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May 18/05 Report
Start time: 9:39 a.m. Adjournment: 11:26 a.m.
Attendance: ("A" = absent)
- Councillor D. Braden, (Chair) in 9:25
- Councillor P. Bruckler (A)
- Councillor C. Collins in 9:45, out 10:35, in 10:38 (total time missed: 9 min.)
- Councillor M. Ferguson in 9:37, out 10:39, in 10:56 (total time missed: 17 min.)
- Councillor M. Pearson in 9:35
- Councillor A. Samson (Vice Chair) in 9:33, out 9:54, in 9:57 (total time missed: 3 min.)
Also Present :
- Councillor Whitehead (for item 5.3)
- Councillor McCarthy (for item 5.2)
Staff:
- T. Del Monaco
- P. Barkwell - City Solicitor
- G. Peace - General Manager
- M. Amorosi - Human Resources
- C. Graham - General Manager, Human Resources
- C. Biggs - Legislative Assistant, City Clerk's Dept.
Media
CATCH Roberts
4. DELEGATIONS REQUESTS
Request from John Shymko to appear before the Committee respecting Item 8.1 - Red Hill Valley Project Financial Status Update - CARRIED
5. DELEGATIONS
5.1 Cat Cayuga, Project Manager, Citizen Protection Project, to present a report from Community Consultations (Approved by Committee on April 20, 2005) http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/clerk/agendas-minutes-reports/
corporate-administration/2005/May18/Item%205.1.pdf
Powerpoint presentation
Councillor Pearson commented that this report should also go to Social & Public Health Committee.
Agreed.
5.2 Mr. Stan Howarth, respecting the Hamilton Citizen Satisfaction Survey commissioned by Market Probe (Approved by Committee on May 4, 2005)
http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/clerk/agendas-minutes-reports/
corporate-administration/2005/May18/Item%205.2%20-%20Stan%20Howarth.pdf
Mr. Howarth's presentation (pdf file, 1.24 MB)
Committee received Mr. Howarth's presentation and Councillor McCarthy assured him that it will go to Council May 25, 2005.
5.3 Ms. Christa Chamberlain, Tiger's Lair, respecting 2005 Community Partnership Program grant request (Requested to appear by the Committee on May 4, 2005) (no copy)
Councillor Ferguson stated that the application that was approved by the Grants Committee, was turned down by staff because it did not meet the criteria for a grant. (See Corporate Administration Report on CATCH website, May 4, 2005). Ferguson asked for this presentation in order to give some background on the Tiger's Lair before approving the grant.
Councillor Whitehead does not support a grant ($1500) being given to this business, as it did not meet the criteria, did not go through the right process, and other applicants that did meet the criteria were turned down. ( Whitehead is not a member of this committee.)
Motion is passed to support the grant, Braden is recorded as opposed.
5.4 John Shymko respecting Item 8.1 Red Hill Valley Project Financial Status Update
Hi. My name is John Shymko , and I am the chair for the Hamilton chapter of the Council of Canadians. I want to apologize to Carolyn Biggs, as I promised to get her the information I am presenting today beforehand, but had to work late to get the time off work to be here.
I'm here to tell the committee before I do a press release that we have arranged to have Sheila Copps speak at the First Unitarian Church on Dundurn on May 31 st and to offer to act as a vehicle to arrange a meeting to try to come to an understanding on the Federal Lawsuit the Council has launched against Federal Government employees, including Sheila.
As I reported the last time I spoke here, Sheila Copps and David Anderson have expressed their intent to fight the case.
I would ask the members of this committee to bear in mind that this situation is not unlike someone suing the members of Hamilton City Council who voted against auditing Mayor Di Ianni's expenses, as a court of law has determined that Council was mistaken in that decision.
I am also here to offer to try to arrange a meeting to try to come to an understanding with individuals named in the suit.
In Report LS04021, Council was advised that the projected budget for action against the Federal government was $450,000.00. To the end of March the City has paid accounts with respect to this matter totaling $53,770.41.
The Council of Canadians was not involved with the Red Hill Expressway issue and this is not an attempt to continue the issue. We are only interested in responsible governance.
On a related note, I have been in touch with some of the people named in the injunction suit. I think we've spent about $40,000.00 dollars on this already and budgeted $150,000.00 -$200,000.00.
These people are poor. There will be no financial gain from this suit. None. Should these people serve time in incarceration, there will be an added expense to the community to feed, hold and punish them.
And for what?
I believe Mayor Di Ianni has publicly stated that they had no effect in slowing down the Expressway construction.
A high percentage, if not all, of these people will not eat meat, as they consider it an unnecessary cruelty to living things. They are idealists, and their vision of this world is far gentler than yours and mine. And they demonstrated considerable bravery in their actions. I don't know how many of us would even climb to the heights that they lived in, let alone make the sacrifice of comfort, safety and personal well being that they endured.
This suit will ruin their lives. They will most probably be incarcerated, have a debt they cannot pay off and will face legal consequences for the rest of their lives for this commitment.
Again, let me stress that the City has nothing whatsoever to gain from this suit.
I would like you to meet these people. Personally. Talk to them. Find out what makes them tick, and why they felt it was so important to risk their lives, freedom and finances for what they did.
Because they are people. Not agitators, not hooligans, not criminals. People with ideas for making this world a better place.
In 2001, I went to the Quebec Summit of the Americas as an observer. I witnessed a lot of things I had never seen before, but one scene stands out in my mind.
There is a group of women called the Gaians, who worship nature in her many forms. I came across about sixty of them between two buildings, sitting cross-legged and singing lullabies in French. At the end of the alley were a group of about 40 helmeted police officers in riot gear with tear gas rifles.
