Minutes Confirmed on March 19, 2012

The Executive Committee  held a statutory public meeting on February 13, 2012, and notice was given in accordance with the Development Charges Act and the Education Act.

The Government of Canada and the European Union are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the participation of all provinces and territories. After multiple rounds of negotiation, both sides have indicated that a deal will be signed soon. While details are confidential, framework documents indicate that the EU is determined to access public sector procurement at all orders of government including municipalities and associated ABCCDs. The purpose of this report is to update the Executive Committee on the status of negotiations and, based on available information, assess some of the possible implications for Toronto.

The European Union is the largest trading block in the world and expanded access would provide very significant new markets for Canadian businesses. However, the ultimate implications of CETA are difficult to predict. This is particularly true given that offers have not been made public and there has been very little analysis shared by federal negotiators about the specific Canadian industries or labour force members that would benefit. In the absence of detailed consultation and communication, opposition to the agreement has been mounting.

The Executive Committee deferred consideration of the item until a special meeting of the Committee at a future date to be determined.

Over the past several years, Council has been made aware of the significant and growing repair needs in the City's social housing portfolio and, in particular, the backlog of needed repairs in the Toronto Community Housing (TCH) stock of social housing.  In response, Council has requested on numerous occasions that the provincial government upload the full costs of social housing and that the federal and provincial governments provide ongoing, sustainable funding for social housing repairs.  The costs of social housing have not been uploaded and at the present time, there is no ongoing, sustainable program for repairs.  As a result, the funding challenge in Toronto’s social housing continues to deepen. This report, therefore, recommends the sale of stand-alone dwellings to generate revenue to help fund repairs of the multi-unit buildings in TCH's portfolio.

TCH's proposal to sell stand-alone properties is part of its strategy to address state of good repair needs in its entire portfolio. The TCH Board has resolved that, as a condition of approval of sale, proceeds from the sales will be dedicated to a "State of Good Repair" fund for capital repairs to TCH's multi-residential stock.

In reviewing TCH's proposal and the impact on tenants, communities and TCH's financial situation, consideration has been given to the City's roles and responsibilities as sole shareholder of TCH and consolidated service manager under the Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA), as well as Council positions on affordable housing including the Housing Opportunities Toronto ten year plan, Official Plan housing policy and rental housing protection and heritage preservation requirements.

To date Council has approved TCH's requests for consent to the sale of 47 stand alone properties – 20 at below market value to another social housing provider and 27 on the open market. TCH is now seeking approval to sell another 872 stand-alone properties. These properties contain 1,534 housing units.

Included in the 872 stand-alone properties TCH is requesting approval to sell are 168 properties that have yet to be approved by the TCH Board.  Staff are recommending that Council not consider their sale and refer consideration of the possible sale of these properties back to TCH for further analysis.

The 704 properties approved for sale by TCH's Board of Directors include 11 properties which have previously been approved for sale by both TCH and Council. These properties do not need to be considered by Council again.

Also included in the 704 properties approved for sale by TCH's Board of Directors are 18 supportive housing properties.  Through referral and head lease agreement with TCH, supportive housing agencies are able to provide special needs clients support and affordable housing in a communal setting.  Staff recommend that these properties (with 81 units in total) not be approved for sale at this time and that TCH proceed with further analysis and consultation with these supportive housing agencies and their clients.

Therefore, this report recommends that Council approve the sale of 675 TCH houses containing 740 units, as listed in Appendix A, subject to a set of conditions aimed at supporting tenants and satisfying statutory and regulatory requirements.  The following chart summarizes the disposition of the properties: 

Based on TCH estimates, these 675 properties have a combined market value of at least $222 million that can be put towards the approximately $650 million needed for capital repairs. It is understood that TCH intends to take a phased approach over a number of years to the sale of these 675 properties and develop a business case for the sale of each property.  TCH will not evict tenants or withdraw rent-geared-to-income (RGI) subsidy to qualified residents as a result of Council's approval of the sales and will make reasonable efforts to relocate households to suitable alternative accommodation.

Should Council approve the sale of the 675 TCH properties, 644 of them will still need the consent of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and/or Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Consideration by Council of the sale of any other TCH stand-alone properties may be given at a later date after TCH has concluded its analysis of the feasibility and benefits of such sales.

