Owen Sound Committee - Corporate Services Meeting Transcript — January 15, 2026

00:00:25 Speaker 01: At number two, we have a call for additional business.

00:00:36 Speaker 01: Anyone have any additional business?

00:00:39 Speaker 01: this evening?

00:00:43 Speaker 01: I might have one item: declarations of interest.

00:00:47 Speaker 01: Anyone have anything to declare?

00:00:54 Speaker 01: At number four, confirmation of minutes.

00:01:02 Speaker 01: That was the minutes of the Corporate Services Committee meeting held on November six, 2025.

00:01:11 Speaker 01: Does someone want to move those minutes?

00:01:17 Speaker 01: Deputy Mayor Greig, thank you.

00:01:23 Speaker 01: And I should also mention that we have two members online this evening.

00:01:37 Speaker 02: We have Councillor Hamley and Kelly Carmichael.

00:01:46 Speaker 02: So, if there's nothing to change in the minutes, then I will call the vote.

00:01:52 Speaker 02: All those in favor?

00:01:57 Speaker 02: And we've got two yeses on screen, so that carries.

00:02:02 Speaker 02: At number five this evening, deputations and presentations.

00:02:10 Speaker 02: We have a presentation from the City Clerk regarding committee structure discussions.

00:02:15 Speaker 02: So, we'll turn it over to Brianna.

00:02:22 Speaker 02: Thank you, Chair.

00:02:29 Speaker 02: In 2024, Council directed that staff prepare a report on committee structure options.

00:02:37 Speaker 02: This report was presented to Council on December 15, 2025.

00:02:49 Speaker 02: At that meeting, Council requested that staff consult with the city's standing committees and the Art Gallery Advisory Committee prior to them making a decision.

00:03:05 Speaker 02: The report and presentation that went to Council was linked through the meeting agenda.

00:03:17 Speaker 02: Today, I will present a few background slides and then facilitate the discussion of four questions that were provided to you with the agenda.

00:03:34 Speaker 02: The purpose of this discussion is to receive feedback and insight from public members.

00:03:48 Speaker 02: This feedback will be presented to council in February, and if council decides to make changes to the committee structure, they will not take effect until 2027.

00:04:03 Speaker 02: So, what is a committee?

00:04:11 Speaker 02: The Municipal Act says that a committee includes advisory committees, subcommittees, or similar entities established by Council.

00:04:30 Speaker 02: The purpose of a committee is to assist Council in decision making, policy development, and oversight of specific areas, deeper discussion of issues, and an avenue for public input.

00:04:45 Speaker 02: For Owen Sound, committees are subject to the same procedural bylaw requirements as Council meetings.

00:05:03 Speaker 02: Committees are flexible tools for governance, and there is no right or wrong answer for how they should be structured.

00:05:29 Speaker 02: As you can imagine, every municipality has a different approach to committees.

00:05:34 Speaker 03: Council needs to determine what the right fit is for Owen Sound.

00:05:40 Speaker 03: This is a visual representation of our committee structure.

00:05:50 Speaker 03: We have three standing committees, one advisory committee, and one ad hoc committee.

00:05:56 Speaker 03: Our standing and advisory committees have public members, and our ad hoc committee does not.

00:06:05 Speaker 03: There are five public members and four council members on standing committees.

00:06:12 Speaker 03: On the advisory committee, we have five public members and two Council members.

00:06:20 Speaker 03: As you know, Council retains decision-making authority.

00:06:22 Speaker 03: Committees may be delegated specific tasks.

00:06:30 Speaker 03: Committees are used by Council to deepen discussion, hear deputations, and bring subject matter expertise.

00:06:37 Speaker 03: But Council does retain decision-making authority.

00:06:43 Speaker 04: Minutes for all these committees are provided to Council for approval.

00:06:55 Speaker 04: When considering committee structure, we are looking at factors such as the number and types of committees, the involvement of public members, and other elements, such as the time of meetings,

00:07:10 Speaker 04: to ensure that decision-making processes are transparent, inclusive, and aligned with the community's long-term vision.

00:07:20 Speaker 04: Staff explored a variety of committee structure options, but six were presented to Council for consideration.

