Owen Sound Committee - Corporate Services Meeting Transcript — June 11, 2026

00:00:30 Speaker 01: Good evening, everyone.

00:00:39 Speaker 01: Welcome to the Corporate Services Committee.

00:00:46 Speaker 01: Today is June eleventh, 2026, and it is five thirty.

00:00:53 Speaker 01: I call the meeting to order.

00:01:04 Speaker 01: Are there any calls for additional business today?

00:01:12 Speaker 01: Seeing none, we move on to our next item.

00:01:21 Speaker 01: That is the declarations of interest.

00:01:25 Speaker 01: Looking to my right, any declarations?

00:01:29 Speaker 01: Any declarations?

00:01:30 Speaker 01: None.

00:01:31 Speaker 01: Good.

00:01:51 Speaker 01: At four, I would just take a moment to say that we do have Councillor Travis Dodd online, and Member Neil and Member Monica send their regrets today for the meeting.

00:02:03 Speaker 01: Welcome, Councillor Dodd.

00:02:13 Speaker 01: At four, we have confirmation of the committee minutes for the Corporate Services Committee meeting held on May seventh, 2026.

00:02:21 Speaker 01: Any questions?

00:02:24 Speaker 01: Does anyone have any questions for those?

00:02:29 Speaker 01: Go ahead.

00:02:42 Speaker 02: I'll move those minutes.

00:02:48 Speaker 02: Thank you for moving those.

00:02:56 Speaker 02: And all those in favour.

00:02:57 Speaker 02: Perfect.

00:03:00 Speaker 02: And those are carried unanimously.

00:03:03 Speaker 02: At number six, we have public forum.

00:03:16 Speaker 02: I do not see any member of the public in the council chambers.

00:03:28 Speaker 02: I look to the clerk to see if she has anything online; seeing none.

00:03:42 Speaker 02: At number seven, we have correspondence received for which direction is required, and we have none this evening.

00:03:57 Speaker 02: We move on to reports of city staff.

00:04:14 Speaker 02: At eight a, we have report 8a-1 from the Clerk's section, which is Report CR26059 from the Information and Privacy Coordinator regarding Bill 97: Regarding Bill 97 impacts on MFIPA legislation.

00:04:31 Speaker 02: We welcome Desiree.

00:04:32 Speaker 02: Good evening, everyone.

00:04:50 Speaker 02: When I was here in February presenting my annual FOI statistical report, and I mentioned the federal legislative changes last year in passing, and hinted at possible future changes.

00:05:09 Speaker 02: I never could have guessed that I would be back here so soon.

00:05:18 Speaker 02: So, hello again.

00:05:38 Speaker 02: So Bill 97, which is the Plan to Protect Ontario Act budget measures 2026, has brought two significant changes to the municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, known as MFIPA.

00:06:06 Speaker 02: And this report draws your attention firstly to the changes to how we deal with freedom of information requests or FOI requests, and those changes come into effect July 1; and secondly,

00:06:27 Speaker 02: the privacy changes coming into effect on January 1, 2027.

00:06:35 Speaker 02: These will be new and additional obligations for the city.

00:07:03 Speaker 02: With regard to freedom of information, you will note in the chart that the time to issue a decision has been extended from 30 days to 45,

00:07:24 Speaker 02: and you will also note that the timelines are now measured in business days rather than calendar days.

00:07:49 Speaker 02: Currently, the City can issue a time extension in two cases: firstly, where there is a large number of records or a large number of records need to be searched,

00:08:20 Speaker 02: and either of those scenarios would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the city; or secondly, where consultations are necessary outside the city and that cannot be reasonably completed within the time limit.

00:08:52 Speaker 02: So beginning July 1st, we will also have three circumstances where a second time extension may be used: so where a requester consents to an extension,

00:09:21 Speaker 02: or where the number of responsive records is much more than initially identified, or where one of the following arises provided it was not reasonably foreseeable: either a knowledgeable employee is not available to respond,

00:09:43 Speaker 02: or where additional consultations become necessary in order to be able to respond.

00:10:06 Speaker 02: Another tool that will be available to the City is the staged access plan option, which allows the city to release records in phases over time rather than all at once,

00:10:21 Speaker 02: which is what we generally do now.

00:10:24 Speaker 02: So the same:

00:10:48 Speaker 03: so the staged access plan can be used where the time required would unreasonably interfere with the regular duties of staff or the scope of the request is overly broad—so that speaks to the time period

00:11:19 Speaker 03: of the request—or where the preparation of the records would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the city,

00:11:28 Speaker 04: and that speaks to volume of records.

00:11:45 Speaker 04: And finally, when we have a requester who has submitted multiple requests at one time,

00:12:08 Speaker 02: and in combination those records or responding to those requests as a group would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the City.

00:12:35 Speaker 03: One possible downside of the staged access plan is that this may create more work due to the increased back-and-forth communication in negotiating such a staged access plan,

00:12:54 Speaker 02: and we also foresee there possibly being more appeals that come out of this option.

00:13:06 Speaker 02: My apologies.

00:13:13 Speaker 02: So in terms of the FOI changes, we're cautiously optimistic that the revised timelines will help.

00:13:24 Speaker 02: We recognize that the volume of requests isn't decreasing.

00:13:50 Speaker 05: And just to illustrate that, my report indicated that we've received 64 requests as of May 15th, and as of today we're at 73.

00:14:10 Speaker 02: So the requests keep coming in.

00:14:15 Speaker 02: Now to the second part of the legislative changes: privacy.

00:14:31 Speaker 02: Privacy laws have been around for a long time; the City has had limited resources to manage all of our responsibilities.

00:14:50 Speaker 02: In the past, privacy impact assessments—which we will refer to as PIAs—were recommended but they were not mandatory.

00:15:10 Speaker 02: So now PIAs will be mandatory, and this increases the expectation for how we manage privacy, and what that management looks like will be determined by the privacy impact assessment process.