Letter (December 5, 2011) from the Interim Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, forwarding the decision of the Board of Directors for the sale of Toronto Community Housing's stand-alone units which was approved at the Board meeting on October 21, 2011.

At its meeting of January 24, 2012, Executive Committee deferred report EX15.1 from the City Manager and the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration entitled Securing Funding to Repair Toronto Community Housing's Multi-Residential Portfolio: Sale of Toronto Community Housing Stand-Alone Units to the February 13^th meeting.  In response to questions raised by Councillors on the proposed sale of its stand-alone properties, the Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Community Housing (TCH) has prepared the attached report.

The report describes the background to TCH's state of good repair funding shortfall, how TCH manages capital repairs and how the proposed sale of stand-alone units would assist TCH. The report further explains how TCH will support affected tenants, maintain the same level of rent geared to income units and how the sale of units will be phased in order to best accommodate tenants.

Capital Repair Deficit $1.7 billion by 2020

Over the next several years, $45 million annually has been allocated by TCH for capital repairs. The property tax exemption will save an additional $9 million per year leaving an unfunded gap of just over $90 million per year. Without the additional investment the capital deficit of $751 million in 2012 will grow to approximately $1.7 billion by 2020 and the average state of repair for these buildings will move to "Poor" in 2015 and "Critical" by 2018.

With the investment of $222 million over five years from the sale of the stand-alone units, the primary focus would be repairs to the building envelope, the building structure and the main services in the building such as electrical, mechanical, elevators and life safety systems. Under the plan approximately 86% of TCH's portfolio would have some work done assisting approximately 55,246 or 94% of the households in Toronto Community Housing.  The relocation of 2,200 tenants will repair buildings that house over 55,000 tenant households. This key investment of $222 million will maintain the condition in a "Fair" state of repair to 2015 rather than the projected "Poor" condition.

In order to bring the TCH portfolio to a "Good" state of repair by 2017 and to maintain the "Good" state of repair beyond that, additional annual funding from the federal and provincial governments of $150 million from 2013 to 2017 and $90 million a year from 2018 thereafter is required. This, combined with the investment by TCH, will reduce the annual capital deficit to $362 million by 2017.

I am forwarding the report from the Chief Executive Officer of TCH to the Executive Committee for consideration with the City staff report deferred from January 24, 2012.

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer to establish an obligatory reserve fund called the “Community Development Reserve Fund” for receiving cash contributions for community development projects supporting local capacity building, resident engagement, revitalization and redevelopment as per the criteria noted in the comments section of this report.

2.         City Council direct that Municipal Code, Chapter 227 [Reserves and Reserve Funds] be amended by adding the “Community Development Reserve Fund” to Schedule No. 15 - Third Party Agreements Obligatory Reserve Funds.

3.         City Council authorize the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to execute agreements, in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, to accept contributions into the Community Development Reserve Fund.

4.         City Council direct that all contributions received by the City for the Community Development Reserve Fund be held and accounted for within a separate account in the Community Development Reserve Fund designated for the particular purpose of the contribution.

5.         The City accept the contribution from Metrolinks of $1.1 million to support the redevelopment of the Toronto Parking Authority's (TPA) surface parking lot at 16 John Street as a Cultural/Creative Hub, including the Weston Village Farmer's Market, replacement TAP parking and a residential component.

6.         The City accept contributions of up to $500,000 from Toronto Community Foundation to support the Recipe for Community Change project in the Weston-Mount Dennis neighbourhood area.  The project will support resident-identified initiatives in the areas of neighbourhood greening and beautification, community gathering, food and nutrition, and youth engagement.

7.         City Council authorize the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to execute, administer and negotiate agreements, in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, with community agencies for the provision of funding from the Community Development Reserve Fund for community development projects, on the following conditions:

             a.        Any community agency receiving funding hereunder shall:

                         i.         be an incorporated not-for-profit community-based organization;

                         ii.        be located in the city of Toronto;

                        iii.        serve Toronto residents;

                        iv.        be responsive to community need;

 v.        not have any unmet contract or agreement deliverables with the City of Toronto; and

b.         All community development projects authorized hereunder shall deliver programs and services that are aligned with a City mandate, as determined by the Executive Director.