00:07:40 Speaker 04: The options are: Option One, which was to maintain the current structure with enhancements; Option Two, transition to a two-committee structure; Option Three, transition to a three-committee structure.

00:07:50 Speaker 04: Option four: transition to a four-committee structure.

00:07:57 Speaker 04: Option five: transition to a seven-committee structure, or option six: transition to an expanded committee of the whole structure.

00:08:14 Speaker 04: Today's discussion at Committee is not about which of these options should be selected, but about obtaining feedback from public members that can help inform Council's decision on the structure.

00:08:39 Speaker 04: Now that I've given you the background, I will turn it over to the Committee for discussion.

00:08:53 Speaker 04: So, the first question I'm presenting is: As a public member, what challenges or drawbacks have you observed with the city's current committee structure?

00:09:04 Speaker 04: Okay, we have two public members with us this evening, so no pressure, Neil.

00:09:09 Speaker 04: Do you have any comments or thoughts?

00:09:11 Speaker 04: I don't.

00:09:15 Speaker 04: I guess I don't think about the Committee structure in itself all that often.

00:09:27 Speaker 04: You know, it's sort of been set, and I've just accepted that's the way it is.

00:09:38 Speaker 04: So I really haven't put the thought process into thinking what would be a better way to do this.

00:09:53 Speaker 01: I have more as a member; I would have more comments than I would as to the structure.

00:10:07 Speaker 02: I don't find the structure.

00:10:12 Speaker 02: Sometimes I wonder about the...

00:10:19 Speaker 02: Sometimes I see stuff that ends up at City Council, and I don't know what Committee that would have gone through.

00:10:33 Speaker 03: And I don't know whether everything goes through a committee.

00:10:42 Speaker 01: So I just—I don't feel that I have an understanding sometimes of what's getting coming to Council, whether it went [through] what Committee might have gone through.

00:11:05 Speaker 04: But I honestly haven't thought about it a lot.

00:11:10 Speaker 04: To be honest, I'm not going to be that helpful to you maybe in this discussion.

00:11:17 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:11:17 Speaker 04: Kelly.

00:11:20 Speaker 04: Do you have any thoughts?

00:11:29 Speaker 04: Hi, I'm sorry that I can't be there.

00:11:41 Speaker 04: I'm a little under the weather today, and also having IT issues, so I'm going to keep my camera off because I think that's helping.

00:12:05 Speaker 04: I echo Neil's comments; you know, the structure is kind of hard way to think about it as a public member because it's hard to know how it would function under a different structure.

00:12:19 Speaker 04: All we can really speak to, I think, is kind of our experience over the last three years on the Committee.

00:12:42 Speaker 01: I did look at some of the reports around alternate models and that sort of thing,

00:13:03 Speaker 01: and I saw that one of the concerns that was kind of a con to moving to some of the other models that was flagged was that there might be less specialization for Committees,

00:13:25 Speaker 02: and so it would be difficult for public members to kind of develop expertise to have input.

00:13:32 Speaker 02: And I would push back on that a little bit.

00:13:44 Speaker 03: I can only speak to my experience being on the Corporate Services Committee.

00:13:56 Speaker 03: I don't know what the variety of items that would come to the other committees would be, but I would say that the items that come up through Corporate Services are quite varied and broad,

00:14:16 Speaker 03: and so it's hard for me to imagine that a committee that is designed hypothetically on a strategic focus or a strategic goal would be more difficult for public members.

00:14:32 Speaker 03: I think that you develop the expertise—if we could call it that.

00:14:57 Speaker 01: I don't know that I would describe myself as an expert at this point, but you know, a knowledge base based on the same sorts of issues coming through the Committee on a repeated basis,

00:15:15 Speaker 01: and you have a little bit more background and you have a little bit more understanding about how they've developed over the course of your term.

00:15:33 Speaker 04: And I would expect that that would be similar whether it's by division and department or by goal.

00:15:46 Speaker 04: Like I think that the knowledge that we as public members develop comes just from exposure.

00:15:59 Speaker 04: So as long as there's kind of that repeated exposure of issues coming back a few times, then I think that that would remain.

00:16:16 Speaker 04: I think it is a challenge to get your bearings on the Committee.

00:16:23 Speaker 04: It is hard to kind of get your hands around what we're talking about and have valuable input.

