep our land, glorious and

00:12:35 Speaker 04: free. O. Canada, we stand on

00:12:44 Speaker 04: guard for thee. Thank you. Please,

00:12:50 Speaker 04: Councillor Mackie. Councillor McKay. Councillor Carleton.

00:12:56 Speaker 04: Councillor Pringle. Councillor. McQueen, we are

00:13:13 Speaker 04: expecting later this morning. Councillor

00:13:17 Speaker 04: Nielsen, glad to be here. Councillor

00:13:20 Speaker 04: Patterson, Councillor Dicker, Councillor Kentner, Councillor

00:13:23 Speaker 05: Keaveny, Councillor Body, Councillor Gregg, Deputy

00:13:27 Speaker 05: Warden Milm, Councillor Debrine, the

00:13:31 Speaker 05: Warden is attending shortly. Councillor Bourdainon,

00:13:36 Speaker 05: present. Councillor Eccles, Councilor Tom. Councillor

00:13:40 Speaker 05: Tom Hutchinson is absent today.

00:13:43 Speaker 05: Alternate Councillor Doug Hutchinson present.

00:13:47 Speaker 05: Thank you. We have all members

00:13:50 Speaker 05: in attendance today, with the exception

00:13:53 Speaker 05: of Warden Matrasovs and McQueen and

00:13:54 Speaker 05: Hutchinson. We acknowledge with respect. We

00:13:56 Speaker 05: are gathered on the traditional territory

00:14:05 Speaker 05: of the Nishnabek Nation, the people

00:14:07 Speaker 05: of the Three Fires, known as

00:14:08 Speaker 05: the Jibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations.

00:14:10 Speaker 05: We give thanks to the Chippewas

00:14:12 Speaker 05: of Saugeen and Chippewas of Nawash,

00:14:15 Speaker 02: known collectively as the Saugeen Ojibwe

00:14:16 Speaker 02: Nation, the traditional keepers of these

00:14:19 Speaker 02: lands and waters since time immemorial.

00:14:21 Speaker 02: To our south lies the traditional

00:14:22 Speaker 02: territories of the Six Nations of

00:14:25 Speaker 02: the Grand River and the Haudenosaunee.

00:14:27 Speaker 02: We are dedicated to honoring Indigenous

00:14:29 Speaker 02: history and culture, and committed to

00:14:31 Speaker 02: moving forward in the spirit of

00:14:33 Speaker 02: truth, reconciliation, and friendship with all

00:14:35 Speaker 02: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.

00:14:38 Speaker 02: Is there any declaration? of interest

00:14:39 Speaker 02: related to any item on today's

00:14:44 Speaker 02: agenda? Not seeing any. If one

00:14:46 Speaker 02: should arise during the course of

00:14:49 Speaker 02: the meeting, you can of course

00:14:51 Speaker 02: declare it at that time. We

00:14:52 Speaker 02: have sets of minutes here from

00:14:53 Speaker 02: November 27th, open and closed sessions.

00:14:56 Speaker 02: Someone care to move that we

00:14:59 Speaker 02: accept those minutes? Councilor Durbin, second

00:15:03 Speaker 02: by Councilor Eccles. Any discussion? All

00:15:04 Speaker 02: those in favor? That is carried.

00:15:06 Speaker 02: We don't have. any closed meeting

00:15:09 Speaker 02: matters. There are no reports. We

00:15:13 Speaker 02: have a bylaw. Oh, sorry. I

00:15:14 Speaker 02: assumed that we could do them

00:15:16 Speaker 02: all together, but we need to

00:15:22 Speaker 02: do the second, the closed minutes

00:15:23 Speaker 02: of the November 27 meeting. So

00:15:24 Speaker 02: I need a mover, counsel, Councillor

00:15:27 Speaker 02: Patterson, and Councillor Dicker. Any discussion?

00:15:29 Speaker 02: All those in favor? That is

00:15:33 Speaker 02: carried. Okay. Moving on to the

00:15:37 Speaker 02: bylaw to confirm all actions confirming

00:15:41 Speaker 02: bylaw, Councillor Mackie, seconded by Councillor

00:15:44 Speaker 02: Pringle. Any discussion? All in favor?

00:15:47 Speaker 02: That is carried. News and celebrations.

00:15:51 Speaker 02: We'll start off with Savannah has

00:15:54 Speaker 02: some news for us this morning.

00:15:57 Speaker 02: Welcome, Savannah. Thank you very much.

00:15:59 Speaker 02: Very excited to share with you

00:16:02 Speaker 02: that last week we had our

00:16:04 Speaker 02: first sold out Morris and My

00:16:06 Speaker 02: Candlelight of 2025. and this week

00:16:07 Speaker 02: coming up, I think we're down

00:16:09 Speaker 02: to 24 tickets, which means that

00:16:11 Speaker 02: we will have welcomed more than

00:16:13 Speaker 02: 2,000 people to Gray Roots over

00:16:14 Speaker 06: those two days for Morriston by

00:16:16 Speaker 06: Candlelight. So there is still space

00:16:17 Speaker 06: if you want to to attend.

00:16:19 Speaker 06: If any of your constituents would

00:16:20 Speaker 06: like to go, but it's just

00:16:22 Speaker 06: a wonderful night. We've got beautiful

00:16:23 Speaker 06: snow, but now we'd like no

00:16:24 Speaker 06: more. So if you can all

00:16:26 Speaker 06: pray with us for that, that

00:16:27 Speaker 06: would be wonderful. And looking forward

00:16:28 Speaker 06: to the event on Saturday. Thank

00:16:29 Speaker 06: you, Savannah. That is indeed good

00:16:31 Speaker 06: news. Kevin McNab has some news

00:16:33 Speaker 06: for us, Kevin. Good morning, everyone.

00:16:37 Speaker 06: Just let you know this week,

00:16:40 Speaker 06: paramedic services and transportation services proudly

00:16:42 Speaker 07: supported a Global Medic Holiday Hustle

00:16:45 Speaker 07: for the sixth year in a

00:16:47 Speaker 08: row. This year, 4,500 pounds of

00:16:49 Speaker 08: food items were delivered to share

00:16:51 Speaker 08: and Salvation Army, helping families across

00:16:53 Speaker 08: Gray County. Since joining in 2020,

00:16:55 Speaker 08: Gray County has received over 30,000

00:16:58 Speaker 08: pounds of food through this program.

00:16:59 Speaker 08: Across Ontario, the impact is even

00:17:01 Speaker 08: bigger. In 2024, 18 emergency services

00:17:04 Speaker 08: department and over 15 community partners

00:17:07 Speaker 08: distributed over 118,000 pounds of food

00:17:09 Speaker 08: across Ontario. I just want

00:17:12 Speaker 08: to say thanks to everybody making

00:17:14 Speaker 08: it possible. Thank you, Kevin, for

00:17:15 Speaker 08: that. It is rather astounding that

00:17:18 Speaker 08: we need that support in our

00:17:20 Speaker 08: community, but we do appreciate your

00:17:23 Speaker 08: efforts to help folks out. Anyone

00:17:24 Speaker 08: else have any news celebrations? Councillor

00:17:27 Speaker 08: McKay. Hold on. And for you,

00:17:30 Speaker 08: Santa Claus Parade will be coming

00:17:41 Speaker 08: up in Cheshire next Saturday, ten

00:17:44 Speaker 09: thirty. It's the—I do believe it's

00:17:46 Speaker 09: the last parade of the season.

00:17:50 Speaker 10: So anybody's welcome to come out

00:17:52 Speaker 10: and sit on Santa's knee. Okay.

00:17:54 Speaker 10: Thank you for that. Anyone else,

00:17:56 Speaker 10: Councillor? Carlton. Thank you, Deputy Warden.

00:18:00 Speaker 10: This Sunday afternoon at two o'clock

00:18:10 Speaker 10: is the non-motorized parade in the

00:18:12 Speaker 11: village of Kemble. Everybody, welcome. Thank

00:18:15 Speaker 11: you, Sue. Councillor Debrine. Good morning,

00:18:17 Speaker 12: Deputy Warden, and and all present.

00:18:23 Speaker 12: I just wanted to remind everyone

00:18:27 Speaker 12: that the Holstein non. The Holstein

00:18:30 Speaker 12: non-motorized Santa Claus parade is being

00:18:32 Speaker 13: held on Saturday at 1 p.m.

00:18:34 Speaker 13: in the village of Holstein. It

00:18:37 Speaker 13: runs the entire length of the

00:18:38 Speaker 13: the village, and it is actually

00:18:41 Speaker 14: in its 32nd year. It held

00:18:45 Speaker 14: it was increased, so hopefully everyone

00:18:49 Speaker 14: can come out, line the streets,

00:18:52 Speaker 14: and watch all the beautiful horses

00:18:54 Speaker 14: and other animals and people. Thank

00:18:56 Speaker 14: you for that, Councillor Body. Yes,

00:19:02 Speaker 14: thank you. Christmas is happening in

00:19:08 Speaker 14: December twenty fifth and on. Sound,

00:19:11 Speaker 14: thanks. Thanks for that, Captain. Anyone

00:19:19 Speaker 14: else? Okay. Oh, wait, we got

00:19:24 Speaker 14: somebody, Councillor Bordignon. Thank you, Deputy

00:19:27 Speaker 14: Warden, and. we're going to take

00:19:29 Speaker 15: a cue from our neighbors to

00:19:30 Speaker 15: the east and have Christmas on

00:19:32 Speaker 15: December 25th as well. But before

00:19:33 Speaker 15: that, we do have Old Fashioned

00:19:35 Speaker 15: Christmas in the town of Thornbury

00:19:36 Speaker 15: Saturday. We have a hot chocolate

00:19:39 Speaker 15: for everybody and candy canes, and

00:19:40 Speaker 15: we will light the tree at

00:19:43 Speaker 16: Town Hall, and then we'll close

00:19:44 Speaker 16: Brew Street and and enjoy a

00:19:45 Speaker 16: walk through with all the merchants

00:19:47 Speaker 16: on a on a pedestrian area.

