Open Council

Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee

Open Council

Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee

July 28, 2021, at 4:00 PM

Original link

The meeting is called to order at 4:00 PM; it being noted that the following Members were in remote attendance: M. van Holst, M. Salih, J. Helmer, M. Cassidy, S. Lehman, A. Hopkins, P. Van Meerbergen, E. Peloza, A. Kayabaga and S. Hillier.

1.   Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest

That it BE NOTED that no pecuniary interests were disclosed.

Moved by S. Lewis

Seconded by S. Hillier

That, pursuant to section 27.6 of the Council Procedure By-law, the order of business be changed to allow for consideration of item 4.2 at this time.

Motion Passed (14 to 0)

2.   Consent

Moved by J. Helmer

Seconded by E. Peloza

That items 2.1 to 2.3 BE APPROVED.

Motion Passed (14 to 0)

2.1   2020 Performance Report and May 2021 Semi-Annual Progress Report

2021-07-28 Staff Report - 2020 Semi-Annual Progress Report

Moved by J. Helmer

Seconded by E. Peloza

That, on the recommendation of the City Manager, the staff report dated July 28, 2021 including the 2020 Performance Report, May 2021 Semi-Annual Progress Report BE RECEIVED for information.

Motion Passed

2.2   Municipal Accommodation Tax - Required Annual Report

2021-07-28 Staff Report - Municipal Accommodation Tax

Moved by J. Helmer

Seconded by E. Peloza

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development, Tourism’s London annual report on the expenditure of Municipal Accommodation Tax revenues BE RECEIVED for information.

Motion Passed

2.3   Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Advisory Committee

Moved by J. Helmer

Seconded by E. Peloza

That the following actions be taken with respect to the 3rd and 4th Reports of the Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Advisory Committee from its meetings held on June 17 and July 15, 2021, respectively:

a) clauses 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1 and 4.2, inclusive of the 3rd Report of the Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Advisory Committee BE RECEIVED;

b) the following actions be taken with respect to the Election of Community Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (CDIS) Leadership Table Representative:

i) the Civic Administration BE REQUESTED to attend the next Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Advisory Committee to provide an overview of CDIS; and,

ii) the election of the representative BE POSTPONED to the next meeting;

c) clauses 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 and 6.1 of the 4th Report of the Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Advisory Committee BE RECEIVED.

Motion Passed

3.   Scheduled Items

None.

4.   Items for Direction

4.1   Request for Delegation Status - Roula Hawa, Mischa Mackie (Schlemmer) and Reeti Chopra - Housing and Homelessness Crisis

2021-07-28 Submission - Recommendations Brescia and Gender-Based Violence Project 2021

2021-07-28 Presenation - Housing and Homelessness Crisis

Moved by A. Hopkins

Seconded by M. Cassidy

The following actions be taken with respect to the delegation from Roula Hawa, Mischa Mackie (Schlemmer) and Reeti Chopra related to the Housing and Homelessness Crisis in London:

a)   the above-noted presentation BE RECEIVED: and,

b)   the recommendations forming part of the presentation BE FORWARDED to the Civic Administration, for consideration and potential implementation, including but not limited to participation in the knowledge-exchange activities related to this report.

Motion Passed (14 to 0)

Additional votes:

Moved by M. Cassidy

Seconded by M. van Holst

That the requested delegation status for Roula Hawa, Mischa Mackie (Schlemmer) and Reeti Chopra BE APPROVED to be heard at this time.

Motion Passed (14 to 0)

4.2   Consideration of Appointment to the London & Middlesex Community Housing Board (Requires 1 Council Member)

Moved by E. Peloza

Seconded by P. Van Meerbergen

That Councillor J. Morgan BE APPOINTED to the London & Middlesex Community Housing Board for the term ending November 15, 2022.

Motion Passed (13 to 1)

Voting Record:

Appointment of a Council Member to the London and Middlesex Community Housing Board

Majority Winner: J. Morgan

5.   Deferred Matters/Additional Business

5.1   (ADDED) Consideration of Vaccine Mandates

2021-07-28 Submission - Consideration of Vaccine Mandates

Moved by J. Morgan

Seconded by E. Peloza

That the communication dated July 26, 2021 from Councillor M. van Holst BE RECEIVED and no further action BE TAKEN.