00:15:28 Speaker 02: So what is a PIA?

00:15:49 Speaker 02: It's a review that the City does before we begin a project or a new process that helps us to identify how personal information is collected, used, disclosed, and protected;

00:16:14 Speaker 06: it also identifies any risks that need to be mitigated in relation to that personal information.

00:16:29 Speaker 06: So PIAs will require cross-departmental collaboration to meet this new corporate obligation mandated by the province.

00:16:45 Speaker 02: And I've just listed a few examples here that demonstrate we have personal information in every department, in every division.

00:16:57 Speaker 02: So this is going to be a big change across the organization.

00:17:12 Speaker 06: In addition to safeguarding personal information, the City will be required to report breaches, keep a record of breaches, and report these to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

00:17:29 Speaker 02: And that's likely to be part of our annual statistical reporting that we already do to the IPC.

00:17:44 Speaker 02: So in conclusion, the City now has a new legislated obligation to prepare PIAs.

00:18:00 Speaker 02: This was not on our work plan, and as you all are very aware it is a municipal election year.

00:18:24 Speaker 07: So for the remainder of 2026, we will be conducting staff education on PIAs as well as creating an inventory of the personal information that the City currently holds across the corporation.

00:18:51 Speaker 08: In 2027, staff will work on policies and procedures and also create a schedule of PIAs to be completed in order of priority;

00:19:03 Speaker 08: and we hope that one or two PIAs can be completed by the end of 2027.

00:19:10 Speaker 08: And that's all the information I wanted to share with you tonight.

00:19:20 Speaker 09: But I'm happy to take any questions if you have them.

00:19:26 Speaker 09: Thank you, Leslie.

00:19:28 Speaker 09: Thank you, Desiree.

00:19:31 Speaker 09: I open the floor for discussion.

00:19:35 Speaker 09: I'll go to Councillor Merton first.

00:19:40 Speaker 09: Through you, Chair.

00:19:43 Speaker 09: Thank you, Desiree.

00:19:47 Speaker 09: I have a couple of questions.

00:20:04 Speaker 09: One, particularly, we know we have security cameras throughout our city, and my understanding is police services has to request release of that information.

00:20:22 Speaker 08: So it goes through the regular process.

00:20:30 Speaker 08: I'm assuming this creates significant work, and wondering if there is an option or an understanding,

00:20:43 Speaker 08: a memorandum of understanding that might be initiated or move forward with police services around the freedom of information requests they have to do for the cameras.

00:20:59 Speaker 08: So, wasn't sure if this had been looked at.

00:21:12 Speaker 08: Of this had been looked at, recognizing the volume of work this is going to create.

00:21:24 Speaker 08: Through you, Madam Chair, I don't know that the police requests are really going to impact the privacy piece.

00:21:36 Speaker 08: Generally, we don't; not always do the cameras contain personal information.

00:21:45 Speaker 08: In terms of the memorandum of understanding, we have done some investigation into that.

00:21:58 Speaker 08: Unfortunately, the city manager isn't here this evening, and I would probably ask him to speak to that.

00:22:09 Speaker 08: So, unfortunately, I don't have an answer to you as to the status of that memorandum.

00:22:15 Speaker 08: Through you, Chair, one more question.

00:22:27 Speaker 08: Well, maybe more than one, but recognizing the workload, and you mentioned briefly about staffing and if the available staff.

00:22:37 Speaker 08: So in our city, there's yourself, but who else handles these requests?

00:22:47 Speaker 10: Is it all in your portfolio, or if you're away on vacation, who would cover?

00:22:57 Speaker 03: So through you, Madam Chair, I'm the primary person responsible.

00:23:15 Speaker 03: But certainly in my absence, the City Clerk and the Manager of Legislative Services will provide coverage during my absence.

00:23:30 Speaker 03: We are bringing back further information as we learn it.

00:23:48 Speaker 03: We haven't discussed it this evening, but we did apply for an internship program, and if we are successful in that program, that would run through from January to August.

00:24:11 Speaker 03: We didn't bring that forward this evening because we don't know if we're going to be accepted.

00:24:18 Speaker 03: So we're waiting to hear.

00:24:22 Speaker 03: Any other questions, Councilor Mat?

00:24:30 Speaker 08: I'll go to Member Frankton.

00:24:33 Speaker 08: Through, Madam Chair.

00:24:43 Speaker 08: Do the staff anticipate that the new timelines will improve compliance, or it'll just mainly shift the workload over a longer period of time?

00:24:58 Speaker 08: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:25:15 Speaker 01: The workload will be the same, so we will be able to spread it out a little bit more because right now we are encountering pressure with multiple requests at the same time;

00:25:46 Speaker 11: that thirty-day calendar time period is pretty short when you have multiple requests on the go and you have one staff person who's responding to those requests.

00:26:06 Speaker 11: So the forty-five business days will give us a lot more room to respond to that.

00:26:24 Speaker 11: It doesn't change the fact that we still will be required to provide affected party notices in cases where that's relevant.

00:26:45 Speaker 11: We may see greater frustration from requesters because they have to wait a longer period of time to get the records that they're seeking, and we already are getting pressure.

00:27:10 Speaker 11: You know, people will send in a request, and five days later they'll ask me, "Where are my records?"

00:27:29 Speaker 11: They're not understanding that there's a thirty-day time period for us to respond, and theirs may not be the only request that's being considered.

00:27:46 Speaker 11: Nor is it my only responsibility; I have other tasks to complete.

00:27:59 Speaker 11: So that time period will give us more flexibility, but it will likely increase frustration for requesters.

00:28:13 Speaker 11: So it will be a balancing act to respond in a timely fashion while managing our workload.

00:28:22 Speaker 11: So it's going to be a balance.

00:28:25 Speaker 11: Yep.

00:28:26 Speaker 11: Go ahead.

00:28:28 Speaker 11: Thank you.