00:19:49 Speaker 16: So everybody's looking forward to that.

00:19:50 Speaker 16: It's an annual tradition. Thank you.

00:19:52 Speaker 16: Thank you, Councilor Bordignon, for that.

00:19:55 Speaker 16: Will you be attending in person?

00:19:57 Speaker 16: or otherwise? Always in person. Always

00:19:59 Speaker 02: in person. I haven't heard you

00:20:04 Speaker 02: say that for a long time.

00:20:06 Speaker 02: Anyone else? Okay. With that, we'll

00:20:10 Speaker 02: ask for a motion to adjourn.

00:20:15 Speaker 02: Councilor Kevney, Councilor Patterson, all those

00:20:18 Speaker 02: in favor? That is carried. We'll

00:20:21 Speaker 02: just take a moment to switch

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 17: twenty-five. At this point in time,

00:21:22 Speaker 17: we'll. put a call out for

00:21:24 Speaker 17: any declarations of interest for this

00:21:25 Speaker 17: agenda, and seeing none online or

00:21:28 Speaker 17: here in the chamber, we will

00:21:30 Speaker 17: move on to business arising from

00:21:31 Speaker 17: minutes. And item three a, it's

00:21:35 Speaker 17: recommended that the evaluation of countywide

00:21:37 Speaker 17: library services be considered by the

00:21:39 Speaker 17: joint municipal services committee. So this

00:21:41 Speaker 17: is a notice motion from Councillor

00:21:43 Speaker 17: Greg. So Councillor Greg, I, do

00:21:45 Speaker 17: you have more wording to share?

00:21:51 Speaker 17: to move before I look for

00:21:52 Speaker 17: a seconder, or is it the

00:21:53 Speaker 17: way that it's been published? Okay,

00:21:55 Speaker 17: so as published, so I'll need

00:21:58 Speaker 17: a seconder for us to get

00:21:59 Speaker 17: it on the floor for discussion.

00:22:00 Speaker 17: I see it seconded by Councillor

00:22:01 Speaker 17: Mackie. It's now on the floor

00:22:03 Speaker 17: for discussion. I'll go to the

00:22:04 Speaker 17: mover to begin the discussion, and

00:22:06 Speaker 17: then I'll look for other hands.

00:22:07 Speaker 17: Thank you, Warden, and just a

00:22:08 Speaker 17: couple quick comments to this item,

00:22:13 Speaker 17: which I will just read so

00:22:16 Speaker 17: that you know it's on the.

00:22:18 Speaker 17: audio, but that the evaluation of

00:22:20 Speaker 17: countywide library services be considered by

00:22:22 Speaker 17: the joint municipal services committee. Why

00:22:24 Speaker 17: I think this is important is

00:22:27 Speaker 17: in the last election, our current

00:22:28 Speaker 18: board chair acknowledged during an all-candidates

00:22:31 Speaker 18: debate the significant challenges in front

00:22:35 Speaker 18: of us with tax levels

00:22:39 Speaker 18: in our municipality, and to the

00:22:41 Speaker 18: tune of wanting to create a

00:22:45 Speaker 18: committee to look at. means and

00:22:47 Speaker 18: ways of lowering the tax levels

00:22:50 Speaker 18: for our residents. So when I

00:22:51 Speaker 18: see this year that the budget

00:22:55 Speaker 18: ask was originally around eleven percent,

00:22:56 Speaker 18: I think I'm recognizing that there

00:23:00 Speaker 18: is a significant fundamental challenge challenge

00:23:03 Speaker 18: in today's economic times for libraries

00:23:06 Speaker 18: to be able to monitor and

00:23:09 Speaker 18: maintain budget increases that are commensurate

00:23:10 Speaker 18: with levels of inflation in the

00:23:14 Speaker 18: community. Of inflation in the communities,

00:23:17 Speaker 18: so I did get looking through

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

00:23:21 Speaker 18: Library total expense expenses are 2.143

00:23:26 Speaker 18: million dollars, Mefford 1.113 million dollars.

00:23:31 Speaker 18: However, that is not net of

00:23:33 Speaker 18: 152 thousand, which is part of

00:23:40 Speaker 18: the On Sound Library contract. Hanover

00:23:42 Speaker 18: 722 thousand. Twenty-two thousand West Gray,

00:23:46 Speaker 18: five hundred eighty-two thousand Southgate, four

00:23:49 Speaker 18: hundred seventy-one point eight thousand Gray

00:23:53 Speaker 18: Highlands, seven hundred forty-one thousand dollars.

00:23:54 Speaker 18: Town of Blue Mountains, one point

00:23:57 Speaker 18: one seven six million dollars. Cumulatively,

00:24:00 Speaker 18: this to the Gray County taxpayers

00:24:03 Speaker 18: is seven six point seven six

00:24:06 Speaker 18: million seven hundred ninety-eight thousand one

00:24:09 Speaker 18: hundred ninety-six dollars. In two thousand

00:24:12 Speaker 18: twenty-four, in budget room. for the

00:24:15 Speaker 18: provision of library services across the

00:24:17 Speaker 18: county to our residents, as we

00:24:19 Speaker 18: know, Bruce County, right next door,

00:24:22 Speaker 18: has a countywide library system. Their

00:24:27 Speaker 18: total 2024 budget line item was

00:24:31 Speaker 18: three million seven hundred forty-two thousand

00:24:33 Speaker 18: dollars, three million seven hundred forty-two

00:24:36 Speaker 18: thousand six hundred ninety-four dollars. That

00:24:41 Speaker 18: is a big difference between Gray.

00:24:43 Speaker 18: County's cumulative total of six point

00:24:45 Speaker 18: seven nine eight million and the

00:24:48 Speaker 18: two thousand twenty four cumulative total

00:24:50 Speaker 18: in Bruce County for service provision

00:24:52 Speaker 18: of three point seven four two

00:24:54 Speaker 18: million dollars. So I think it

00:24:57 Speaker 18: does behoove us around this table

00:24:59 Speaker 18: to have our Joint Municipal Services

00:25:02 Speaker 18: Committee look at this item, see

00:25:05 Speaker 18: if there is a possibility of

00:25:08 Speaker 18: moving forward in a more partnership

00:25:11 Speaker 18: model, as opposed to the more

00:25:16 Speaker 18: isolated model that we're currently deploying,

00:25:19 Speaker 18: because as those numbers would indicate

00:25:21 Speaker 18: on the surface, we are significantly

00:25:23 Speaker 18: above Bruce County's cost of service

00:25:27 Speaker 18: provision for library services. Thank you.

00:25:29 Speaker 18: Okay, thank you for that introduction.

00:25:33 Speaker 18: I will look around the room

00:25:34 Speaker 18: for hands. I'll begin with Councillor

00:25:35 Speaker 19: Borden online. Thank you, Madam Warden,

00:25:38 Speaker 20: through you, and thank you. for

00:25:40 Speaker 20: the notice of motion. Just in

00:25:42 Speaker 20: relation to the, I think it's

00:25:44 Speaker 21: a very good idea. Looking at

00:25:46 Speaker 16: this, my question is: If Councillor

00:25:48 Speaker 16: Greg, through the Municipal Act, as

00:25:51 Speaker 16: you know, the funding model is

00:25:53 Speaker 16: set out pretty clearly for municipalities

00:25:54 Speaker 16: funding libraries at at the local

00:25:58 Speaker 16: level. Have we looked into that

00:26:01 Speaker 16: as well, from a regional perspective?

00:26:09 Speaker 16: Okay, so I think the question

00:26:10 Speaker 16: is directed to the mover. I

00:26:14 Speaker 16: have not personally looked into that

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

00:26:18 Speaker 16: within. That would be something that

00:26:20 Speaker 16: I would hope would be flushed

00:26:21 Speaker 16: out during the process of the

00:26:23 Speaker 16: Services Committee evaluating it. Thank you.

00:26:30 Speaker 16: Okay, so I don't see any

00:26:31 Speaker 16: further hands online. I'll look around

00:26:33 Speaker 16: the room, and I see Councillor

00:26:35 Speaker 22: Eccles. Thank you. Well, I still

00:26:40 Speaker 20: have the scars from the last

00:26:41 Speaker 20: time that I suggested this, and

00:26:43 Speaker 20: that's got to be 15 years

00:26:45 Speaker 23: ago. Maybe we should have a

00:26:53 Speaker 23: county library system, and then somebody

00:26:54 Speaker 23: could read the code of conduct.

00:27:02 Speaker 23: Yeah. I'm not as concerned about

00:27:10 Speaker 23: the dollars that are in the

00:27:12 Speaker 23: library system at the present moment.

00:27:15 Speaker 23: Some 15 or more years ago,

00:27:16 Speaker 23: when I first suggested this, and

00:27:19 Speaker 24: it died rather quickly. It was

00:27:23 Speaker 24: around our county neighbors. Wellington County

00:27:27 Speaker 24: has a library system. Simcoe County,

00:27:30 Speaker 24: I believe, has a library system.

00:27:32 Speaker 24: I'm not sure about Dufferin. I

00:27:34 Speaker 24: believe Huron Valley City was there,

00:27:38 Speaker 24: one of our neighbors as well,

00:27:41 Speaker 24: too. And where it came from

00:27:42 Speaker 24: at that point in time was

00:27:44 Speaker 24: access to some of the individuals

00:27:47 Speaker 24: in the community of West Grey

00:27:50 Speaker 24: that lived closer to some of

00:27:51 Speaker 24: those boundaries. And we couldn't get

00:27:53 Speaker 24: an agreement with those two, at

00:27:57 Speaker 24: least two counties, to talk about.