8.        City Council grant leave for the introduction of any necessary bills in Council to give effect thereto.

This report recommends a protocol regarding indemnification of City Council members who sit on the boards of external bodies where there has been no appointment approved by the City.  The protocol requires Council members to conduct due diligence before serving on an external board as part of their role as a Council member, including determining whether the external body has its own Director's Liability Insurance in place.  In addition, any claims arising through Council members serving in a board member capacity must first be pursued through the insurance coverage of the external body.

This report has been prepared in consultation with the City Solicitor, the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager, and the City Clerk.

The Executive Committee requested the City Manager, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to report back to the Committee on possible amendments to the Shareholder Directions for all of the City's wholly-owned corporations that would direct the disclosure of executive compensation as part of annual reporting where permitted at law, for example where disclosure is mandated as a condition of executive employment.

This report transmits documents from Build Toronto Inc., Invest Toronto Inc. and the Toronto Port Lands Company to City Council disclosing the compensation of executive officers employed by the corporation in 2010.

The purpose of this report is to:

1.         Seek City Council's approval of  the terms and conditions upon which the City would implement the independence of the Canadian National Exhibition Association (CNEA), including confidential attachments regarding employee information associated with this agreement; and

2.         Make recommendations to City Council regarding the composition of the Exhibition Place Board of Governors to remove the four CNEA representatives on the Exhibition Place Board of Governors in order to transition the CNEA to independent governance.

Council approval of the Term Sheet and governance adjustments will enable the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place to execute a Master Agreement with the CNEA and implement a transition for CNEA independence in 2013. The Exhibition Place Report dated January 31, 2012 from the Chief Executive Officer in Attachment 1 to this report should be referred to for more detailed and technical information.

 This report recommends a new governance structure for the Toronto Transit Commission that will transition the Commission to a hybrid, skills-based board of citizens and City Council members collectively representing a broader range of qualifications required to meet the significant management challenges facing the TTC in the foreseeable future.  The primary change recommended is the inclusion of five citizen member positions on the board, recruited through an advertised process, and four City Council member positions, one of whom serves as Chair in recognition of the significant service delivery and financial impacts on the City related to the TTC. These recommended changes will take effect at the mid-term of this term of Council.

Dr. Gordon Chong and Dr. Jo Kennelly of Toronto Transit Infracture Ltd. (TTIL), and Brad Watson of KPMG made a presentation on this matter.

The Executive Committee recommends that City Council advise the Government of Ontario and ask it to consider the issues identified in the White Paper on Provincial Offences Act (POA) Unpaid Fines, attached to the letter (January 13, 2012) from the Chair, Toronto Police Services Board.

 The purpose of this report is to provide the Executive Committee with the Ontario Association of Police Services Board’s (OAPSB) White Paper entitled “Provincial Offences Act – Unpaid Fines A Billion Dollar Problem.

The Executive Committee recommends that City Council receive the item for information.

The purpose of this report is to provide Toronto City Council, via the Executive Committee, with the Toronto Police Service’s 2012 Service Priorities and Business Plan.

On December 2008, City Council enacted a bylaw requiring all retailers located in the City of Toronto to charge customers a 5 cent per bag fee in an effort to decrease the amount of discarded plastic bags in our landfills.     The bylaw went into effect on June 2009 with the hopeful intent that retailers reinvest the proceedings to environmental and community related initiatives.    

Despite initial opposition, the bag fee was readily accepted by the public as previous voluntary bag fees already existed among some major retailers.  Charging for bags is not relegated to Toronto but seen nationally and internationally. Consumers acknowledge that the plastic bags are harmful to our ecology and should be used less in favour of reusable bags.

Given the City's systemic budget challenges and the public outcry to protect popular municipal programs, the City determine if collected bag fees could be voluntary incorporated under the aegis of the City's Toronto's Office of Partnerships.    Many businesses that I have spoken to support the idea that the bag tax be specifically allocated into a meaningful municipal program, such as Forestry operations. 

They support restoring the urban tree canopy that has been recently decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer (there are 860,000 ash trees impacted in Toronto) and other invasive species harmful to our local tree inventory.     Businesses support the idea that their respective bag tax proceeds be directed to a tree canopy program recognized by the City in the form of a visible window display.