00:28:42 Speaker 11: With regard to that, just to kind of manage people's expectations; like when you get a request in, is it feasible maybe for you to respond and say thank you for your request?

00:28:57 Speaker 11: It is in the queue.

00:29:16 Speaker 11: You are number fourteen of thirty-two requests, so they have a little background information on kind of where we're at as you know a FOI process, and you are only one person just to manage expectations.

00:29:34 Speaker 11: Would that be something that we could do?

00:29:38 Speaker 11: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:29:41 Speaker 11: Yes.

00:29:49 Speaker 11: I think that we're going to be looking at all of our procedures and how we respond back to requesters.

00:30:09 Speaker 11: And are there some things in our templates that we can improve to ensure good communication and reduce that frustration as much as we can?

00:30:27 Speaker 11: So that's certainly part of what we're going to be looking at.

00:30:37 Speaker 11: And do you know what is driving these changes, from the provincial standpoint, especially with privacy?

00:30:46 Speaker 11: Like it seems almost like a little bit of overkill.

00:31:01 Speaker 11: To like how do they expect the municipality to do their work without being able to take information from people?

00:31:14 Speaker 11: Like, was there an incident that drove this?

00:31:19 Speaker 11: Like privacy breaches; do you know?

00:31:34 Speaker 11: Through you, Madam Chair, I think there have been more newsworthy incidents of privacy breaches and last year it was implemented at the federal level.

00:31:51 Speaker 11: So it's not surprising that it has come through to the provincial level.

00:32:10 Speaker 11: It is just surprising the timing of how quickly it's happened and how quickly the implementation period is, particularly in light of this being a municipal election year.

00:32:24 Speaker 11: But Mr. Ford did not contact me to ask my opinion.

00:32:33 Speaker 11: I will go ahead and move the recommendation to receive.

00:32:42 Speaker 11: Any other questions before we call the vote?

00:32:48 Speaker 11: Yep, go ahead.

00:32:51 Speaker 11: Through you, Chair.

00:33:03 Speaker 11: If we do not get an intern, is there any plan to bring additional staff on to assist you with the increase in the FOIs and with these PAs?

00:33:25 Speaker 11: It seems like a lot more work being added on.

00:33:35 Speaker 11: Through you, Madam Chair, unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that question.

00:33:54 Speaker 11: I have a lot of hopes and dreams, but maybe the Director of Corporate Services and the City Treasurer can speak to that.

00:34:06 Speaker 11: Through you, Madam Chair, I think we'll wait and see.

00:34:15 Speaker 11: We'll find out about the internship.

00:34:29 Speaker 11: We've moved on to the next step, so I'm feeling pretty confident that we're in a good position to receive that intern, but if not,

00:34:50 Speaker 11: then in the fall when we come back with another update report, hopefully we'll have more information and know sort of the scope of work,

00:35:04 Speaker 11: so we have a better understanding and can bring that information back to committee.

00:35:12 Speaker 11: Councilor Dodd, any questions at your end?

00:35:15 Speaker 11: All right.

00:35:19 Speaker 11: Thank you for an excellent report.

00:35:38 Speaker 11: It does look like a lot of work thrown in for implementation in a very short period, but I'm glad; like we have an excellent report in that short time frame.

00:36:04 Speaker 11: So since Councillor Middlebro has moved the recommendation, all those in favour, and I see Councilor Dodd's hand up, so it's moved unanimously.

00:36:17 Speaker 11: Thank you so much.

00:36:24 Speaker 11: At 8:02, we have Report CR-26-06 from the City Clerk regarding 2025 licensing, marriage, and commissioning overview.

00:36:38 Speaker 11: Through you, Chair, to committee; I will be providing a brief overview of the report.

00:36:50 Speaker 11: And Leanne Kazarian, the Licensing and Marriage Coordinator, is in attendance.

00:37:10 Speaker 11: Should there be any questions about its content, the staff report was prepared to keep Committee, Council, and the public apprised of statistics relating to licensing, marriages, and commissioning,

00:37:26 Speaker 11: and it will establish a baseline for tracking trends over time.

00:37:44 Speaker 11: The chart on this slide is taken from the report and breaks down the total number of licenses or permits issued and the number of civil marriages performed in two thousand and twenty-five,

00:38:04 Speaker 11: which totals one thousand, one hundred and five.

00:38:16 Speaker 11: The gross revenue earned from issuing the licenses and performing the civil marriages was one hundred twenty-two thousand six hundred dollars.

00:38:27 Speaker 11: Twenty-two thousand and six hundred dollars.

00:38:37 Speaker 11: In 2025, seventy-five business license applications were processed across seven categories, highlighting steady commercial activity throughout the reporting period.

00:38:56 Speaker 11: Civil marriages remain a popular service offered by the city, with eighty-seven civil marriages performed in 2025.

00:39:09 Speaker 11: The Just Say Yes Valentine's Day event was sold out in both 2024 and 2025.

00:39:28 Speaker 11: Marriage in Minutes has become the most utilized type of civil marriage, accounting for sixty percent of all weddings performed in two thousand and twenty-five.

00:39:41 Speaker 11: In 2025, sixty-nine lottery licenses were issued.

00:40:00 Speaker 11: Online lotteries have become increasingly popular in recent years, and these licenses are issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, or the AGCO, which also retains the license fees.

00:40:27 Speaker 11: While online lotteries have reduced the number of licenses the city issues, many licenses are still processed in-house.

00:40:37 Speaker 11: Are still processed in house, particularly raffle licenses.

00:40:48 Speaker 11: In 2027, staff anticipate reviewing the lottery licensing bylaw and the charitable licenses on highways bylaw.

00:41:12 Speaker 11: Staff will be investigating an online booking portal in which members of the public can review an appointment calendar and select the day and time that best suits their needs.

00:41:37 Speaker 11: Staff will also be bringing an overview report to committee respecting 2026 licensing, marriages and commissioning.