00:16:29 Speaker 04: So I don't know if there's more...

00:16:42 Speaker 04: And maybe I'm jumping the gun to the next question a little bit,

00:17:01 Speaker 04: but more of a kind of orientation that could happen around issues that are likely to come up at the Committee as opposed to just procedure.

00:17:12 Speaker 04: The process is one thing,

00:17:30 Speaker 04: and I think that's a piece that you guys do a pretty good job of kind of getting us—you know—familiar with how it's going to work and what we know the procedure and that sort of

00:17:44 Speaker 04: thing.

00:18:02 Speaker 04: But maybe at the beginning, if there are issues, and maybe that would be easier where there was a Committee organized around a strategic goal or initiative or however it is,

00:18:15 Speaker 04: to do a little bit more grounding in what those issues are and what some of the historic concerns may have been wherever that's possible.

00:18:27 Speaker 04: Again, I don't know if that's feasible, but for the first year,

00:18:46 Speaker 02: I feel like a lot of the items that come up—it's the first time we're hearing about them as members—and so it is difficult to kind of know how to have meaningful impact providing comments.

00:18:55 Speaker 02: I hope that's helpful.

00:18:57 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:18:59 Speaker 02: That was helpful.

00:19:01 Speaker 02: All very good feedback.

00:19:11 Speaker 01: So, Breanna, we'll turn it back to you.

00:19:19 Speaker 01: Doesn't want to go to number two.

00:19:24 Speaker 01: I think Christina and I are playing tag.

00:19:31 Speaker 01: Okay, so the second question, which Kelly did sort of—I think—have a couple of ideas.

00:19:38 Speaker 01: She just presented, but happy to hear more.

00:19:44 Speaker 03: Are what are your proposed solutions to those challenges?

00:19:50 Speaker 03: Neil, do you have any suggestions on how things could go better?

00:19:57 Speaker 03: Yeah, I think we're still talking about just the structure of the Committees.

00:20:05 Speaker 03: I don't really—you know—I don't have any suggested specifics.

00:20:10 Speaker 03: Yeah, I'd like Kelly to read through what the options are and stuff.

00:20:20 Speaker 03: But I don't think we're at that stage of the discussion, so I don't really have any suggestions to the structure.

00:20:27 Speaker 03: Anything further to add, Kelly?

00:20:31 Speaker 03: You pretty much summed a lot of it up.

00:20:37 Speaker 03: But if you have anything further...

00:20:41 Speaker 03: Um...

00:20:52 Speaker 04: I think that, yeah, I mean, as I said, maybe like an orientation by topic, as opposed to just procedure,

00:21:09 Speaker 04: I think would be helpful mechanism for public members to be a little bit more informed about their commentary and the framework that they're operating in.

00:21:20 Speaker 04: Um...

00:21:26 Speaker 04: Yeah, maybe I'm trying to just forget the structure piece because I feel like that's throwing us off a little bit.

00:21:42 Speaker 04: I like having other public members on the Committee, so I would be hesitant to move to a model that you know reduces the number of public members too much on any given Committee.

00:21:57 Speaker 04: I think that it helps each committee member have a little bit more confidence when they hear another public member speak.

00:22:17 Speaker 04: I know for myself, it kind of makes me... um... just feel a little bit more confident being able to offer my two cents to hear somebody else's first or second or however it may go.

00:22:32 Speaker 04: It just to kind of have that conversation be active.

00:22:46 Speaker 04: So I think whatever we can do to make sure that there are enough voices there that it is an active conversation makes it actually easier for those public members to participate.

00:22:55 Speaker 04: Yeah, I'll leave it there for now.

00:22:57 Speaker 04: Okay, great.

00:23:06 Speaker 04: And I don't think that we necessarily have to keep it specific to the question that is on the screen.

00:23:22 Speaker 04: Like all feedback about your experience on Committee, and you know any issues whatsoever that you've experienced over the three years, whether it's feeling unsure about what you're doing or the process,

00:23:48 Speaker 02: or because even as a new Councillor coming in, sitting on Committees for the first time, we walk in in the same boat, having absolutely no idea what we're doing.

00:24:08 Speaker 04: So it is definitely a steep learning curve, and I think more orientation would be vital to this process.