Motion Passed (11 to 2)

5.2   (ADDED) Regional Transportation and Mobility Across Southwestern Ontario

2021-07-28 Submission - Regional Transportation and Mobility Across Southwestern Ontario

Moved by Mayor E. Holder

Seconded by J. Morgan

That, the following actions be taken with respect to the communication dated July 27, 2021 from Mayor E. Holder and Deputy Mayor J. Morgan regarding the Regional Transportation and Mobility across Southwestern Ontario :

a)    the Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to develop a conceptual framework for a Regional Transportation/Mobility Hub in downtown London, including working with London Transit to explore potential connections between a regional transportation/mobility hub and local City of London transit routes, including the proposed bus rapid transit system, for Council’s consideration; and,

b)   the Mayor BE REQUESTED to engage with the Southwest Ontario Transportation Task Force membership on the opportunity of positioning the City of London as a Regional Transportation/Mobility Hub for consideration by the Province of Ontario under the Connecting the Southwest: A Draft Transportation Plan for Southwestern Ontario.

Motion Passed (13 to 0)

6.   Adjournment

Moved by E. Peloza

Seconded by A. Hopkins

That the meeting BE ADJOURNED.

Motion Passed

The meeting adjourned at 5:16 PM.

Full Transcript

Transcript provided by Lillian Skinner’s London Council Archive. Note: This is an automated speech-to-text transcript and may contain errors. Speaker names are not identified.

View full transcript (1 hour, 19 minutes)

[1:59] Colleagues, I’ll ask screens on please. Colleagues, welcome to the 11th meeting of the strategic priorities and policy committee July 28th. It’s a virtual meeting held during the COVID-19 emergency.

[2:37] I’d ask you to check as public the city website for current details of COVID-19 service impacts, meetings can be viewed via live streaming on YouTube and the city’s website. The city of London is committed to making every effort to provide alternate formats and communication supports for council standing or advisory committee meetings and information upon request. To make a request for any city service, please contact accessibility@london.ca or 519. 661-249, extension 2425, and to make a request specific to this meeting, please contact SPPEC@london.ca.

[3:16] I’ll look for any disclosures of beginner interest. I see non-colleagues as is our custom. I should advise you that Councilor Turner is unable to attend today’s meeting and extends his regrets. Before we turn to the consent agenda, I’ll call on Councillor Lewis, please. Thank you, Your Worship. And through you colleagues, I’d like to move a change in order to tonight’s agenda and deal with item 4.2, the consideration of appointment to London and Middlesex Community Housing Board off the top of our agenda.

[3:56] We have some pretty substantive reports on the consent agenda that folks may wish to talk about. We have a delegation coming later, which may generate some debate. And this item on housing has now been before us at both SPPEC and a council with concerns about attendance and who is voting. And I’ve been made aware that Councilor Van Meerberg and also has to leave us early this evening. So with that in mind, giving as many Councillors as possible, the opportunity to vote, I’d like us to deal with that off the top. I’m in the hands of Council.

[4:30] Do you have a seconder for your motion? I see Councillor Hillier. We will put this to vote in a moment. Comments or questions? So the question is to move 4.2 up preceding the consent agenda. I see no comments or questions with that we’ll call the vote. Oh, excuse me, Deputy Mayor Morgan, go ahead. Yeah, my question is it would be ideal ‘cause we’ve had this a couple of times where members of Council are in present for this. And I think part of our desire was to deal with this at this time. So do we know if Councilor Turner is joining us or if any other members of Council have to leave?

[5:09] Like I’m happy to deal with it whenever, but I’m the ideal of all members of Councilor here if it’s possible. The clerk may wish to comment. I advise that Councilor Turner will not be attending the full meeting and I am not aware of any others beyond my just recent information to Councilor Van Merberg and may be leaving closer to five o’clock, but I’ll call on the clerk. Through you, Your Worship, I have not received any other notifications. Deputy Mayor, any other comments? No.

[5:42] Any other comments or questions? Do you know what we’ll call the question? Your Worship. Who is there? I’m sorry? This is Councilor Layman, I’m having trouble logging in, but I will vote yay. All right, thank you very much, Councilor Layman. Your votes are, the vote is up on screen, colleagues. Councilor Hopkins, Councilor Van Merbergen.