00:41:52 Speaker 11: If committee has suggestions of information that should be included in that report, staff would be happy to receive that feedback today.

00:42:14 Speaker 11: The recommendation in the report is that, in consideration of staff report CR-26-060, respecting the 2025 licensing, marriage and commissioning overview, the corporate services committee recommends that city council receive the report for information purposes.

00:42:36 Speaker 11: And with that, Leanne and I are happy to take any questions the committee might have.

00:42:46 Speaker 11: Thank you, Briana, and I now open the floor for any questions.

00:43:05 Speaker 11: Councillor Martin, through you, Chair, I will move the recommendation that we receive this report for information purposes, and I have a question.

00:43:24 Speaker 11: So, when you mentioned about a report to come forward, I remember when a year or so ago there was a significant discussion about marriage activity and doing that here,

00:43:48 Speaker 11: and staff were very keen to demonstrate not only is it job satisfaction, and everyone enjoyed it, but it had the opportunity to offset staff time and costs.

00:44:07 Speaker 11: So, my question is: It is important to see a return on investment of staff time.

00:44:13 Speaker 11: So,

00:44:30 Speaker 11: in a report that's coming forward will it be framed in such a way that we measure those tangibles—the staff time that it takes—and any other—and then a category that measures the goodwill that's created within

00:44:49 Speaker 11: the community.

00:44:58 Speaker 11: It's an intangible, but the linkages with local businesses and other things as well.

00:45:12 Speaker 11: Because sometimes we really look at dollars and cents, but there's more to what we offer as well,

00:45:27 Speaker 11: and I'm wondering in the report if those can be at least referenced as part of the intangible but very important aspects to what is provided.

00:45:45 Speaker 11: Through you, Madam Chair, to committee, we can certainly include information about the staff time involved.

00:46:00 Speaker 11: As for the intangible, it might be a little bit more difficult, but certainly if we can put our heads together.

00:46:19 Speaker 11: and see if there's anything we can come up with to include in the next report.

00:46:27 Speaker 11: Any other questions?

00:46:30 Speaker 11: No. All right.

00:46:35 Speaker 11: Seeing none, and Councillor Merton has moved the motion.

00:46:41 Speaker 11: All those in favour?

00:46:46 Speaker 11: And I see Councillor Dodd's hand up as well.

00:46:51 Speaker 11: So it is moved unanimously.

00:46:59 Speaker 12: At 8B, we have reports on corporate and facilities.

00:47:15 Speaker 06: On corporate and facility services, report eight B one is a report CR twenty-six-zero-six-one from the purchasing and claims coordinator regarding the procurement policy.

00:47:30 Speaker 11: Welcome, Lauren.

00:47:34 Speaker 11: Good evening, committee, and through you, Chair.

00:47:45 Speaker 11: As Chair Krakrasiya has stated, I am here to provide an overview of the procurement policy report.

00:47:57 Speaker 11: Due to the detail included in the report, I put together a presentation to support the material.

00:48:09 Speaker 11: I believe Christina will be republishing the agenda with this presentation.

00:48:18 Speaker 11: So I'll start off with legislation to provide background.

00:48:28 Speaker 06: Public procurement is guided by several pieces of legislation, including the Municipal Act, that requires municipalities to adopt a policy related to the procurement of goods and services.

00:48:51 Speaker 06: Another important and very new piece of legislation is the Municipal Procurement Directive for Ontario, which establishes new requirements for municipalities.

00:49:10 Speaker 11: This directive was released March 30th and included two directives: one being the Capital Infrastructure and Construction Directive and the Light Duty Fleet Vehicles Directive.

00:49:28 Speaker 11: The implementation dates relevant to the city include fleet vehicle requirements as of April 13th, capital infrastructure requirements as of May 15th.

00:49:44 Speaker 11: This really highlights the kind of lack of timeline we got to act on anything.

00:50:05 Speaker 11: Just to provide a bit of overview: each directive's scope includes construction, reconstruction, renovation projects of any dollar figure, as defined in the directive.

00:50:18 Speaker 11: However, it does not include routine maintenance and repairs unless structural.

00:50:24 Speaker 11: Additionally, it excludes information technology.

00:50:36 Speaker 06: This portion of the directive requires municipalities to incorporate requirements giving preferences to Ontario and Canadian materials and services by requiring domestic supply chain plans from bidders,

00:50:50 Speaker 06: and adding weighted evaluation criteria or consideration for domestic supply chains where relevant.

00:51:07 Speaker 06: Just to name a few projects that may be impacted by this specific directive: Fourth Avenue West reconstruction, Ninth Avenue reconstruction, and Public Works building roof replacement; Sections 1 to 3 are just three examples.

00:51:30 Speaker 11: A few key definitions under the Capital Infrastructure and Construction Directive include Canadian-made and Ontario-made goods and services.

00:51:43 Speaker 11: They have been added to the procurement policy definition section to ensure compliance.

00:51:57 Speaker 05: These definitions will also be included in our bidding document templates.

00:52:19 Speaker 11: The following is a visual flowchart that provides an overview of the process required to be followed for each capital infrastructure project of any value.

00:52:34 Speaker 11: The first step would be to conduct market research.

00:52:47 Speaker 11: This is either to be completed in-house or by a consultant, and this would determine the feasibility of applying the domestic supply chain plan.

00:53:16 Speaker 03: You'll see to the right: if it does result in a potential 25% cost increase, there is a potential exclusion or alternate approach that can be applied.

00:53:35 Speaker 03: However, this requires clear documentation and rationale, and internal approval is required.

00:53:58 Speaker 11: If a domestic supply chain is feasible, the municipality can choose either two options: one is the evaluated method, where the plan is assessed and scored as part of the bid evaluation; or the commitment approach,

00:54:23 Speaker 11: where suppliers must commit to meeting or exceeding a defined percentage of Ontario-made and Canadian-made goods and services.