00:24:17 Speaker 04: So we'll go over to Brianna for question three.

00:24:20 Speaker 04: Thank you, Chair.

00:24:29 Speaker 04: You've led perfectly right into my next question, which is: what else should council know to help them with their decision about the city's committee structure?

00:24:41 Speaker 04: So, just an open-ended question on any advice that you might have.

00:24:46 Speaker 04: Any thoughts, Neil?

00:24:47 Speaker 04: I just...

00:24:50 Speaker 04: I want to agree.

00:24:56 Speaker 04: I don't have anything that Kelly has said that I disagree with; I agree and support it, and I know my original feeling.

00:25:20 Speaker 04: And while you get more comfortable, still when you first arrive here, it's—I've been in hundreds of meetings—and I haven't been in this type of a structure.

00:25:38 Speaker 01: The meeting is quite new and formal to me, and it certainly takes a while to get any level of comfort with it.

00:25:58 Speaker 01: And the IT stuff as well; it also takes some time to get comfortable with.

00:26:17 Speaker 05: I think the one thing that I would think about driving this: even though we have these committee structures for public input,

00:26:28 Speaker 05: there's a perception—real or not—that it is difficult to have your opinion given to council.

00:26:47 Speaker 04: And I would be cautious, or I would make that part of a central thought in putting the committee structure together, that the public has an opportunity to contribute in the easiest way possible to council,

00:27:13 Speaker 04: or to the committee and then back to council.

00:27:24 Speaker 01: That's great feedback; this is like part of the report: figuring out how to do this better because it hasn't always been this way.

00:27:47 Speaker 01: Scott would know better because long before I came, they used to meet in the basement around a table, there were no cameras, there was no buttons and microphones,

00:28:04 Speaker 01: and they would just talk around a table.

00:28:10 Speaker 01: And maybe that's a better way to do things.

00:28:16 Speaker 01: And maybe this isn't the best solution.

00:28:27 Speaker 01: So that's why we're asking members about your experience and how you feel it could be less intimidating if... if it were done differently.

00:28:43 Speaker 06: So all feedback is good feedback.

00:28:49 Speaker 06: Kelly, anything from you on this one?

00:29:03 Speaker 06: Yeah, I think that's an interesting point: the formality is definitely a bit of a barrier for ease of participation.

00:29:22 Speaker 06: I would say I understand the need for having transparency in the content of the meetings; so I understand why they're broadcast.

00:29:48 Speaker 06: And I also think there's a point to be made that holding the meeting in the formal chambers lends kind of weight to the proceedings and to the opinions we are giving,

00:30:06 Speaker 06: which makes us feel valued in a certain way.

00:30:20 Speaker 06: But I do wonder if a more informal model for committees with public members might facilitate more open discussion.

00:30:39 Speaker 06: You know, even as Neil pointed out regarding IT: while it's relatively straightforward—you press the button, you release the button,

00:31:02 Speaker 06: and somebody else has the mic—it often does kind of break up our conversation because it gets thrown off; no one is in the right place for the mic, or whatever may be.

00:31:19 Speaker 06: As far as other points on how to make decisions...

00:31:24 Speaker 06: I am interested.

00:31:37 Speaker 06: I was thinking a lot about the recruitment piece because it was interesting to see the challenges that there have been with recruitment for applications for committee participation.

00:31:59 Speaker 04: And I know efforts are made in that area to try to get the word out.

00:32:11 Speaker 04: And I don't know what the solution is,

00:32:23 Speaker 04: but I don't believe that it's because there's a lack of people in Owen Sound who have an interest in civic participation and in what the city is doing.

00:32:36 Speaker 04: So I wonder if there's a better way to let people know what their experience might be like as a public member of a committee.

00:32:44 Speaker 04: Because... um...

00:32:53 Speaker 04: I wonder if people just don't have a sense of, or of what they could offer to the committee.

00:33:10 Speaker 04: So that's an area that I think deserves continued thought and exploration.

00:33:25 Speaker 04: I don't necessarily have a solution, and I know it's something that has been on the minds of city staff; they're doing their best.

00:33:33 Speaker 04: But it is a curious problem to me.

00:33:37 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:33:42 Speaker 04: Also, I would just add: for me at least, you know, a daytime meeting would not be feasible.