00:28:00 Speaker 24: shared library service, as we were

00:28:03 Speaker 24: a lower tier service, and they

00:28:06 Speaker 24: were an upper tier, and they

00:28:08 Speaker 24: will not talk to a lower

00:28:10 Speaker 24: tier service. They weren't going to

00:28:12 Speaker 24: enter into a partnership. It still

00:28:14 Speaker 24: stands that way this today. So

00:28:17 Speaker 24: for that reason, to be able

00:28:20 Speaker 24: to work with our partners, not

00:28:23 Speaker 24: about as much about the dollar

00:28:25 Speaker 24: factor, but it is working and

00:28:27 Speaker 24: making access to libraries. by and

00:28:29 Speaker 24: for our community, that I would

00:28:32 Speaker 24: like to see this go forward

00:28:36 Speaker 24: and see what we can do

00:28:38 Speaker 24: with it. I will be supporting

00:28:39 Speaker 24: the motion. Okay, thank you. I

00:28:42 Speaker 24: can clarify that Simcoe County is

00:28:45 Speaker 24: not city, not county wide; it

00:28:47 Speaker 24: is lower tier, and we'll go

00:28:49 Speaker 24: to Councillor Nielsen online. Just a.

00:28:51 Speaker 24: Just unmute. Can you hear me

00:28:59 Speaker 24: now? Yes, we can. Thank you.

00:29:05 Speaker 24: My apologies for Microsoft. Just a

00:29:06 Speaker 24: quick question: If staff have a

00:29:08 Speaker 25: general idea, we have two hundred

00:29:10 Speaker 26: and fifty thousand dollars in the

00:29:11 Speaker 27: budget to do a study on

00:29:12 Speaker 27: garbage concepts. Is there an idea

00:29:15 Speaker 27: of what a study would cost

00:29:18 Speaker 27: to do this to carry through

00:29:19 Speaker 27: with this motion? Okay, we'll go

00:29:21 Speaker 27: to the CAO. Through you, Warden.

00:29:26 Speaker 27: Thank you for that question, Councilor

00:29:30 Speaker 27: Nielsen. I I do want to

00:29:32 Speaker 27: note that, and as as Councilor

00:29:34 Speaker 27: Eccles alluded to this, this this

00:29:36 Speaker 28: was reviewed back about twelve years

00:29:40 Speaker 28: ago, thirteen years ago. A report

00:29:43 Speaker 28: was brought forward in 2014, looking

00:29:44 Speaker 28: at at at this. At that

00:29:50 Speaker 28: time, former CEO Lance Thurston went

00:29:52 Speaker 28: through and did that that review.

00:29:55 Speaker 28: Followed. what what was called the

00:29:59 Speaker 28: collaborative decision making framework, and followed

00:30:01 Speaker 28: those steps. Did some analysis on

00:30:04 Speaker 28: the on the services at that

00:30:05 Speaker 28: time, and explored alternative models. So

00:30:09 Speaker 28: we do have some background information

00:30:10 Speaker 28: based on that previous review, recognizing

00:30:13 Speaker 28: it is about twelve thirteen years

00:30:15 Speaker 28: old. But there there are some

00:30:17 Speaker 28: findings that that came out of

00:30:18 Speaker 28: that that that we actually included

00:30:23 Speaker 28: that as part of our initial.

00:30:26 Speaker 28: report to the Joint Missile Services

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

00:30:29 Speaker 28: a framework in terms of what

00:30:31 Speaker 28: what services have been investigated and

00:30:33 Speaker 28: reviewed in the past, and again,

00:30:36 Speaker 28: staff will of course take direction

00:30:39 Speaker 28: from council regarding whether you want

00:30:42 Speaker 28: to review this matter further. However,

00:30:45 Speaker 28: similar to I think Councillor Nielsen's

00:30:48 Speaker 28: question in terms of the regional

00:30:51 Speaker 28: waste, based on the direction that's

00:30:52 Speaker 28: been provided by Joint Missile Services

00:30:54 Speaker 28: Committee. By Joint Mental Services Committee

00:30:56 Speaker 28: and supported by Council so far,

00:30:58 Speaker 28: there's three priority areas that that

00:31:00 Speaker 28: staff have been asked to to

00:31:02 Speaker 28: review, and and those are already

00:31:05 Speaker 28: in the those priority topics. So

00:31:08 Speaker 28: just cognizant in terms of of

00:31:10 Speaker 28: you know overall resources and capacity,

00:31:12 Speaker 28: whether or not this is something

00:31:14 Speaker 28: that staff could could review. If

00:31:16 Speaker 28: that's the case, it might take

00:31:18 Speaker 28: some time to review that topic,

00:31:21 Speaker 28: given the current workload and capacity.

00:31:23 Speaker 28: At the same time. you know

00:31:25 Speaker 28: there could be a consultant that's

00:31:27 Speaker 28: provided to to support this review.

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

00:31:31 Speaker 28: of that would be. We don't

00:31:33 Speaker 28: have any indicators in front of

00:31:34 Speaker 28: me at this point in time

00:31:35 Speaker 28: in terms of what that would

00:31:37 Speaker 28: look like. We'd be happy to

00:31:39 Speaker 28: to research that if the direction

00:31:40 Speaker 28: from council is to support this

00:31:42 Speaker 28: motion. We could bring that information

00:31:43 Speaker 28: back to the Joint Municipal Services

00:31:46 Speaker 28: Committee so they could have that

00:31:47 Speaker 28: that information. But this stage, I

00:31:50 Speaker 28: don't know what a consultant supported

00:31:53 Speaker 28: review would look like in terms

00:31:54 Speaker 28: of cost. Okay, thank you. Just

00:31:55 Speaker 28: before we go on to the

00:31:58 Speaker 28: next hand up, then. So for

00:31:59 Speaker 28: clarification, CAO, it should this motion

00:32:01 Speaker 29: pass the way that it is.

00:32:03 Speaker 29: You've identified that there that the

00:32:05 Speaker 29: Joint Services Committee has already identified

00:32:07 Speaker 29: three priorities. We we as a

00:32:09 Speaker 29: council have already supported putting some

00:32:10 Speaker 29: dollars behind that. So even if

00:32:13 Speaker 29: it were to be staff time,

00:32:14 Speaker 29: what would happen with this action

00:32:16 Speaker 29: if this is the direction that

00:32:17 Speaker 29: we provide the way that the

00:32:19 Speaker 29: notice of motion is written? Does

00:32:20 Speaker 29: that mean that it automates Does

00:32:22 Speaker 29: that mean that it automatically falls

00:32:23 Speaker 29: to the bottom of that queue

00:32:26 Speaker 29: and it becomes the fourth spot,

00:32:27 Speaker 29: or does the Joint Services Committee

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

00:32:34 Speaker 29: they would like to allocate the

00:32:36 Speaker 29: time, staff time, as well as

00:32:38 Speaker 29: resources? Thank you, Gordon. A great

00:32:41 Speaker 29: question. With respect to to how

00:32:43 Speaker 28: it could play out if if

00:32:44 Speaker 28: Council supports this motion, how I

00:32:46 Speaker 28: would envision this at this stage

00:32:48 Speaker 28: is that staff would bring an

00:32:50 Speaker 28: initial report forward to the Joint

00:32:53 Speaker 28: Missile Service Committee based on. what

00:32:55 Speaker 28: was previously reviewed as part of

00:33:00 Speaker 28: the library services review, identifying what

00:33:02 Speaker 28: information was provided at that time

00:33:05 Speaker 28: and and and opportunities for efficiencies

00:33:07 Speaker 28: that were were identified and flagged

00:33:08 Speaker 28: at that time, but recommending that

00:33:11 Speaker 28: that rather than a countywide system

00:33:13 Speaker 28: was the end result of that

00:33:15 Speaker 28: study was to for the library

00:33:19 Speaker 28: boards to work together not only

00:33:20 Speaker 28: within the within within Gray County

00:33:22 Speaker 28: but the neighboring counties. and municipalities

00:33:25 Speaker 28: as well, so that was what

00:33:27 Speaker 28: was the end result in the

00:33:30 Speaker 28: recommendations at that stage. In terms

00:33:32 Speaker 28: of, and so we would bring

00:33:33 Speaker 28: that initial report forward. Obviously, further

00:33:35 Speaker 28: discussion today. In terms of, we're

00:33:38 Speaker 28: taking notes as as we speak.

00:33:41 Speaker 28: If it does get support, we

00:33:43 Speaker 28: would bring back further information for

00:33:44 Speaker 28: joint messrs to consider. That again,

00:33:47 Speaker 28: that committee makes recommendations to this

00:33:49 Speaker 28: council, so it would come back

00:33:51 Speaker 28: to this council in terms. of

00:33:53 Speaker 28: that review or that initial report,

00:33:55 Speaker 28: and and then seeking further council

00:33:57 Speaker 28: direction in terms of those pieces.