As the woman softly sang, the order came through to clear the alley. The commander of the police force spoke for some time on his radio before raising his bullhorn, and in English and in French, informed these women that he was about to clear the alley and that the police were going to fire canisters into the crowd if they did not leave.
Silence ensued, and one of the woman asked "porquoi?"
The commander did not answer, and the women again proceeded to sing the soft lullaby.
About five minutes passed. Again, the commander, in English and in French, issued the command on his bullhorn.
Again the woman asked "porquoi?"
The police were unsure of themselves. I watched as the men surveyed the cross-legged women, possibly envisioning their mothers and grandmothers in the crowd. The commander was visually shaken.
Five more minutes. The scene repeated itself. This time, the police put on their gas masks.
Another repetition.
The police raised their rifles, and the women remained stationary and continued their singing.
I could see what was going to happen, so I tried to grab a few of them to pull them to safety.
Unfortunately, they wouldn't move. Not one of them.
Finally, the order came through and the police fired seven canisters of tear gas into the crowd.
My point in telling this story is that even though these men were simply doing their jobs, they were by no means morally exempt from their actions.
The only real difference I can see here is that the men were simply following orders, while this council is issuing them.
To my understanding, it would take a two-thirds majority to reverse the decision by council to carry on with this lawsuit where no one gains anything. That would mean only three councilors would have to reverse their vote. Let me introduce you to these kids, one on one. Then you decide what your action should be. If nothing else, you may have something to go on in making an informed decision that is going to affect these kids for a lifetime. Thank you.
No questions, no discussion followed this presentation.
(Pearson/Collins) Presentation received
6. CONSENT ITEMS
6.1 Minutes of Various Citizen Committees
(a) Committee Against Racism - February 22, 2005
http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/clerk/agendas-minutes-reports/
corporate-administration/2005/May18/Item%206.1%20-%20
Minutes%20-%20Mar%2022%2005.pdf
(Pearson/Samson) Carried
7. STAFF PRESENTATIONS
7.1 City of Hamilton Workforce Profile/Demographic Report (HUR05008 ) (City Wide)
http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/clerk/agendas-minutes-reports/
corporate-administration/2005/May18/HUR05008%20Workforce
%20Profile.pdf
Presentation by Mark Amorosi, Human Resources
(Pearson/Samson ) Carried
8. DISCUSSION ITEMS
8.1 Red Hill Valley Project Financial Status Report (FCS05027(b)/ PW05023(b)) (City Wide) http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/clerk/agendas-minutes-reports/
corporate-administration/2005/May18/FCS05027b%20PW05023b
%20RHVP%20Financial%20Status%20Report.pdf
"Payments made in March total just over $4.435 million" "Six Nations - $82,782.44 Site monitoring costs for the RHVP Archaeology works (also includes monitoring at the Recliner site (for the MTO)" .
Legal Charges : March total $34,037.77
Action against Federal Government - $ 25,216.67
Injunction Issues - $ 1,519.20
Legal Counsel - $ 7,301.90
Action against Federal Government
In Report LS04021, Council was advised that the projected budget for this matter was $450,000.00. To the end of March the City has paid accounts with respect to this matter totalling $53,770.41. This breaks down as $49,687.50 for legal fees, $590.73 for disbursements and $3,492.18 for GST.
Application for finding of contempt
In Report LS04021, Council was advised that the projected budget for this matter was $150,000.00-200,000.00. To the end of March 2005, the City has paid accounts with respect to this matter totaling $41,250.05. This breaks down as $38,194.00 for legal fees, $358.26 for disbursements and $2,697.79 for GST."
No discussion.
Carried.
8.2 Phase-in and Indexing of Development Charge Rates (FCS05057) (City Wide)
http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/clerk/agendas-minutes-reports/
corporate-administration/2005/May18/FCS05057%20Phase-
In%20&%20Indexing%20of%20DC%20Rates%202005.pdf
"In accordance with Development Charges By-law 04-145, development charge (DC) rates are to be adjusted annually by the percentage change during the preceding year of the Statistics Canada Quarterly Construction Price Statistics, catalogue number 62-007. All DC rates will be indexed by 6.62% to reflect the percentage change in 2004 average annual index."
(b) "The report recommends that a transition policy to offset the financial impact to developments already in progress be implemented whereby the development charge rate payable is the rate in effect on the date that a completed building permit application is received by the City, provided that the building permit is issued within 6 months of the application date."
Issued was raised by Councillor Samson as to what happens when there is a substantial delay before the builder presents the application to the City for the building permit, and because of this delay, the increased development charges are in effect and the home owner has to pay the increased charges.
Staff (Tony Del Monaco) reply that they can't prevent the builder from not processing the application within the 6 months time frame to avoid the increase.
It was suggested that the general public, when taking out an application, be made aware of fee changes and that their application expires in 6 months.
(Ferguson/Samson) Carried
11. GENERAL INFORMATION/OTHER BUSINESS
That the following items be removed:
From Outstanding Business report
A - Revenue Generation Proposals
B - Term Ending Report Card 6 municipalities and Region
From 2005 Budget Process - Council Directed Task List
Item 3 - Revenue impact - no event nights as a result of HECFI events
Item 11 - Ward Budgets/$25,000 contingency
(Pearson/Samson ) Carried
12. PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
12.1 2005 Non-Union Salary Adjustment and Income Protection Plan (HUR05009) (City Wide)
Committee decided there was no need to go "in camera" with this report. C. Graham stated that the report not be made public.
ADJOURNMENT
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