00:33:58 Speaker 04: So I know there's some question about whether the meeting should be in the day or if they should be in the evening—that sort of thing.

00:34:19 Speaker 04: I think there's always going to be—you're never going to be able to please everyone—but I think 5:30 is a pretty reasonable time; it's still kind of within that "work body" of your mind,

00:34:35 Speaker 06: but it's not within your typical working hours.

00:34:37 Speaker 06: So I would say keeping it at 5:30 makes sense.

00:34:37 Speaker 06: Okay, I think that leads us into number four nicely, Brianna.

00:34:38 Speaker 06: Thank you, Chair.

00:34:38 Speaker 06: And I will also just mention before we get to the last question: if you think of anything in the next couple weeks,

00:34:38 Speaker 06: feel free to shoot me an email and we can include it in our report back to council.

00:34:38 Speaker 06: But just in case you're like, "Oh, I should have said this," feel free to reach out with those thoughts.

00:34:39 Speaker 06: So the last question is: Are there ways the committee structure or processes could better support participation from public members?

00:34:39 Speaker 06: So I think that feedback from Kelly—that's where I was going to suggest comments—like, is it a three-year term?

00:34:39 Speaker 06: Is that a detriment?

00:34:40 Speaker 06: Like, is it hard for people to grasp the idea of sitting on a committee for three years?

00:34:40 Speaker 06: Or you know: time of day for meetings; or the number of meetings, like meeting monthly—that sort of thing.

00:34:41 Speaker 06: Do any of these things contribute one way or another to you wanting to or not wanting to sit on a committee?

00:34:41 Speaker 06: That would be my ask.

00:34:41 Speaker 06: For me, I guess I'm at the stage in life where I can make the time of day work; so... but I'm only one person.

00:34:41 Speaker 06: I think it's important that most meetings be outside of the workday for most people.

00:34:42 Speaker 06: Just for me, it doesn't matter at all that much.

00:34:42 Speaker 06: It wouldn't matter to me too much if we didn't have to read as much.

00:34:42 Speaker 06: Sometimes the agenda can be terribly daunting; and I don't know whether there is a way to summarize or not.

00:34:42 Speaker 06: But... maybe there's no way around that.

00:34:43 Speaker 06: However, getting through a 100-plus page document before a meeting is very daunting, and I think rarely will we go through a lot of the details of that stuff.

00:34:43 Speaker 06: So I don't know whether it's possible to summarize it in any way.

00:34:43 Speaker 06: But that's one thing that I know is like, I've got to read.

00:34:43 Speaker 06: you know.

00:34:44 Speaker 06: Or sometimes I don't.

00:34:44 Speaker 06: There's just a lot to read to prepare for a meeting, and maybe the detail just has to be there.

00:34:45 Speaker 06: Yeah, that's all I have to say.

00:34:45 Speaker 06: My very first council meeting, the agenda package was about 650 pages, and I thought, what have I done?

00:34:45 Speaker 06: Kelly, do you have anything to add?

00:34:45 Speaker 06: Yeah, a lot of my comments, I think, have kind of sprawled these questions.

00:34:45 Speaker 06: So apologies to the clerk staff that I've not been more targeted.

00:34:46 Speaker 06: But I do think that three years is a daunting commitment.

00:34:46 Speaker 06: I understand why, and, as I said, you know, the familiarity, let's say, with the issues is developed through that repeat exposure over time, and you know, some issues come on a scheduled calendar basis.

00:34:46 Speaker 06: Calendar basis, and so you're only going to see them multiple times if you're on the committee for multiple years.

00:34:47 Speaker 06: So I understand the benefit of it, but I do think that if there's a way that we could maybe have like a crash course for new members regarding anticipated items for the year,

00:34:47 Speaker 06: that might be a good way to get people up to speed more quickly so they don't need to learn organically through such long terms.

00:34:48 Speaker 06: It would be kind of a time commitment upfront.

00:34:48 Speaker 06: You know, a time commitment up front, but I think people would be more willing to make like a couple-hour time commitment one time at the beginning of their term and get that grounding,

00:34:49 Speaker 06: and maybe have a shorter term.

00:34:49 Speaker 06: I do think that might be a more appealing model for the average person.