00:34:00 Speaker 28: So whether it's a consultant supported

00:34:02 Speaker 28: review and what the cost would

00:34:05 Speaker 28: be for that, or staff review

00:34:07 Speaker 28: and and rejuggling of priorities based

00:34:10 Speaker 28: on what the direction's been provided

00:34:11 Speaker 28: by council today, that are those

00:34:13 Speaker 28: are all options, I guess, that

00:34:16 Speaker 28: can be unpacked by first considered

00:34:18 Speaker 28: by joint municipal service committee, but

00:34:21 Speaker 28: then ultimately approved and supported by

00:34:23 Speaker 28: council. Okay, thank you very much

00:34:26 Speaker 28: for that clarification on procedure. We'll

00:34:29 Speaker 30: go to Councilor McQueen online. Good

00:34:32 Speaker 30: morning, Madam Warden, and good morning,

00:34:33 Speaker 30: County Council. A couple questions. Should

00:34:34 Speaker 30: we not do maybe certainly going

00:34:36 Speaker 30: back to the committee? I would

00:34:38 Speaker 30: see that they'd have further discussion,

00:34:41 Speaker 30: but would we not do a

00:34:42 Speaker 30: simple poll to see what the

00:34:46 Speaker 30: lower tier municipalities are interested in

00:34:48 Speaker 30: doing? I know that for us

00:34:52 Speaker 30: in Grey Highlands, we have. For

00:34:54 Speaker 30: us in Grayhavens, we have three

00:34:55 Speaker 30: different branches service our municipality, and

00:34:56 Speaker 30: so I don't know. I think

00:34:58 Speaker 30: in the past, maybe our CEO

00:34:59 Speaker 30: maybe have some information here as

00:35:00 Speaker 30: well. But I think the last

00:35:02 Speaker 30: time we went through this, they

00:35:04 Speaker 30: did get circulated to the lower

00:35:06 Speaker 30: tiers, and some were maybe in,

00:35:09 Speaker 30: and some were maybe out. But

00:35:11 Speaker 30: if you don't have a full

00:35:13 Speaker 30: buy-in from the lower tier, I

00:35:15 Speaker 30: know it's a budgetary item from

00:35:18 Speaker 30: the local municipality. Any thoughts on

00:35:21 Speaker 30: that? Like. like if there's if

00:35:22 Speaker 30: there's a a great interest in

00:35:23 Speaker 30: the lower tier, then. But if

00:35:24 Speaker 30: there isn't, I don't know how

00:35:26 Speaker 30: how far you want to you

00:35:28 Speaker 30: know. Have that discussion if the

00:35:31 Speaker 30: if if you don't have the

00:35:34 Speaker 30: buy-in from and maybe you do,

00:35:35 Speaker 30: but I think you should have

00:35:37 Speaker 30: that opportunity to maybe check that

00:35:38 Speaker 30: out. Thank you. Okay, I'll look

00:35:40 Speaker 28: to the CAO for a comment

00:35:42 Speaker 28: on that. Through you, Warden, and

00:35:45 Speaker 28: again, if this if this

00:35:48 Speaker 28: motion gets supported, that I would

00:35:51 Speaker 28: assume we'd be part of. the

00:35:53 Speaker 28: review. Is is having further discussions

00:35:55 Speaker 28: with each of the library managers,

00:35:58 Speaker 28: each of the the library boards,

00:36:01 Speaker 28: our our neighboring municipalities, neighboring counties,

00:36:03 Speaker 28: looking at what models that they

00:36:05 Speaker 28: have. So that would be part

00:36:07 Speaker 28: of the the potential review of

00:36:11 Speaker 28: of looking at that, and then

00:36:13 Speaker 28: seeing if there's there's feedback from

00:36:14 Speaker 28: each of the municipalities in terms

00:36:16 Speaker 28: of interest, in terms of again

00:36:20 Speaker 28: whether the option is to join

00:36:21 Speaker 28: a. county-wide library service model, or

00:36:24 Speaker 28: or if there's other opportunities or

00:36:26 Speaker 31: options, and or in terms of

00:36:28 Speaker 31: creating some efficiencies amongst amongst the

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

00:36:33 Speaker 31: service. Hello, Councillor McQueen. Yes, thank

00:36:36 Speaker 31: you for that, and that's good

00:36:39 Speaker 32: information. I think also there's probably

00:36:42 Speaker 32: a bit of a science behind

00:36:44 Speaker 32: each branch of the each library

00:36:46 Speaker 32: branch or library location that services

00:36:49 Speaker 32: a certain area, because I know

00:36:51 Speaker 32: we. in Grey Highlands certainly service

00:36:53 Speaker 32: provide service for West Grey and

00:36:55 Speaker 32: Chatsworth, along with the town of

00:36:56 Speaker 32: Collingwood provides service for certain residents

00:36:58 Speaker 32: in Grey Highlands. So we do

00:36:59 Speaker 32: have some workings that do work

00:37:01 Speaker 32: with other libraries and other municipalities

00:37:02 Speaker 32: as well. So you know, I

00:37:04 Speaker 32: don't know in the sense of

00:37:06 Speaker 32: that report if it would reflect

00:37:07 Speaker 32: on the level of service and

00:37:11 Speaker 32: the area that it's serving. I

00:37:12 Speaker 32: think that you need to maybe

00:37:14 Speaker 32: identify where all the libraries are

00:37:16 Speaker 29: as well to. maybe look at

00:37:18 Speaker 29: what level service is happening throughout

00:37:20 Speaker 29: the county. Anyway, thank you. Okay,

00:37:22 Speaker 29: thank you. And I would add

00:37:24 Speaker 29: to the comments of Councilor Queen

00:37:27 Speaker 29: as well. It's not just the

00:37:28 Speaker 29: geography and the the accessibility of

00:37:30 Speaker 29: how people can get to resources

00:37:32 Speaker 29: and branches, but it's also the

00:37:34 Speaker 29: nature of each of our each

00:37:35 Speaker 29: of the nine municipalities' library services.

00:37:36 Speaker 29: In the example of the Town

00:37:38 Speaker 29: of Blue Mountains, it's a glam,

00:37:39 Speaker 29: it's a gallery library, archive, and

00:37:43 Speaker 29: museum, all governed under. the one

00:37:44 Speaker 29: thing, so that may not be

00:37:46 Speaker 29: the same in the case of

00:37:47 Speaker 29: all of the municipalities. So there

00:37:49 Speaker 29: would have to be some clarification

00:37:50 Speaker 29: on what was meant by library

00:37:51 Speaker 29: services. Okay, all right. So I

00:37:53 Speaker 29: don't see any further hands online.

00:37:56 Speaker 29: I don't see any hands around

00:37:58 Speaker 29: the room. So looks like we're

00:38:00 Speaker 29: ready to call for the vote.

00:38:06 Speaker 29: So the vote is to consider

00:38:08 Speaker 29: whether or not that the evaluation

00:38:09 Speaker 29: of the countywide library services should

00:38:11 Speaker 29: be considered by the joint municipal

00:38:12 Speaker 29: services committee. I will call the

00:38:14 Speaker 29: vote. All those in favor. Okay,

00:38:16 Speaker 29: and that. All right. Thank you

00:38:18 Speaker 29: very much. And we will move

00:38:22 Speaker 29: on. We have one delegation today,

00:38:26 Speaker 29: but we do actually have three

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

00:38:31 Speaker 29: delegation. So at this point in

00:38:35 Speaker 29: time, we'll direct our attention online

00:38:39 Speaker 29: because the presenters are there. And

00:38:40 Speaker 29: welcome, Mr. Maurice Boisette, and also

00:38:42 Speaker 29: Chuck Bouillon, and also Ken Brown.

00:38:45 Speaker 29: Oh, and I understand, Mr. Voisin,

00:38:50 Speaker 29: you'll be doing the presenting. Yes,

00:38:52 Speaker 29: yes. Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm being

00:38:53 Speaker 29: somebody's just. I, I, I'm, I'm

00:38:54 Speaker 29: wanting to call you, Monsieur Voisin,

00:38:55 Speaker 29: but I'm understanding is it is

00:38:57 Speaker 29: is a Voisin instead. Yes, yeah,

00:39:00 Speaker 29: that's fine. All right, so Mr.

00:39:02 Speaker 29: Voisin, welcome, and you have the

00:39:03 Speaker 29: floor. I know that you have

00:39:06 Speaker 29: your colleagues with you, and what

00:39:08 Speaker 29: we'll do is we'll listen to

00:39:10 Speaker 29: your presentation, and then I'll put

00:39:12 Speaker 33: it out for questions. for for

00:39:18 Speaker 33: clarification coming from council members and

00:39:19 Speaker 33: direct them to you. Thank you

00:39:23 Speaker 33: very much. Good morning and welcome,

00:39:24 Speaker 20: and thank you for your time

00:39:32 Speaker 20: this morning. So I'm I've tried

00:39:33 Speaker 20: to start to share my screen.

00:39:34 Speaker 20: Can you see that? No, we

00:39:36 Speaker 20: just see yourself at the moment.

00:39:38 Speaker 20: I'll just look. Okay. The clerk.

00:39:39 Speaker 20: Okay. The clerk is making an

00:39:41 Speaker 20: adjustment. Just give us a moment.

00:39:44 Speaker 20: Sure. Okay, so our communication staff

00:39:47 Speaker 20: are going to be sharing it

00:39:48 Speaker 20: from their stations. So then,

00:39:52 Speaker 20: when you're ready for the next

00:39:55 Speaker 33: slide, you can just say "next

00:39:57 Speaker 33: slide," and we'll advance it for

00:39:59 Speaker 33: you. Excellent. Thanks very much. So,

00:40:02 Speaker 33: wanted to talk about five things

00:40:04 Speaker 33: this morning. First of all, the

00:40:06 Speaker 33: agenda—it's a once-in-a-generation and all opportunity

00:40:08 Speaker 33: for Saugeen Hospice and Grey County.

00:40:11 Speaker 33: The need for Saugeen Hospice, because

00:40:17 Speaker 33: the rationale for that, what benefits

00:40:20 Speaker 33: there are to the community, and

00:40:22 Speaker 33: just the whole aspect of community

00:40:25 Speaker 33: leadership and the benefits to Grey

00:40:27 Speaker 33: and Bruce County Councils, and finally

00:40:30 Speaker 33: a call to action. So, next

00:40:32 Speaker 33: slide, please. So, we're asking Grey

00:40:34 Speaker 33: County's consideration, along with Bruce County,

00:40:37 Speaker 33: to for exclusive naming rights for

00:40:40 Speaker 33: the Family Reflection Room of Reflection

00:40:43 Speaker 33: room available for three hundred and

00:40:46 Speaker 33: fifty thousand dollars combined for the

00:40:48 Speaker 33: two county councils for fifteen years.