[6:43] All vote yay. Yes, I’m having problems logging in, although yes. Thank you. Closing the vote, the motion’s carried 14 to zero. Colleagues and for the benefit of the public, we are now going into one of the items for direction 4.2 consideration of appointment to the London and Middlesex community housing board. We are requiring one council member in addition to the most recent council appointee. You will call on our last meeting. Councilor Squire was elected to this position.

[7:19] There are two positions to be elected. So with that, I will also bring to your attention an added item, which is a letter from the Deputy Mayor indicating his interest in being considered for appointment to the London and Middlesex community housing board. So unless he’s changed his mind, I will take that as an acknowledgement of his interest and I’ll look for any other nominations from the floor. Are there nominations from the floor? Councillor Caiabaga.

[7:56] Thank you. Mr. Mayor, I’d like to put my name forward as well. Thank you very much. Any other nominations from the floor? So I’d like to have a motion that acknowledges both Deputy Mayor Morgan and Councillor Caiabaga as candidates for the single position. Councillor Palazzo, seconded by Councillor Hopkins. I have a question.

[8:30] Yes, Councillor Hopkins. I understood that Councillor Van Holst’s name was put forward. Does that mean he no longer has put his name forward? And we only have Councillor or Deputy Mayor Morgan and Councillor Caiabaga. I just want to confirm. Councillor Van Holst can speak for himself, but I was not made aware of his intention to seek the nomination, but I’ll allow him to speak for himself. Thank you. Your worship, I was under the impression that it’s a decided matter of council that I would not be on the board.

[9:11] And of course, we serve at the pleasure of council. So, but I might confirm that with the clerks. I believe your sense of that is quite correct, but I’ll ask the clerk to confirm, please. Councillor, thank you. That is correct. So I think Councillor Hopkins, that answers the question there. It was a decided matter of council that so Councillor Van Holst will, his name will not be put forward. Yeah, thank you for that clarification. Thank you. All right, so we’ve got a Councillor Palosa to move these two candidates for consideration.

[9:47] Seconded by, I want to do this just the proper way. Councillor Lewis, thank you very much. So we’re going to go to vote. We’ve got Councillor Lewis. Thank you, Your Worship. I’m just wondering through you, because this question arose at the original SPPC meeting with regard to meeting times. And obviously they can choose not to answer if they wish, but through you, I would like to ask both individuals from council who’ve put their name forward.

[10:20] If there’s any scheduling conflict that will end up creating a vacancy on another board or commission. All right, well, let’s do that in the order of their names forward. If you understand the question, Deputy Mayor, any concerns about that timeframe? No, I have no concerns. Thanks very much. Councillor Kabab, any concerns about that timeframe? Well, his question is whether or not that would cause a vacancy in any other board. I think that should be left for the Councillor to make that decision.

[10:52] But I’m fine with the proposed schedule. All right, I think you’ve answered the question. Thank you. Any other comments or questions before we put this to the vote? I see none. Clerk, I’ll ask you to put the names forward, please. Through the chair, there will be a vote open momentarily for the selection process.

[11:41] There are two candidates available to select from and voters should choose one. Closing the vote and the selected candidate is Councillor Morgan.

[12:35] Thank you. I’d like to thank both candidates for having their names forward. And Deputy Mayor, good luck in that role. We appreciate it very much. Thank you. So we need a motion to confirm Councillor Morgan. Deputy Mayor Morgan as the pointy, the second point you’d let them know, six community housing board. Moved by Councillor Ploughs, seconded by Councillor van Mirberg and thank you very much. Let’s call the question. Closing the vote, the motion’s passed 13 to one.

[13:53] Thanks very much. Colleagues on the, I’ll move this agenda. For the benefit of the public, there are three items on the consent agenda and which we can deal with in one motion overall. If anyone wishes an item to be pulled to be voted on separately, we can certainly do that. Failing that, colleagues are able to speak to any and all of these issues individually. So with that, we have three items on the consent agenda. I’ll ask if anyone wishes to have any of the items pulled for voting purposes. Seeing none, I will look for a motion to accept then the consent agenda, moved by Councillor Halmer, seconded by Councillor Palazzo.