00:34:49 Speaker 06: I echo Neil's comments that it is sometimes a burden to read all of the documentation.

00:34:49 Speaker 06: I don't know that there's a way around it because we need to have the basis for the conversation,

00:34:50 Speaker 06: and those details need to be there in some form for the official records and all of that.

00:34:50 Speaker 06: So I don't know that there's a good way around that, but I know that we've started getting the agenda a little bit earlier.

00:34:50 Speaker 06: I think that is a help.

00:34:50 Speaker 06: That doesn't mean I don't end up having to look at it day or two before anyway.

00:34:51 Speaker 06: But that's my own time management, not your fault.

00:34:51 Speaker 06: Yeah, I think those are my comments.

00:34:53 Speaker 06: I think that the ultimate solution might be a slightly shorter term and a kind of crash course orientation.

00:34:54 Speaker 06: If there are anticipated issues—I don't know how much; I know there will be issues that may not be able to be anticipated at the outset—but if there's kind of an annual orientation for the committee,

00:34:55 Speaker 06: that might be a good way to facilitate more informed conversation as well.

00:34:55 Speaker 06: Because you get the agenda, maybe it's something you've never heard about before.

00:34:58 Speaker 06: The city staff here are very competent; I will say.

00:34:58 Speaker 06: And so when I read the items, they often make good sense to me.

00:34:58 Speaker 06: And so, it's hard sometimes to find too much of an area to kind of poke at because when I'm reading it, I'm like, yeah, that sounds pretty reasonable.

00:34:59 Speaker 06: So, if there is a issue primer that might help members understand what the history of an item is and how they can engage with it a bit better.

00:35:00 Speaker 06: Okay, Briana has a question here.

00:35:01 Speaker 06: Through you, Chair to Member Carmichael: just to follow up on your orientation training; being that you've been here for a couple of years, is this something you think you would want to have yourself annually,

00:35:01 Speaker 06: or are you thinking more for the first year that you start your term?

00:35:02 Speaker 06: Yeah, I was initially thinking when you start your term, but I also know there are some things.

00:35:02 Speaker 06: I guess it's—I don't know how much you guys know at the beginning of a year about what sort of items you're expecting to bring to committee.

00:35:03 Speaker 06: If if that is something where at the beginning of each calendar year you have kind of a general outline of what's going to be coming,

00:35:03 Speaker 06: and I'm hesitant to put too much more work on your plate.

00:35:05 Speaker 06: Like I understand that this is a suggestion that might mean somebody has to make a new document, and that's not lost on me, but...

00:35:06 Speaker 06: I could see either one being beneficial.

00:35:06 Speaker 06: To be honest, I think that at the very minimum, having kind of an issues primer about what this committee might deal with in the course of your term would be helpful.

00:35:06 Speaker 06: I do think that would be helpful.

00:35:06 Speaker 06: I could also see a model like: 2025—what to expect; 2026—what to expect—that could also be helpful.

00:35:07 Speaker 06: So I think both would be beneficial.

00:35:07 Speaker 06: I'm imagining it as more of an issues-based primer than, you know, like a calendar for the year kind of thing.

00:35:07 Speaker 06: Like I don't think it needs to be at that level of granularity,

00:35:08 Speaker 06: but more just kind of getting public members maybe thinking about some of the things before the meeting in which they're expected to have thoughts about it.

00:35:08 Speaker 06: I guess is maybe the ultimate goal.

00:35:08 Speaker 06: Okay, great feedback, Brooke.

00:35:09 Speaker 06: Brock, do you have anything that you want to contribute on this?

00:35:09 Speaker 06: Or no, I think this is first.

00:35:09 Speaker 06: Scott, you're good.

00:35:09 Speaker 06: Or do you have any comments?

00:35:09 Speaker 06: Kind of a question for Kelly.

00:35:10 Speaker 06: Generally, at the early in the year, the departments present their annual work plans.

00:35:10 Speaker 06: Would it be advantageous if something like that work plan just actually flowed through as an attachment on reports or on the agenda monthly throughout the year,

00:35:12 Speaker 06: so that the members actually have just a quick reference as opposed to doing the legwork and going back?

00:35:13 Speaker 06: Just asking; you seem to be hitting on some of that type of item where it's easy to lose sight of what plans are in place for the year.