00:40:51 Speaker 33: That's renewable. The family reflection room

00:40:56 Speaker 33: will serve as a comforting space

00:40:59 Speaker 33: for families, and it'll promote some

00:41:02 Speaker 33: some regional pride. It's basically the

00:41:04 Speaker 33: first room that you'll recognize when

00:41:09 Speaker 33: you come in, and we think

00:41:10 Speaker 33: it'll be quite well utilized. And

00:41:12 Speaker 33: next slide, please. This is a

00:41:15 Speaker 33: location of the of the family

00:41:17 Speaker 33: reflection room. So it is fairly

00:41:19 Speaker 33: central in the in the building

00:41:21 Speaker 33: at the new Sogin Hospice. And

00:41:25 Speaker 33: next slide, please. And this is

00:41:30 Speaker 33: the scene from the back. So

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

00:41:35 Speaker 33: to a very picturesque view of

00:41:37 Speaker 33: of an open field behind them,

00:41:39 Speaker 33: and the family reflection room is

00:41:42 Speaker 33: circled in green there. on your

00:41:44 Speaker 33: on your screen, and next slide,

00:41:47 Speaker 33: please. So our statistics are based

00:41:49 Speaker 33: on that the number of deaths

00:41:51 Speaker 33: in Graham Bruce annualized is around

00:41:53 Speaker 33: eighteen hundred people a year. That

00:41:55 Speaker 33: impacts close to nine thousand people.

00:41:58 Speaker 33: We do have an aging population,

00:42:00 Speaker 33: and according to Ontario Health West,

00:42:01 Speaker 33: over people over sixty five in

00:42:03 Speaker 33: ten years will make Five and

00:42:07 Speaker 33: ten years will make up more

00:42:11 Speaker 33: than one third of the populations

00:42:13 Speaker 33: in Grey and Bruce counties, which

00:42:15 Speaker 33: could result in lots of caregiver

00:42:18 Speaker 33: burnout, and certainly it's on the

00:42:22 Speaker 33: rise. So today in Grey Bruce,

00:42:24 Speaker 33: just to give you a snapshot,

00:42:28 Speaker 33: there's 12 active hospice residents beds

00:42:30 Speaker 33: for our population of about 175,000

00:42:32 Speaker 33: people, and based on at the

00:42:35 Speaker 33: bottom of the screen there, based

00:42:37 Speaker 33: on the 2024 Ontario Health West

00:42:40 Speaker 33: needs analysis. Grey Bruce requires 18

00:42:43 Speaker 33: hospice residence beds, so that's where

00:42:45 Speaker 33: the six beds comes from proposed

00:42:47 Speaker 33: for Saugeen Hospice. So the Saugeen

00:42:50 Speaker 33: Hospice will fill a critical gap

00:42:53 Speaker 33: of these six hospice residence beds

00:42:56 Speaker 33: that's been identified by Ontario Health

00:42:58 Speaker 33: West as that. The other benefits,

00:43:00 Speaker 33: and you can go to the

00:43:03 Speaker 33: next slide, please. You know, the

00:43:05 Speaker 33: it's closer to home. It fills

00:43:07 Speaker 33: that. critical gap of six additional

00:43:09 Speaker 33: hospice residence beds needed in Southern

00:43:12 Speaker 33: Gray Bruce. So closer to family,

00:43:14 Speaker 33: more time together, less travel for

00:43:17 Speaker 33: families. They mean means they can

00:43:20 Speaker 33: visit more often, stay longer without

00:43:21 Speaker 33: the strain of of lengthy commutes.

00:43:24 Speaker 33: You can see the how it

00:43:26 Speaker 33: kind of completes the picture of

00:43:31 Speaker 33: Gray Bruce at the the lower

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

00:43:37 Speaker 33: and also closer to local community

00:43:45 Speaker 33: support. for that stronger emotional support

00:43:45 Speaker 33: for people that are transitioning, and

00:43:49 Speaker 33: the residents and their families can

00:43:52 Speaker 33: remain connected. Their faith groups can

00:43:54 Speaker 33: continue to visit them, and local

00:43:58 Speaker 33: counselors, while accessing Saugeen Hospice in

00:44:00 Speaker 33: dedicated grief and bereavement services. So

00:44:04 Speaker 33: it's really a dedicated service that

00:44:05 Speaker 33: that we're proposing. And next slide,

00:44:06 Speaker 33: please. So just to give you

00:44:10 Speaker 33: an idea, so Sogin Hospice was

00:44:13 Speaker 33: incorporated in 2021. It's a not-for-profit

00:44:17 Speaker 33: community corporation. The plan is to

00:44:22 Speaker 33: build a freestanding six-bed hospice in

00:44:24 Speaker 33: Southern Bruce County and East Ridge

00:44:28 Speaker 33: Park in Walkerton. Brockton has donated

00:44:31 Speaker 33: three acres of land, and that's

00:44:34 Speaker 33: the picture you see at the

00:44:35 Speaker 33: top of the of the screen.

00:44:38 Speaker 33: And we're anticipating welcoming. our first

00:44:40 Speaker 33: resident in the summer of 2028.

00:44:43 Speaker 33: So, and next slide, please. So

00:44:47 Speaker 33: this is kind of a aerial

00:44:49 Speaker 33: view of the of the of

00:44:50 Speaker 33: the Saugeen Hospice. You can see

00:44:53 Speaker 33: that we've incorporated a number of

00:44:55 Speaker 33: parking spaces on it. We hope

00:44:58 Speaker 33: that it becomes a training center.

00:45:00 Speaker 33: We hope that there are lots

00:45:01 Speaker 33: of visitors. We Lots of visitors.

00:45:05 Speaker 33: We've also considered our Amish and

00:45:07 Speaker 33: Mennonite neighbors, and there's three horse

00:45:11 Speaker 33: tie-ups in the at the edge

00:45:13 Speaker 33: of the parking lot for for

00:45:15 Speaker 33: their convenience. And and like I

00:45:16 Speaker 33: said, the the building, all of

00:45:18 Speaker 33: the rooms face a field at

00:45:20 Speaker 33: the back, so that that would

00:45:22 Speaker 33: be the scene when they would

00:45:25 Speaker 33: look out their their windows and

00:45:30 Speaker 33: their patios. There, we also have

00:45:35 Speaker 33: cuddle beds in the plan. so

00:45:37 Speaker 33: that individuals that are that are

00:45:39 Speaker 33: residents there can go out

00:45:42 Speaker 33: with the bed. It'll pass through

00:45:44 Speaker 33: the patio doors, and they can

00:45:46 Speaker 33: spend time on the patio to

00:45:48 Speaker 33: enjoy the sunshine and the view

00:45:49 Speaker 33: with their family members or their

00:45:51 Speaker 33: treasured pet, whatever whatever they desire.

00:45:56 Speaker 33: And next slide, please. So this

00:45:59 Speaker 33: is the opportunity, the the call

00:46:02 Speaker 33: to action. a three hundred and

00:46:03 Speaker 33: fifty thousand dollar investment secures exclusive

00:46:05 Speaker 33: naming rights for the family reflection

00:46:08 Speaker 33: room for fifteen years. You can

00:46:17 Speaker 33: see to the left there that

00:46:19 Speaker 33: that they would be welcomed. That

00:46:20 Speaker 33: this was sponsored by Gray and

00:46:23 Speaker 33: Bruce County Councils, so high visibility,

00:46:26 Speaker 33: lots of media coverage as well

00:46:31 Speaker 33: as well as you know newsletters

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

00:46:35 Speaker 33: would be recognized on our donor

00:46:39 Speaker 33: walls. and at community events as

00:46:43 Speaker 33: well. And next slide, please. So

00:46:50 Speaker 33: the family reflection room will become

00:46:53 Speaker 33: a place of comfort, respite, and

00:46:55 Speaker 33: regional pride. We envision that the

00:46:58 Speaker 33: room itself will have landmarks and

00:47:00 Speaker 33: pictures of local municipalities in both

00:47:01 Speaker 33: Gray and Bruce counties, so that

00:47:03 Speaker 33: and and the name. And and

00:47:05 Speaker 33: the names of the contributing municipalities

00:47:08 Speaker 33: as well as Gray and Bruce

00:47:11 Speaker 33: County. And next slide, please. And

00:47:13 Speaker 33: just that we'd like to consider

00:47:19 Speaker 33: local artwork and familiar landscapes, and

00:47:22 Speaker 33: to develop it into a real

00:47:25 Speaker 33: you know home-like atmosphere where piece

00:47:26 Speaker 33: of a resident is sleeping. The

00:47:29 Speaker 33: family will be able to come

00:47:32 Speaker 33: here for some. comfort and family

00:47:36 Speaker 33: time while they allow their family

00:47:38 Speaker 33: member to to rest and so

00:47:41 Speaker 33: this we think this will be

00:47:43 Speaker 33: a very well utilized part of

00:47:46 Speaker 33: Saugeen Hospital. And next slide, please.

00:47:48 Speaker 33: So this is just a little

00:47:51 Speaker 33: expansion that the family reflection room

00:47:52 Speaker 33: will be a place of comfort

00:47:55 Speaker 33: for respite and and also regional

00:47:58 Speaker 33: pride. elements would include paintings or

00:48:00 Speaker 33: photographs of familiar landscapes in Gray

00:48:04 Speaker 33: and Bruce counties. It'll have comfortable

00:48:05 Speaker 33: seating, armchairs, couches, and and some

00:48:10 Speaker 33: soft lighting to evoke that home

00:48:15 Speaker 33: atmosphere, and also some some you

00:48:18 Speaker 33: know reflective touches like bookshelves and

00:48:21 Speaker 33: quilts and a coffee and tea

00:48:24 Speaker 33: nook so people can refresh themselves

00:48:26 Speaker 33: and and and take a break.