00:54:44 Speaker 03: The city will, for most bids, be choosing to go with the commitment approach.

00:54:55 Speaker 03: It has less impact on staff time than what we've seen so far.

00:55:03 Speaker 11: The other directive included is fleet vehicles.

00:55:19 Speaker 11: So this scope includes all new light-duty fleet vehicle purchases, leases over twelve months.

00:55:32 Speaker 11: As you may know, the city uses Enterprise through a fleet management program that was approved by council in July of 2025.

00:55:46 Speaker 11: Enterprise has confirmed it is committed to supporting the city and following the outlined requirements.

00:55:55 Speaker 11: Just for background, the city has approximately twenty-two light-duty vehicles that would fall under these requirements.

00:56:07 Speaker 11: The directive, however, does not include medium- or heavy-duty vehicles, nor any police fleet.

00:56:25 Speaker 13: This portion of the directive requires municipalities to prioritize procurement of vehicles manufactured in Ontario—so that could be a Chevrolet Silverado—or from an Ontario vehicle producer, such as Ford for example,

00:56:41 Speaker 13: subject to availability and operational requirements.

00:56:57 Speaker 06: Just for background, staff have attended over eleven hours worth of seminars led by Supply Ontario, the Ontario Public Buyers Association, the Procurement Office, and the Bruce Gray Networking Group.

00:57:35 Speaker 11: A few important takeaways include: there is going to be a shift in award outcomes, including the potential that the city may not be awarding contracts to the lowest compliant bidder;

00:57:58 Speaker 06: this relates to quotations or tenders where selection goes to the highest evaluated score for requests for proposals.

00:58:10 Speaker 06: There is non-compliance risk related to potential withholding of provincial funding.

00:58:18 Speaker 14: There is increased procurement complexity, including market research, domestic supply chain plans, and documentation requirements.

00:58:30 Speaker 14: We'll need to ensure there are stronger internal controls and record-keeping systems in place.

00:58:40 Speaker 14: A few impacts related to the legislation that we know of so far: more complex and timely bidding processes.

00:58:46 Speaker 14: As I mentioned, we may experience challenges sourcing Ontario or Canadian-made materials or fleet vehicles; it can also affect project scheduling and delivery timelines,

00:58:52 Speaker 14: and the requirement has a potential to increase project costs in certain categories, which could place additional pressure on operating and capital budgets.

00:58:52 Speaker 14: It is important to note, however, that the full operational, financial, and administrative impact is unknown at this time.

00:58:53 Speaker 14: The implementation details continue to evolve continuously.

00:58:53 Speaker 14: Supply Ontario does continually post items on their website, and there are discussions between municipalities.

00:58:53 Speaker 14: I would note there has been limited provincial guidance and support thus far.

00:58:53 Speaker 14: Now moving on to the policy.

00:58:54 Speaker 14: So that was legislation; I know that was quite a bit of background, but I think it was important to support the policy update.

00:58:55 Speaker 14: A few reasons for the updated policy include: the last update was completed in December 2019.

00:58:55 Speaker 14: Best practice for policy updates is every five years to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and best practices.

00:58:56 Speaker 14: The current thresholds and approval authorities no longer reflect current market conditions or operational realities, especially considering the Ontario Procurement Directive requirements.

00:58:56 Speaker 14: We have also received feedback identifying inefficiencies and administrative bottlenecks; this update gave us an opportunity to align with our upper-tier Grey County and general municipal best practices.

00:58:56 Speaker 14: This will show the process for the policy update: it included benchmarking, internal consultation, drafting, internal review, and committee and council reporting.

00:58:57 Speaker 14: So regarding benchmarking—a review of 22 other municipalities was conducted to inform best practices and support policy development.

00:58:57 Speaker 14: Emphasis was placed on reviewing procurement practices of comparator and neighboring municipalities, including those shown on screen as well as Miford, Saugeen Shores, Town of Blue Mountains, and Grey County.

00:58:57 Speaker 14: I did attach benchmark findings to the report.

00:58:57 Speaker 14: Upon review, it was noted that most municipal comparators operate with a decentralized procurement function where departmental staff support process functions; this can include posting their own solicitations or issuing purchase orders, to name a few.

00:58:58 Speaker 14: The city operates with a primarily centralized model with limited staffing.

00:58:58 Speaker 14: So just for background: I would typically be the only one—except during vacations—who posts any solicitations and issues any purchase orders.

00:58:59 Speaker 14: This reinforces the need for streamlined processes.

00:58:59 Speaker 14: It's important to note that only one of five municipal comparators operates with a similar operational structure as Owen Sound; that is Huntsville.

00:58:59 Speaker 14: Specifically related to thresholds and authority to award, here are some statistics from benchmarking: eight of nine municipalities provide staff the authority to award if a project is within budget.

00:58:59 Speaker 14: Fifty percent of municipalities have the same proposed increase for direct purchases.

00:58:59 Speaker 14: Fifty-six percent of municipalities have an open competition threshold of $100,000 or more; only one municipality has yet to update their policy after the directive was released—that was Town of Blue Mountain.

00:59:04 Speaker 14: They did that last week when they went to council and got final approval.

00:59:04 Speaker 14: Moving on to internal consultation: an internal survey was completed in April 2026.

00:59:04 Speaker 14: This was sent to staff involved in procurement, including senior leadership team members, managers, project leads, and administrative staff.

00:59:04 Speaker 14: Comments received through the survey supported increased thresholds and streamlining approval requirements to reduce administrative burdens, improve project delivery timelines, and better align procurement processes with operational needs.

00:59:05 Speaker 14: Here are some screenshots of the survey we did.

00:59:05 Speaker 14: Staff who have served as project leads on requests for proposals or tenders indicated that specification development alone typically requires six to ten hours to complete.

00:59:05 Speaker 14: Staff participating as evaluators noted evaluation commonly required between six and ten hours per project.