00:35:13 Speaker 06: Yeah, I would have to look at the work plan again to kind of refamiliarize myself with how specific the work items are within it.

00:35:13 Speaker 06: But I think something like that could be a good secondary use of a document that already exists to kind of avoid having too much new, you know, work created.

00:35:13 Speaker 06: Yeah, I think that could potentially be helpful.

00:35:18 Speaker 06: Okay.

00:35:18 Speaker 06: Sorry.

00:35:19 Speaker 06: Yeah.

00:35:20 Speaker 06: I'm going to say yes.

00:35:20 Speaker 06: My brain is not at its best today.

00:35:20 Speaker 06: I've been quite sick the last couple days.

00:35:21 Speaker 06: Well, you've had excellent feedback, which I think will be very helpful for Brianna when she brings the report back to council.

00:35:21 Speaker 06: And I was going to do it during additional business, but I'll just take this moment now to thank the public members that have sat on the committee for their three-year terms.

00:35:21 Speaker 06: Again, your participation is valuable; it is so much appreciated by council and staff, and we do really respect your feedback and want to thank you for your participation.

00:35:21 Speaker 06: And thank you, Neil, for sticking around for another term.

00:35:21 Speaker 06: Yes, so again, thank you.

00:35:22 Speaker 06: And with that, I think we're done with the deputation at number five.

00:35:22 Speaker 06: So at number six, public forum; we have no members here this evening.

00:35:23 Speaker 06: At number seven, we have no correspondence received for direction, and at number eight, we have a report from city staff.

00:35:24 Speaker 06: Eight A one: we have a report CR 2604 from the Manager of Information Technology regarding acceptable use policy AF 017.

00:35:25 Speaker 06: So we welcome Mark.

00:35:26 Speaker 06: Through the chair, I'll try to make this simple and relatively fast.

00:35:26 Speaker 06: CR 2604 is about modernizing how the city governs its use of technology.

00:35:26 Speaker 06: AF 017 replaces three outdated IT policies from the early 2000s with one clear modern standard.

00:35:27 Speaker 06: The general recommendation is that council receive the report for information purposes.

00:35:27 Speaker 06: The update was necessary; the existing policies refer to obsolete technologies, things like dial-up internet, BlackBerrys, 3½-inch floppies, other processes and technologies that no longer exist.

00:35:27 Speaker 06: In today's environment, we include things like cloud services, mobile devices, VPNs, multi-factor authentication, and AI tools, and none of those were previously addressed in the previous policies.

00:35:27 Speaker 06: AF 017 also aligns the city with current cybersecurity best practices and legislative requirements; the new policy consolidates email, internet, and computer use into one clear policy.

00:35:28 Speaker 06: It defines acceptable and prohibitive use of city technology, clarifies rules and responsibilities for employees and council members within it, ensures compliance with MFIPA, Employment Standards Act, software licensing, and privacy laws.

00:35:28 Speaker 06: Implications for council and employees: Council members are implicitly included in the policy this time.

00:35:29 Speaker 06: City-issued devices, email, and accounts are defined as they are city property; they are subject to monitoring in accordance with legislation, and that technology must be used for business purposes.

00:35:29 Speaker 06: Also, password security, multi-factor authentication, and data protection expectations are clearly defined within the policy.

00:35:30 Speaker 06: From cybersecurity and risk reduction: In risk reduction, the policy strengthens those protections for data breaches, malware, ransomware, and unauthorized access.

00:35:31 Speaker 06: It introduces clear guidance on artificial intelligence use,

00:35:31 Speaker 06: including being aware of when and when not to actually include information in queries when you're using those types of tools to ensure that personal and confidential information isn't accidentally released;

00:35:31 Speaker 06: also awareness that AI-generated content is discoverable.

00:35:31 Speaker 06: Implementation and impact: There's no financial impact.

00:35:32 Speaker 06: The implementation will occur over approximately six months.

00:35:32 Speaker 06: Human Resources and IT will manage it, including the aspect of staff acknowledgements, training, and onboarding for compliance.

00:35:33 Speaker 06: All work will be absorbed within existing operating capacity.

00:35:33 Speaker 06: The policy will be reviewed every five years or sooner if required.