00:48:30 Speaker 33: There will be a recognition wall

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

00:48:35 Speaker 33: that this room was in place

00:48:38 Speaker 33: because of support from the county

00:48:40 Speaker 33: councils of Gray and Bruce. And

00:48:42 Speaker 33: next slide, please. So we're hoping

00:48:45 Speaker 33: that that there will be a

00:48:49 Speaker 33: shared sponsorship, a legacy in compassionate

00:48:51 Speaker 33: care. That the counties of Gray

00:48:53 Speaker 33: and Bruce will be recognized as

00:48:58 Speaker 33: being proactive. That they Active that

00:49:01 Speaker 33: they are fulfilling, providing dignity and

00:49:06 Speaker 33: compassionate end of life support for

00:49:09 Speaker 33: residents, and as well as providing

00:49:11 Speaker 33: support for local families. And that

00:49:14 Speaker 33: this is a response to a

00:49:19 Speaker 33: real local needs that's been identified

00:49:21 Speaker 33: by the Ontario West Health Association

00:49:26 Speaker 33: and making hospice residents care accessible

00:49:30 Speaker 33: as well as closer to home

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

00:49:35 Speaker 33: would. envision visible community recognition through

00:49:37 Speaker 33: plaques and donor materials, and also

00:49:39 Speaker 33: family gratitude. It provides a legacy

00:49:41 Speaker 33: of regional stewardship that we would

00:49:45 Speaker 33: want to build across both counties,

00:49:47 Speaker 33: and will lay the groundwork for

00:49:50 Speaker 33: future collaboration. And then finally, just

00:49:53 Speaker 33: wanted to touch on our call

00:49:55 Speaker 33: for action. So the Sogin Hospice

00:49:57 Speaker 33: Board respectfully requests that Gray County

00:49:59 Speaker 33: Council considers directing its treasurer to

00:50:01 Speaker 33: work collaboratively with the treasurer of

00:50:04 Speaker 33: Bruce County, and the joint effort

00:50:06 Speaker 33: would aim to develop a feasibility

00:50:10 Speaker 33: report detailing the financial and operational

00:50:11 Speaker 33: considerations of a three hundred and

00:50:13 Speaker 33: fifty thousand dollar shared sponsorship for

00:50:15 Speaker 33: the family reflection room in the

00:50:18 Speaker 33: planned Sogin Hospice, and. This and

00:50:24 Speaker 33: just a note there: the the

00:50:25 Speaker 33: funding model may involve equal annual

00:50:27 Speaker 33: contributions from each county, spread over

00:50:28 Speaker 33: a term of one to five

00:50:31 Speaker 33: years, beginning in 2026. So it

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

00:50:35 Speaker 33: at once in one year. And

00:50:37 Speaker 33: once the joint report is complete,

00:50:40 Speaker 33: it will be presented to both

00:50:42 Speaker 33: Graham Bruce County Councils for review

00:50:45 Speaker 33: and a formal vote by their

00:50:47 Speaker 33: respective councilors. So that's kind of.

00:50:49 Speaker 33: I think we were kind

00:50:51 Speaker 33: of allotted ten minutes to

00:50:55 Speaker 33: provide those slides. So that was

00:50:58 Speaker 33: a fairly quick review. But I

00:51:02 Speaker 33: would we would invite questions. Chuck

00:51:06 Speaker 33: is our business manager, and Ken

00:51:09 Speaker 33: Brown is the first vice chair

00:51:12 Speaker 33: of the Sogin Hospice Board. I

00:51:13 Speaker 33: recently joined the board in May

00:51:14 Speaker 33: and and live in Mildmay. And

00:51:16 Speaker 29: but I worked at Southeast Grey

00:51:18 Speaker 29: Support Services and in Council McQueen's

00:51:20 Speaker 29: area for twenty years. supporting adults

00:51:22 Speaker 29: with developmental disabilities, so well informed

00:51:24 Speaker 29: about the Gray County aspects of

00:51:25 Speaker 29: of this of our area. So

00:51:27 Speaker 29: open to questions, Madam Warden or

00:51:28 Speaker 29: councilors that you may have to

00:51:30 Speaker 29: follow up on the slides. Okay,

00:51:32 Speaker 29: thank you. And first of all,

00:51:35 Speaker 29: thank you for the service that

00:51:36 Speaker 29: you provide for our residents in

00:51:37 Speaker 29: both Gray and Boost Counties. We

00:51:39 Speaker 29: very much appreciate that. and thank

00:51:41 Speaker 29: you for sharing your detailed presentation

00:51:43 Speaker 29: to give us that information upfront.

00:51:45 Speaker 29: So I will, in a moment,

00:51:47 Speaker 29: just put it out to Council

00:51:49 Speaker 29: Committee, the whole members, if they

00:51:51 Speaker 29: have any questions, and I'll direct

00:51:53 Speaker 29: the questions to you, or perhaps

00:51:54 Speaker 29: maybe to one of your team.

00:51:56 Speaker 29: And normally, what we do is

00:51:57 Speaker 29: we don't pass a motion at

00:51:59 Speaker 29: the end of a delegation. In

00:52:03 Speaker 29: your particular case, you have indicated

00:52:06 Speaker 29: that there is an ask, a

00:52:10 Speaker 29: financial ask, that would require a

00:52:14 Speaker 29: motion to to ask for a

00:52:17 Speaker 29: staff report, for example. So that

00:52:19 Speaker 29: may happen at the end, depending

00:52:21 Speaker 29: on on how the committee, the

00:52:23 Speaker 29: whole, so wishes. So with that,

00:52:27 Speaker 29: I will put it out to

00:52:28 Speaker 29: questions. I'll look online for any

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

00:52:33 Speaker 29: around the room. Okay, I'm not

00:52:37 Speaker 29: seeing any hands here in the

00:52:39 Speaker 29: room, and we'll begin with Doug

00:52:41 Speaker 29: Hutchinson online. Yes. Good morning, Warden

00:52:42 Speaker 33: and and staff. Question for Mister

00:52:44 Speaker 33: Foyzen. For Mr. Foyzen, you mentioned

00:52:46 Speaker 33: about the funding from Grey

00:52:51 Speaker 33: and Bruce Counties, and you also

00:52:56 Speaker 33: mentioned that Minto may be involved

00:52:58 Speaker 33: with some usage. Are you expecting

00:52:59 Speaker 33: funding from Minto or in some

00:53:01 Speaker 33: of the other regions in the

00:53:03 Speaker 29: area also? Yes, we we did

00:53:04 Speaker 29: a presentation for Minto Council back

00:53:05 Speaker 29: in October, and so asking them

00:53:08 Speaker 29: as well as a number of

00:53:09 Speaker 29: other municipalities that we went out

00:53:11 Speaker 29: just to give an update and

00:53:12 Speaker 29: let them know. Date and let

00:53:15 Speaker 29: them know that our building fund

00:53:17 Speaker 29: is active and consideration for budgetary

00:53:18 Speaker 29: consideration for 2026. Okay, thank you.

00:53:20 Speaker 29: Okay, thank you. I'll look around

00:53:22 Speaker 29: the room to see if there

00:53:25 Speaker 29: are further questions, and not seeing

00:53:26 Speaker 29: any in the room or online,

00:53:28 Speaker 29: I will just ask a question.

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

00:53:31 Speaker 29: before when when those when representation

00:53:32 Speaker 29: has come forward, and it's just

00:53:35 Speaker 29: a good opportunity for members of

00:53:37 Speaker 29: the public following along to understand

00:53:38 Speaker 29: as well. in the map it

00:53:40 Speaker 29: shows it shows your locations and

00:53:41 Speaker 29: where you hope to expand into

00:53:43 Speaker 29: your location, and it is wonderful

00:53:45 Speaker 29: that you're looking to to do

00:53:47 Speaker 29: that, extend your service. As the

00:53:49 Speaker 29: mayor of the Blue Mountains over

00:53:51 Speaker 29: in the east side of the

00:53:52 Speaker 29: county, we do a lot of

00:53:57 Speaker 29: work with Georgian Triangle Hospice. So

00:54:00 Speaker 29: I just wonder if you could

00:54:04 Speaker 29: just explain what the relationship is

00:54:08 Speaker 29: between the hospices around the region

00:54:10 Speaker 34: in order to make sure that

00:54:12 Speaker 34: we're doing a wraparound opportunity for

00:54:16 Speaker 34: all residents in Gray County to

00:54:18 Speaker 34: find. some some place close to

00:54:20 Speaker 34: home, as you're trying to do

00:54:22 Speaker 34: further south in our county. Yeah,

00:54:25 Speaker 34: for to Chuck to answer

00:54:29 Speaker 34: that, I think Kim can handle

00:54:33 Speaker 34: that because he's been part of

00:54:35 Speaker 34: this for 12 years. Yeah. Okay,

00:54:37 Speaker 34: we've been working discussing this with

00:54:40 Speaker 34: Chapman House here in Shores Hospice

00:54:42 Speaker 34: and Gray Bruce Hospice. Originally spearheaded

00:54:44 Speaker 34: this project, this was going to

00:54:46 Speaker 34: be a satellite of Chapman of

00:54:48 Speaker 34: Gray Bruce Hospice, along with Chapman

00:54:52 Speaker 34: House, but we took over about

00:54:55 Speaker 34: four years ago. We haven't been

00:54:57 Speaker 34: doing a great deal because while

00:55:00 Speaker 34: Chapman House is providing the service

00:55:02 Speaker 34: presently, we're still focusing on organizing

00:55:03 Speaker 34: infrastructure, government relations, the build. So

00:55:05 Speaker 34: it will be. It won't be

00:55:07 Speaker 29: for another year until we've got

00:55:09 Speaker 29: something concrete to offer. that we'll

00:55:11 Speaker 29: be reaching out formally to the

00:55:14 Speaker 29: other two hospices to see how

00:55:20 Speaker 29: we can work together. Right now,

00:55:24 Speaker 29: we're strictly on paper, but we

00:55:26 Speaker 34: are looking forward to working closely

00:55:28 Speaker 34: with them when we have shovels

00:55:29 Speaker 34: in the ground and we're getting

00:55:30 Speaker 34: closer to opening. Okay, thank you.