00:59:06 Speaker 14: With the Ontario Procurement Directive, there is an anticipation of significant work related to market research—either completed in-house or by a consultant—which will add to our already lengthy timelines.

00:59:07 Speaker 14: Specifically related to thresholds: survey respondents indicated that 56% felt current thresholds often or always require a more formal procurement process than necessary,

00:59:08 Speaker 14: while 72% identified low-dollar thresholds as one of the biggest challenges with our current purchasing bylaw.

00:59:09 Speaker 14: Now moving on specifically to the procurement policy.

00:59:09 Speaker 14: These are some general modifications.

00:59:10 Speaker 14: The document is now structured as a policy rather than a bylaw; its purpose is to guide the exercise of purchasing discretion, not to create enforceable legal obligations as a bylaw would.

00:59:10 Speaker 14: The definition section was updated, and small verbiage changes have been made to align with municipal procurement standards.

00:59:10 Speaker 14: The exceptions section was removed from the policy body and added as an appendix for clarity and ease of navigation;

00:59:10 Speaker 14: Appendix B on authorization and procurement methods was also added for a full overview of the procurement process.

00:59:11 Speaker 14: This looks very overwhelming but will serve as our reference for all staff and onboarding.

00:59:12 Speaker 14: Where new sections are mentioned, small verbiage changes may have been made.

00:59:12 Speaker 14: Section-specific modifications include authority and responsibilities adjustments to Council's role: "completion" has been added alongside initiation.

00:59:14 Speaker 14: Procurement processes for goods and services proceed through approval of the annual operating budget, capital plan resolution, or bylaw.

00:59:14 Speaker 14: This allows staff to proceed with an award through delegation should the project come within budget.

00:59:14 Speaker 14: Should the project not come within budget but still exceed $250,000, a report will be provided to Council.

00:59:14 Speaker 14: Just for background: two out of nine municipalities identified in benchmarking already proceed with this format.

00:59:15 Speaker 14: In review of 2025 award reports, 60% came within budget; removing these reports would save approximately 15 hours of procurement staff time alone.

00:59:15 Speaker 14: Clarification has been added that staff are not authorized to transfer funds between approved budgets, charge unrelated expenses to project budgets,

00:59:15 Speaker 14: or use surplus funds from one project to cover deficits in another without prior Council approval.

00:59:16 Speaker 14: We have also added a new section detailing the authority and responsibilities of both the City Manager and Director of Corporate Services.

00:59:16 Speaker 14: Moving on: standard procurement definitions for methods and uses have been included to articulate processes—we didn't have this in our policy before.

00:59:16 Speaker 14: Additionally, thresholds and approval authorities have been revised to streamline procurement processes, enabling faster and more efficient operations while ensuring appropriate oversight.

00:59:16 Speaker 14: The table you'll see shows current versus revised thresholds: we're proposing direct purchases up to $25,000; invitational competitive bids from $25,001 to $124,999; open competitive bids of $125,000 and greater.

00:59:16 Speaker 14: This chart shows approval authorities—I won't go over each section but will highlight open competitive bids: if an open competitive bid is greater than $200,000 and within budget, staff have delegated authority to approve;

00:59:17 Speaker 14: if it exceeds $250,000 and not within budget, Council must approve.

00:59:17 Speaker 14: The proposed approval authorities align with the majority of comparative municipalities reviewed.

00:59:18 Speaker 14: Council retains authority through the budget and project approvals process.

00:59:19 Speaker 14: Additionally, approval is required for procurements exceeding approved budgets—a lot were previously approved under delegation.

00:59:21 Speaker 14: This change reduces administrative reporting requirements while maintaining Council oversight and financial decisions.

00:59:21 Speaker 14: Non-standard procurement—single or sole sourcing thresholds have been revised to allow more efficient, faster procurement while ensuring appropriate oversight; Council will still be required to approve any non-standard procurement valued at $125,000 or greater.

00:59:21 Speaker 14: The emergency procurement threshold has also been revised to align with the previously mentioned thresholds.

00:59:22 Speaker 14: A new section on agreements and contracts highlights change orders specifically: an amendment removes "shall not exceed the greater of $100,000 or 10% of the original contract price."

00:59:22 Speaker 14: This authorizes timely execution of change orders necessary to avoid project delays, operational disruptions, or additional costs to the city—including contractor delay claims and escalation costs.

00:59:22 Speaker 14: Additional funds must still be available within the relevant budget and are required to complete work as part of the original contract.

00:59:22 Speaker 14: Any change order pushing a project over total awarded budget will still require reporting to Council.

00:59:23 Speaker 14: We also added completed-project-over-budgeting reporting to ensure transparency and accountability for open competitive bids that went over budget by 20% or more (including contingency allowances),

00:59:23 Speaker 14: done when a project is formally closed by the project lead as part of our biannual report; this threshold increased from $50,000 to $125,000.

00:59:24 Speaker 14: This report will include any contract over $125,000 falling under delegation and expanded detail.

00:59:25 Speaker 14: A new section titled "Commitment" relates to the climate action strategy (previously named Green Procurement); we also added Ontario- and Canadian-made goods and services in light of the Buy Ontario Act and directives.

00:59:25 Speaker 14: A new section related to maintenance of documents will update several procedures, including vendor performance and change orders.

00:59:25 Speaker 14: This is just an overview pie chart showing the number of hours that...

00:59:26 Speaker 14: have been delegated to this policy, which is estimated at one hundred and fifty hours; this process began in February two thousand and twenty-five by the Manager of Corporate Services at the time, Bradey Carbert,

00:59:26 Speaker 14: who played a large role in starting this process.

00:59:27 Speaker 14: It also included contributions from the Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Operational Effectiveness—that's a long title—Michelle Palmer, and the Manager of Legislative Services, Kristen Van Elfen, and the Purchasing and Claims Coordinator.