00:35:33 Speaker 07: The Manager of IT may make administrative changes; any substantial changes will have to be signed off by the City Manager.

00:35:34 Speaker 07: That's sort of in conclusion: AF 017 modernizes the city's technology governance, reduces organizational risk, and reflects on how we actually work today.

00:35:34 Speaker 07: And with that, I'm happy to take questions.

00:35:34 Speaker 07: Okay, thank you.

00:35:35 Speaker 07: Looks like Brock has his hand up; I will move the recommendation, Madam Chair.

00:35:36 Speaker 07: Okay, thank you.

00:35:36 Speaker 07: Does anyone have any questions or comments for Mark on the policy?

00:35:36 Speaker 07: Kelly, go ahead.

00:35:37 Speaker 07: "I'm in support of it.

00:35:37 Speaker 07: I don't have any ultimate concerns.

00:35:38 Speaker 07: I would say that it's a fairly strict policy as far as like there doesn't seem to be any wiggle room for incidental personal use of a device,

00:35:38 Speaker 07: which I think is maybe a little bit unrealistic for the way people use devices.

00:35:39 Speaker 07: You know, if you're at university and Google something or order your groceries to get picked up or something...

00:35:39 Speaker 07: Like I don't know that those types of activities as I read this policy would be considered violations."

00:35:39 Speaker 07: And I thought it was a little strict; there might be a little bit of room for incidental personal use that might crop up.

00:35:40 Speaker 07: But I also understand the need for being specific and setting clear boundaries, so fair enough.

00:35:40 Speaker 07: I just wanted to say that I think it's great that the inclusion regarding AI—specifically prohibiting using AI with personal information—was included.

00:35:41 Speaker 07: I think that's really clear and helpful.

00:35:41 Speaker 07: The only other comment I would have is that I think it might be helpful to include more specificity about when the city might actually take the step of looking at someone's device.

00:35:42 Speaker 07: Obviously, there's going to be discretion there, and the city needs to retain the ability to exercise that discretion based on circumstances that may arise.

00:35:42 Speaker 07: And so, I think absolute discretion does exist.

00:35:43 Speaker 07: But I do think that from a privacy perspective, it is a good idea to give people a bit more of a guideline about when they might expect their device or email to be searched;

00:35:43 Speaker 07: and not maybe give quite such carte blanche.

00:35:43 Speaker 07: I think, although these are city records and devices, and of course the city retains ownership over them, autonomy for individuals still matters and their sense of privacy in day-to-day operations.

00:35:43 Speaker 07: There's some benefit to giving people clarity around circumstances in which they might expect those searches to occur; though it wouldn't be necessarily absolute, of course—like I said, you'd need to retain that discretion.

00:35:44 Speaker 07: But you know, for example: where there's an investigation, or an FOIP request and records are needed to be produced, and those sorts of things."

00:35:44 Speaker 07: Yeah, but with that, I'm supportive and second the motion.

00:35:46 Speaker 07: Do you have anything further to contribute on that?

00:35:46 Speaker 07: All I'll say is part of the rollout is to actually go meet with people—meet with staff—and explain those types of things;

00:35:47 Speaker 07: it's also going to be backed up by operating procedures which will define how things will actually be implemented and dealt with.

00:35:48 Speaker 07: Great.

00:35:48 Speaker 07: Anything else?

00:35:49 Speaker 07: Thanks.

00:35:50 Speaker 07: Okay, I'm seeing none.

00:35:50 Speaker 07: So Brock has moved the recommendation that City Council receive the report for information purposes.

00:35:51 Speaker 07: So I'll call the question: All in favor?

00:35:51 Speaker 07: Kelly, are you in favor?

00:35:51 Speaker 07: That's me raising my hand; yeah, Kelly's hand is up on the screen.

00:35:52 Speaker 07: So that is carried.

00:35:53 Speaker 07: Alright.

00:35:53 Speaker 07: So at number nine, we have no matters postponed.

00:35:57 Speaker 07: Number ten, motions for which notice was previously given—we have none.

00:35:57 Speaker 07: At eleven, correspondence provided: we have none. Number twelve, discussion of additional business: we are good there. And does anyone have any notices of motion? Seeing none, then I will call the meeting adjourned. It is 6:13 p.m. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.