00:55:32 Speaker 34: So, just to clarify, then, when

00:55:33 Speaker 29: you say the other two, you

00:55:35 Speaker 29: mean Chapin House and the one

00:55:36 Speaker 29: that's located in Collingwood, because that

00:55:38 Speaker 29: is the one that. that no,

00:55:39 Speaker 29: I was saying here in Shores

00:55:42 Speaker 29: in Tiverton. Okay, we haven't had

00:55:44 Speaker 29: any correspondence with Collingwood yet, but

00:55:45 Speaker 29: we will once we. Okay. Okay.

00:55:47 Speaker 29: Thank you very much. That that

00:55:48 Speaker 29: is very helpful. Okay. So with

00:55:50 Speaker 29: that, then I'll just look to

00:55:51 Speaker 29: council to many of the whole

00:55:53 Speaker 29: members to see if there is

00:55:54 Speaker 29: a will to do a motion.

00:55:57 Speaker 29: It does say that you're here

00:55:58 Speaker 29: early in your plans, which is

00:56:00 Speaker 29: always. very helpful for us to

00:56:01 Speaker 29: be able to follow through and

00:56:04 Speaker 29: follow through on the progress. And

00:56:07 Speaker 29: I'm not seeing any hands to

00:56:09 Speaker 29: make a motion, so it looks

00:56:11 Speaker 29: like we will just will will

00:56:12 Speaker 29: take this information away with us.

00:56:14 Speaker 29: And then, as if you keep

00:56:15 Speaker 29: in touch with our with our

00:56:17 Speaker 29: county staff as you get closer

00:56:19 Speaker 29: to particular moments in time where

00:56:22 Speaker 29: you really do need to ask

00:56:24 Speaker 29: about commitments into the next year,

00:56:25 Speaker 29: and then we'll be able to

00:56:27 Speaker 29: entertain information coming from staff about

00:56:30 Speaker 29: that. So, thank you very much.

00:56:32 Speaker 29: Thank you. Thank you very much.

00:56:33 Speaker 29: Okay. Thank you. So that concludes

00:56:35 Speaker 29: all of our delegations for this

00:56:37 Speaker 29: morning. So we will move on

00:56:39 Speaker 29: to item five, which would be

00:56:40 Speaker 29: the call for consentage items that

00:56:44 Speaker 29: need to be pulled. There are

00:56:50 Speaker 29: eleven items in item six that

00:56:51 Speaker 29: are scheduled on the consent agenda.

00:56:53 Speaker 29: Eleven items going down to six

00:56:54 Speaker 29: K. So I will just ask

00:56:56 Speaker 29: now for any hands to be

00:56:59 Speaker 29: raised on any items in the

00:57:00 Speaker 29: consent agenda that somebody wishes to

00:57:02 Speaker 29: have a separate discussion for. I

00:57:03 Speaker 29: know there is a. relationship in

00:57:05 Speaker 29: in terms of the correspondence that

00:57:07 Speaker 29: came with regards to the conservation

00:57:09 Speaker 29: authorities, but of course we have

00:57:10 Speaker 29: that topic coming up later in

00:57:12 Speaker 29: our in our items for discussion

00:57:15 Speaker 29: already. Okay, I do not see

00:57:17 Speaker 29: any hands up, Madam Clerk, for

00:57:24 Speaker 29: any items to be pulled from

00:57:26 Speaker 29: those eleven items. So in that

00:57:34 Speaker 29: case, then it's recommended that the

00:57:36 Speaker 29: following consent agenda items be received,

00:57:37 Speaker 29: and that staff be authorized to

00:57:39 Speaker 29: take the action. Be authorized to

00:57:41 Speaker 29: take the actions necessary to give

00:57:43 Speaker 29: effect to the recommendations in the

00:57:45 Speaker 29: staff reports, and that correspondence be

00:57:48 Speaker 29: supported or received for information as

00:57:51 Speaker 29: recommended in the consent agenda.

00:57:53 Speaker 29: May I ask for a move?

00:57:56 Speaker 29: Move by the Deputy Warden, seconded

00:57:57 Speaker 29: by Councillor Dickert. Any discussion? All

00:57:59 Speaker 29: those in favour? And that motion

00:58:02 Speaker 29: is carried. Madam Clerk. Right. Doing

00:58:04 Speaker 29: well for time. We will move

00:58:07 Speaker 29: on. Two items for discussion. So

00:58:09 Speaker 29: the first item to get on

00:58:12 Speaker 29: the floor for discussion. It's recommended

00:58:14 Speaker 29: that the Budget and Finance Committee

00:58:17 Speaker 29: meeting minutes, dated November twenty six,

00:58:20 Speaker 29: twenty twenty five, be adopted as

00:58:22 Speaker 29: presented, and the following resolutions contained

00:58:25 Speaker 29: therein be endorsed. Number one, that

00:58:28 Speaker 29: report FRBFC twenty two twenty five

00:58:30 Speaker 29: regarding corporate financial update as September

00:58:32 Speaker 29: thirtieth be received for information, and

00:58:35 Speaker 29: number two, that the thirty thousand

00:58:36 Speaker 29: dollar expenditure. for the social pinpoint

00:58:39 Speaker 29: be referred to county council for

00:58:41 Speaker 29: further discussion in the 2026 budget

00:58:43 Speaker 29: discussions. Number three, that the matter

00:58:45 Speaker 29: regarding the proposed increase to asset

00:58:47 Speaker 29: management reserve contributions for 2026 be

00:58:49 Speaker 29: referred to county council during the

00:58:51 Speaker 29: 2026 budget discussions. Number four, regarding

00:58:52 Speaker 29: the possibility of the GTR GTR

00:58:54 Speaker 29: fare increases, be referred to county

00:58:56 Speaker 29: council 2026 budget discussions. And number

00:58:57 Speaker 29: five, that the report F. That

00:59:01 Speaker 29: the report FRBFC twenty four twenty

00:59:02 Speaker 29: five regarding the twenty twenty six

00:59:05 Speaker 29: draft budget be received, and that

00:59:07 Speaker 29: finally number six that the twenty

00:59:09 Speaker 29: twenty six draft budget be presented

00:59:11 Speaker 29: and be forwarded to county council

00:59:13 Speaker 29: for consideration. So this, of course,

00:59:15 Speaker 29: these were these were minutes that

00:59:17 Speaker 29: were done at a very close

00:59:19 Speaker 29: knit in terms of timeline. Meeting

00:59:20 Speaker 29: the budget and finance committee met

00:59:22 Speaker 29: on November twenty six, and then

00:59:26 Speaker 29: right next week we are already

00:59:28 Speaker 29: discussing the budget, and here we

00:59:30 Speaker 29: are gathered. ready, and poised to

00:59:34 Speaker 29: do our second part of the

00:59:35 Speaker 29: discussions tomorrow. So these items here,

00:59:37 Speaker 29: this is just simply to be

00:59:41 Speaker 29: receiving the minutes and the the

00:59:45 Speaker 29: motions that were contained therein, which

00:59:48 Speaker 29: is something we're already acting on.

00:59:51 Speaker 29: So any discussion about these items

00:59:53 Speaker 29: should really be reserved for tomorrow.

00:59:55 Speaker 29: Tomorrow during the day, as we

00:59:59 Speaker 29: crack open the draft budget and

01:00:01 Speaker 29: continue with our deliberations. So with

01:00:07 Speaker 29: that, I'll ask for a mover

01:00:08 Speaker 29: and a seconder. Move by Councillor

01:00:11 Speaker 29: Mackey. Seconder. Seconded, seconded by Councillor

01:00:13 Speaker 29: Carlton, to receive these minutes and

01:00:17 Speaker 29: the motions that are contained therein.