00:59:28 Speaker 01: This update was included in the Manager Corporate Services two thousand and twenty-five work plan, and our proposed effective date is August one st, two thousand and twenty-six.

00:59:29 Speaker 01: And community communication and engagement.

00:59:29 Speaker 01: So this policy will be circulated to all staff.

00:59:30 Speaker 01: An internal lunch and learn will be completed.

00:59:30 Speaker 01: We'll make sure the policy is also available to the public and suppliers on the City's website, and we'll be updating the solicitation document templates and procedures.

00:59:31 Speaker 01: All right, and the recommendation.

00:59:32 Speaker 01: So that, in consideration of Staff Report CR-26061 respecting the Procurement Policy, the Corporate Services Committee recommends that City Council direct staff to: one,

00:59:33 Speaker 01: bring forward bylaws to adopt Procurement Policy Number AF-009 and repeal Purchasing Bylaw Number 2020-002; two, amend the Delegation of Powers and Duties Bylaw Number 2014-009 as outlined in the report; three,

00:59:33 Speaker 01: give notice of the procurement policy in accordance with Notice Bylaw 2018-022.

00:59:34 Speaker 01: With that, I'm happy to take any questions.

00:59:34 Speaker 01: Thank you, Lauren, and I now open the floor to questions.

00:59:34 Speaker 01: Looking at my right: Councilor DeBrulé.

00:59:36 Speaker 01: Thank you through you Chair.

00:59:37 Speaker 01: How?

00:59:37 Speaker 01: What are your senses about how other municipalities are feeling about these changes, especially the Buy Ontario, Buy Canada changes, and how this could affect staff timing and cost increases?

00:59:38 Speaker 01: Yeah.

00:59:38 Speaker 01: So through you Chair, I do attend regular Buyers meetings; that's basically my title—and other municipalities through the Ontario Public Buyers Association.

00:59:38 Speaker 01: Everyone is kind of feeling the same way: there are a lot of unknowns.

00:59:40 Speaker 01: We don't really have answers yet.

00:59:41 Speaker 01: It's a nice community where everyone helps each other out.

00:59:41 Speaker 01: We borrow from everyone's bidding documents, so that definitely helps.

00:59:41 Speaker 01: I would mention Bruce Grey networking groups; those are all municipalities within the county that meet.

00:59:42 Speaker 01: That is really helpful to understand local vendor pressures as well.

00:59:42 Speaker 01: Considering it's not always comparable to say City of Mississauga if we have a conversation with them, that has been really helpful too.

00:59:42 Speaker 01: So we have a lot of great resources and we're just kind of day by day learning.

00:59:44 Speaker 01: Do you want to expand on the 25% cost increase?

00:59:44 Speaker 01: Is that the only way to get out of this process?

00:59:44 Speaker 01: Because 25% is significant; some of these projects are multi-million-dollar projects, like Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street.

00:59:45 Speaker 01: Twenty-five percent of that is a lot of money.

00:59:45 Speaker 01: So if we have to say yes to something that's 20% above because it doesn't meet the 25% threshold—is that actually the case?

00:59:45 Speaker 01: Through you Chair: That is the guidance in the legislation thus far.

00:59:45 Speaker 01: I would note there haven't been many large-scale procurements released and closed, so I don't have too many details yet.

00:59:46 Speaker 01: I'm waiting on school boards to close a few because those are really good examples to see the impact of their budgets.

00:59:46 Speaker 01: They are still proceeding through this process and haven't done an exemption.

00:59:46 Speaker 01: We also have the ability without overriding trade agreements to specify specific products that would not increase our cost; we can specify Canadian products per se.

00:59:46 Speaker 01: So we're kind of waiting to see how large-scale projects go.

00:59:47 Speaker 01: I would say we always have an alternative approach method, but there is a risk with non-compliance regarding provincial funding.

00:59:47 Speaker 01: We just have to be cautious about that.

00:59:48 Speaker 01: As a small municipality, I usually wait for larger municipalities to release documents and close projects to see how it goes.

00:59:48 Speaker 01: I know that didn't really answer the question fully, but it did address most of it.

00:59:48 Speaker 01: So my next question is: How is this policed or audited?

00:59:48 Speaker 01: If it's OCIF funding coming through to pay for some bigger projects,

00:59:49 Speaker 01: clearly we would have a process to report back on where this money is being used—but do we do that on all procurements or all projects?

00:59:49 Speaker 01: If it's purely municipal tax-based, are we required to follow these same rules?

00:59:50 Speaker 01: For example, if the fleet isn't getting any provincial money towards new vehicles, do we have to follow these guidelines?

00:59:50 Speaker 01: And would they know if we didn't?

00:59:51 Speaker 01: Through you Chair: There is no direction or templates provided.

00:59:51 Speaker 01: We've asked for them; several municipalities have also asked what that reporting piece looks like.

00:59:51 Speaker 01: I think it's just ensuring our internal controls and decision-making are strong.

00:59:51 Speaker 01: Unfortunately, they haven't provided any guidance on this.

00:59:52 Speaker 01: They've indicated there is a risk if you don't comply but haven't specified what compliance looks like.

00:59:52 Speaker 01: Member Franken: Through you Chair, with the higher thresholds and more delegated authority, how will Council still receive enough information to monitor major procurement trends, exceptions, and completed projects that exceeded budget?

00:59:52 Speaker 01: Through you Chair: So in future we do a biannual report to this committee including all public open competitive bids over $50,000.

00:59:54 Speaker 01: Now we would be increasing that threshold to $125,000.

00:59:54 Speaker 01: We will still include the budget, procurement method, and some details regarding the procurement through that process.

00:59:54 Speaker 01: With respect to anything additional over $250,000—not within budget—we would report directly to Council for approval.

00:59:54 Speaker 01: Additionally, we continue doing completed project over-budget reporting: if a project is 20% or more over budget at time of closure, we present it to Council.

00:59:55 Speaker 01: Any other questions?