01:00:19 Speaker 29: Is there any discussion? Okay. Seeing

01:00:21 Speaker 29: no hands, then I will call

01:00:23 Speaker 29: the vote. All those in favor,

01:00:26 Speaker 29: and that motion is carried. Thank

01:00:28 Speaker 29: you. Okay. So the next one

01:00:31 Speaker 29: required for discussion is item seven

01:00:33 Speaker 29: B, and it is recommended that

01:00:35 Speaker 29: PDR CW seventy twenty. CW 7025

01:00:37 Speaker 29: be received, and that county staff

01:00:40 Speaker 29: be directed to submit report PDR

01:00:43 Speaker 29: CW 7025 as the County of

01:00:45 Speaker 29: Grey comments on on environmental registry

01:00:47 Speaker 29: posting 0251257, and that the County

01:00:50 Speaker 29: of Grey requests assurance from

01:00:52 Speaker 29: the province that the establishment of

01:00:55 Speaker 29: the new provincial Ontario provincial conservation

01:00:57 Speaker 29: agency will will not be funded

01:00:59 Speaker 29: by the municipal portion of the

01:01:03 Speaker 29: conservation authority levies. and that it

01:01:06 Speaker 29: will not be funded by from

01:01:06 Speaker 29: current Conservation Authority budgets, and that

01:01:11 Speaker 29: Grey County requests that the province

01:01:13 Speaker 29: pause on passing any further changes

01:01:15 Speaker 29: to the Conservation Authority structure until

01:01:16 Speaker 29: further analysis has been conducted and

01:01:18 Speaker 29: additional details are released on the

01:01:22 Speaker 29: new proposed models, and that Report

01:01:24 Speaker 29: PDR CW seventy twenty five be

01:01:26 Speaker 29: shared with members of Provincial Parliament

01:01:28 Speaker 29: Paul Vickers and Brian Sanderson, as

01:01:29 Speaker 29: well as member municipalities aim. Member

01:01:31 Speaker 29: municipalities, AMO, and conservation authorities having

01:01:32 Speaker 29: jurisdiction in Gray County, and that

01:01:34 Speaker 29: staff be authorized to carry out

01:01:36 Speaker 29: the above prior to county council

01:01:40 Speaker 29: approval, as per Section 26.6B of

01:01:42 Speaker 29: the Procedural Bylaw 51.513422. So, with

01:01:43 Speaker 29: that, may I ask for a

01:01:45 Speaker 29: mover and a seconder to get

01:01:47 Speaker 29: it on the floor? Okay. It's

01:01:50 Speaker 29: moved by Councilor Gregg, seconded by

01:01:51 Speaker 29: Councilor Dobrin. It's now on the

01:01:53 Speaker 29: floor for discussion. So, I. do

01:01:55 Speaker 29: know that Deputy CAO, the Deputy

01:01:57 Speaker 29: CAO, and Director Taylor will be

01:02:02 Speaker 29: presenting some information with a slideshow.

01:02:04 Speaker 29: I do recognize that CAO Tim

01:02:05 Speaker 29: Lanthier is also present in the

01:02:06 Speaker 29: room with additional expertise that may

01:02:08 Speaker 29: come in handy in terms of

01:02:10 Speaker 35: the discussion. Thank you very much

01:02:11 Speaker 35: for spending your time here today.

01:02:13 Speaker 35: And is Jennifer Vincent? No. Okay.

01:02:15 Speaker 35: There. I'm sorry. Oh. Okay. There

01:02:17 Speaker 35: you go. Sorry, I didn't see

01:02:20 Speaker 35: you there behind the chair. Okay.

01:02:22 Speaker 35: We also have representation from Saugatuck.

01:02:24 Speaker 35: Also have representation from Sogee Valley,

01:02:25 Speaker 35: the general manager. General manager, so

01:02:28 Speaker 35: thank you very much for both

01:02:30 Speaker 35: of you being present here today.

01:02:33 Speaker 35: I will turn it over,

01:02:35 Speaker 35: turn to the lectern for the

01:02:37 Speaker 35: WCAO. Good morning, Warden. Good morning,

01:02:39 Speaker 35: members of County Council, and through

01:02:41 Speaker 35: you, I'm going to go through

01:02:42 Speaker 35: a slide deck which highlights some

01:02:45 Speaker 35: of the key parts from the

01:02:46 Speaker 35: report. I recognize it's a fairly

01:02:49 Speaker 35: lengthy report that's in front of

01:02:51 Speaker 35: you today. It's been drawn together

01:02:54 Speaker 35: through some collaboration both within Gray

01:02:58 Speaker 35: County. Collaboration both within Grey County,

01:03:00 Speaker 35: with some of our member municipalities,

01:03:02 Speaker 35: and as indicated, with conservation authorities

01:03:05 Speaker 35: that that have a role

01:03:08 Speaker 35: to play within within Grey County.

01:03:09 Speaker 35: So I'm I'm hoping to pull

01:03:11 Speaker 35: out some of the the finer

01:03:12 Speaker 35: elements of the report to to

01:03:14 Speaker 35: highlight those for councils awareness. So,

01:03:17 Speaker 35: so a quick bit of background:

01:03:18 Speaker 35: conservation authorities are formed underneath the

01:03:20 Speaker 35: Conservation Authorities Act, that was passed

01:03:22 Speaker 35: in 1946. It hasn't been a

01:03:25 Speaker 35: static act by any stretch of

01:03:27 Speaker 35: imagination, and has gone through

01:03:28 Speaker 35: successive. changes, including one of the

01:03:30 Speaker 35: most notable ones, which was probably

01:03:33 Speaker 35: in 1954, after following Hurricane Hazel.

01:03:36 Speaker 35: The Act has been strengthened and

01:03:38 Speaker 35: changed, and and focused over various

01:03:39 Speaker 35: different points in time. Most recently,

01:03:41 Speaker 35: to introduce a single mandate for

01:03:42 Speaker 35: a single policy regulation for all

01:03:45 Speaker 35: 36 conservation authorities, and to introduce

01:03:46 Speaker 35: some key performance indicators that conservation

01:03:48 Speaker 35: authorities need to report to the

01:03:51 Speaker 35: province on. That's important because it's

01:03:53 Speaker 35: one of the. things that the

01:03:55 Speaker 35: the provincial proposals in front of

01:03:57 Speaker 35: us today are actually indicating are

01:04:00 Speaker 35: are seeking to address. And so

01:04:02 Speaker 35: some of that stuff is already

01:04:04 Speaker 35: within the act. The act has

01:04:08 Speaker 35: been changed by the current provincial

01:04:09 Speaker 35: government in order to help address

01:04:11 Speaker 35: some of the development priorities that

01:04:15 Speaker 35: they've indicated, including the building of

01:04:17 Speaker 35: one and a half million new

01:04:19 Speaker 35: homes. They are unique in many

01:04:21 Speaker 35: respects as a as a as

01:04:24 Speaker 35: an agency and as a body.

01:04:28 Speaker 35: They are formed at the request

01:04:31 Speaker 35: of their member municipalities. So

01:04:33 Speaker 35: the Act creates a legislative environment

01:04:35 Speaker 35: for a conservation to be a

01:04:37 Speaker 35: conservation authority to be formed,

01:04:40 Speaker 35: but the conservation authority being formed

01:04:42 Speaker 35: is a municipal process. It's embedded

01:04:44 Speaker 35: in local municipalities who have the

01:04:48 Speaker 35: voice to request the establishment

01:04:50 Speaker 35: of a conservation authority, have the

01:04:53 Speaker 35: ability to request the amalgamation, growth,

01:04:56 Speaker 35: change of mandate of a conservation

01:04:58 Speaker 35: authority, and have the ability

01:05:02 Speaker 35: to request the dissolution of a

01:05:03 Speaker 35: conservation. authority. So, whilst they are

01:05:04 Speaker 35: formed by provincial legislation and operate

01:05:06 Speaker 35: within a legislative context and have

01:05:09 Speaker 35: reporting relationships to ministries, which has

01:05:12 Speaker 35: changed over time, they are in

01:05:14 Speaker 35: essence formed at the request, changed

01:05:16 Speaker 35: at the request of the member

01:05:18 Speaker 35: municipalities. That is structured through boards

01:05:19 Speaker 35: of governance, which currently represent just

01:05:21 Speaker 35: member municipalities. Again, a change which

01:05:24 Speaker 35: has strengthened municipal voices over recent

01:05:25 Speaker 35: years around. the conservation authority tables,

01:05:28 Speaker 35: again, that's important because some of

01:05:31 Speaker 35: the changes that are being proposed

01:05:34 Speaker 35: actually shake the change that fundamental

01:05:36 Speaker 35: relationship between municipalities and conservation authorities

01:05:37 Speaker 35: by introducing a new provincial oversight

01:05:38 Speaker 35: body, which has fairly significant powers

01:05:40 Speaker 35: of control over the work of

01:05:41 Speaker 35: of local municipal local conservation authorities.

01:05:44 Speaker 35: So there's 36 of them in

01:05:45 Speaker 35: the province at this point in

01:05:48 Speaker 35: time. As I say. there's a

01:05:50 Speaker 35: history of amalgamations, a history of

01:05:54 Speaker 35: conservation authorities being created and changed

01:05:56 Speaker 35: over time. But currently, there are

01:05:57 Speaker 35: 36 of them. Once again, they're

01:06:00 Speaker 35: established at the request of

01:06:03 Speaker 35: member municipalities. And in Grey County,

01:06:05 Speaker 35: at the minute, there are four

01:06:08 Speaker 35: operating conservation authorities: Saugeen and Grey-Swobbel

01:06:11 Speaker 35: being the two largest, but we

01:06:12 Speaker 35: do have Grand River Conservation Authority

01:06:13 Speaker 35: in the south and Nottawasaga, obviously,

01:06:15 Speaker 35: over towards the east. One of

01:06:18 Speaker 35: the other things, which is perhaps

01:06:20 Speaker 35: a little bit silent in some

01:06:23 Speaker 35: of the materials coming from the

01:06:25 Speaker 35: province, but we feel is an

01:06:27 Speaker 35: important part of this conversation, is

01:06:28 Speaker 35: source water protection. As we know,

01:06:30 Speaker 35: in in Grey and Bruce counties,

01:06:31 Speaker 35: and particularly within Grey, we have

01:06:33 Speaker 35: a very strong reliance on groundwater

01:06:35 Speaker 35: and water supplies, which residents pull

01:06:37 Speaker 35: through wells and and rely on

01:06:39 Speaker 35: for their drinking water. And so,

01:06:43 Speaker 35: source water protection is a body

01:06:44 Speaker 35: of work which sits very closely

01:06:46 Speaker 35: aligned with. conservation authorities, and in

01:06:49 Speaker 35: Grey County we have one, two

01:06:50 Speaker 35: source water protection regions and two

01:06:54 Speaker 35: source water protection committees, and so

01:06:55 Speaker 35: that's the fine lines and the

01:06:59 Speaker 35: thicker lines on this map

01:07:02 Speaker 35: in front of you, and they

01:07:06 Speaker 35: help manage and ensure risks are