00:59:55 Speaker 01: Auslaugun: Through you Chair, the issue of thresholds may be a bit of a culture adjustment for Council because accountability and fiscal responsibility weigh heavily on Council.

00:59:55 Speaker 01: The comparison with other municipalities will be very helpful.

00:59:55 Speaker 01: Couple of questions: Number one is about weighting—you mentioned what proportion that waiting portion or weighting will have in the decision?

00:59:55 Speaker 01: Has that been established, and will it be consistent across all Grey-Bruce areas at least, but further beyond too?

00:59:56 Speaker 01: Through you Chair: Are you referring to weighted criteria required to be added?

00:59:57 Speaker 01: Specifically, I'm not diving into too much detail right now, but that is an option if we want to apply it for all open competitive bids.

00:59:57 Speaker 01: If it's an invitational bid—so currently our proposed range is $25,000 to $125,000—we would have to apply a 10% weighting for Canadian and Ontario-made goods and services as well as vendors.

00:59:57 Speaker 01: Through your Chair: If it is not possible to purchase through Ontario Made or Canadian Made—will there be an expectation that a justification report be submitted to the government to explain so we're not inadvertently penalized?

00:59:58 Speaker 01: Or will this be part of a report provided to Council, giving us ultimate responsibility for being aware and supporting the decision?

00:59:58 Speaker 01: Through you Chair: It's not a requirement that Council justification is needed.

00:59:58 Speaker 01: More often it's staff justifying as procurement experts or supportive justification through consultants.

00:59:59 Speaker 01: I think we're going to rely more on consultants than typically would for large-scale projects,

00:59:59 Speaker 01: so our costs with consultant dollars may go up slightly—I don't think it will be a massive increase—but they act as technical experts and provide support.

01:00:00 Speaker 01: So if we have internal controls and that justification is on record—saved in the project file—that should suffice.

01:00:00 Speaker 01: I don't believe this has to go to Council for approval.

01:00:00 Speaker 01: If we do an award report under Buy Ontario Act legislation, we'll probably add more detail regarding the process taken.

01:00:01 Speaker 01: Yep, good.

01:00:02 Speaker 01: Through you Madam Chair: Not really a question; just more of a comment.

01:00:02 Speaker 01: I think with a policy change like this it's good—you have to strike a balance between oversight and being able to do your job—and I think you guys have done that.

01:00:02 Speaker 01: The thresholds definitely needed increasing, and I'm in support of what you're doing.

01:00:03 Speaker 01: Any other questions?

01:00:03 Speaker 01: Councilor Dodd: None.

01:00:03 Speaker 01: Alright; seeing none.

01:00:04 Speaker 01: Good.

01:00:04 Speaker 01: Yep sure.

01:00:05 Speaker 01: Thank you through Chair Lauren—where in this report did it mention staff not being able to move money between budgets or where...

01:00:05 Speaker 01: I've read this five times now; I can't find it in the report.

01:00:07 Speaker 01: Through you, Chair, I can find the specific section.

01:00:07 Speaker 01: So on page nine of the policy, it's under the council section, and then in the staff report itself, it would be on page eight.

01:00:07 Speaker 01: Yeah, so we have the section: staff do not have the authority to move funds between approved budgets, charge unrelated expenditures to a project budget,

01:00:08 Speaker 01: or use surplus funds from one approved project to offset deficits in another without express council approval.

01:00:08 Speaker 01: Okay, so my question is: if a project is over by twenty percent at the end?

01:00:08 Speaker 01: Like, where's that money coming from?

01:00:09 Speaker 01: Like, you're in a project; it's been approved for a certain budget.

01:00:09 Speaker 01: So, where is that twenty percent coming from?

01:00:09 Speaker 01: The city maintains what we call the capital reserve, and every year we make a dedicated contribution to that reserve.

01:00:09 Speaker 01: And ultimately, that's what funds our capital program.

01:00:09 Speaker 01: Every year, every project is either over budget or under budget.

01:00:10 Speaker 01: So, if a project is over or under budget, those surplus funds go back into the capital reserve.

01:00:11 Speaker 01: And when a project comes in over budget, that would be the first place we'd look to get those funds.

01:00:12 Speaker 01: If they're not available, we'd have to look somewhere else.

01:00:13 Speaker 01: But that's really the benefit of having the multi-year capital plan: is that we're not constrained to only looking at the current year.

01:00:13 Speaker 01: We might look at, hey, next year there's an opportunity to move things around.

01:00:13 Speaker 01: But that's communicated to council through our biannual budget meetings.

01:00:14 Speaker 01: So, really, that capital reserve is the balancing tool that we use in those circumstances.

01:00:15 Speaker 01: Now, could I please have a mover?

01:00:17 Speaker 01: Councillor Merton?

01:00:18 Speaker 01: All right, Councillor Merton has moved the recommendation.

01:00:18 Speaker 01: All in favour; and I see Councillor Dodd's hand up as well.

01:00:18 Speaker 01: So, it is moved unanimously.

01:00:18 Speaker 01: Thank you.

01:00:19 Speaker 01: At eight (c), we have no reports for accounting.

01:00:19 Speaker 01: There are none under 8(d) for fire, 8(e), no reports under human resources, 8(f), no reports for information technology, 8(g), no reports for parking and bylaw enforcement, 8(h), no reports for taxes and revenue.

01:00:19 Speaker 01: At number nine, we have matters postponed, and there are no matters postponed for this meeting today.

01:00:19 Speaker 01: At number ten, motion for which notice was given: There are no motions for which notice was previously given.

01:00:20 Speaker 01: At number eleven, there is no correspondence item being presented for information.

01:00:20 Speaker 01: At number twelve, there was no discussion of additional business identified.

01:00:20 Speaker 01: At number thirteen, we have notices of motion; do we have any? Seeing none. At number fourteen, it is six thirty, and the meeting is adjourned. Thank you, everyone, for participating.