[14:37] Thanks very much. Okay, we have items two, one, two, two, and two, three. Do colleagues have any comments or questions with respect to any of these items? I wonder for the benefit of just continuity if there are no questions or, I’ll start with 2.1 in the 2020 performance report and May 2021 semi-annual progress report, any comments or questions? Councillor Vanholz, please go ahead.

[15:13] Thank you, worship. So extend my gratitude to our staff for accomplishing a great deal. So, and there’s a number of good news points in here where we’ve exceeded expectations, certainly in terms of new affordable rental stock. We’ve exceeded that by 10%. I also am pleased that we’ve managed, and it was our goal, but we’ve met the goal of evaluating all the school sites for potential new affordable housing.

[15:49] So, should those become available? We’ve already done the work to determine whether or not that would be a good site for us. So, there’s plenty in here. I think I’ll leave my comments to those. Thank you. Thanks very much. Any other comments or questions with respect to 2.1? colleagues, I’ll ask you, if there are any comments with respect to 2.2, which is the annual report of the municipal accommodation tax. That’s right.

[16:28] I was waiting to see if anyone else wanted to talk about 2.1. I just wanted to say very briefly, I found the report to be very helpful and very clear in terms of traffic progress in terms, especially in terms of the metrics and the targets for each of the various strategies. I know that a lot of work goes into preparing the performance report in particular and keeping an eye not only on whether things are on time, but how we’re doing in terms of achieving those outcomes. And it’s been an ongoing process in developing that reporting.

[17:01] And I think it’s really in a good place right now and I wanted to go in the staff for the work they’ve done to produce that report. A couple of things that I want to comment on in terms of 2020, one is some really encouraging results in the homelessness prevention and housing area. I know a number of those metrics, you see a higher than expected numbers in a year that was very challenging for the service area. And I want to say really good work. I know there’s lots more to be done on that front, but it’s really encouraging to see those kind of numbers coming out of the year where we were so severely impacted by the pandemic.

[17:36] And similarly, the staff and information technology services and generally enterprise supports trying to transform the workforce and support the move to remote work. That was a very large undertaking in a very short period of time. And you can see throughout the report references to the successes that happened in that area. And even on top of that progress and a lot of important files that touched that service area. And I think that that shouldn’t go by without commenting. There’s obviously a lot of really good work that’s mentioned in the report.

[18:10] I can’t mention at all that those two areas in particular, I just wanted to say very well. Thanks very much, Councillor. And by the way, the reason that we’re doing it this way, two, one then two, two, two, three is not to limit any kind of discussion, but two, one is such a huge report and we thought it appropriate so that we could focus on that. And the other two are critically important as well. And to be able to focus on them separately. So we’re not trying to limit discussion on that. It just felt organized and I was in somewhat of an organized theoretically mood today. So hopefully that gets us through where we need to be. Any other comments on 2.1, the 2020 performance report?

[18:48] Thanks very much. That moves us to the municipal accommodation tax, the annual report, any comments or questions colleagues may have. Thank you. And then finally, the diversity inclusion and anti-oppression advisory committee. You’ll note there are a couple of reports there, comments or questions. All right, colleagues, thank you. So with that, there’s a motion on the floor to move and second, that’s been duly noted. With that then, if there are no questions on the consent agenda beyond what’s been discussed, we will call the question.

[19:52] Closing the vote, the motion’s passed 14 to zero. Thank you, colleagues. We have no scheduled items, but we have one additional item for direction. That’s a request for delegation status regarding the housing and homelessness crisis from Rulahawa, Misha Maki, and Riti Shopra, and I hope I have all the pronunciations correct, and I’m at the will of this committee to proceed accordingly. So does anyone wish to make a motion? I see Councillor Cassidy, go ahead. Thank you, Your Worship.

[20:26] I would move that we grant delegation status on a future meeting. I’m assuming that the requesters are not here this evening. The clerk advises that they are here. And I would be happy to grant the delegation status tonight. I see Councillor Vanholst is seconding that as well. Comments or questions? Councillor Hopkins. Councillor vanholst, speech it to the second. That’s why Councillor Hopkins, that’s the only reason. Yeah, I was going to ask the committee if they would accept the delegation.

[21:01] So thank you. Good, so noted. Thank you very much. I see no questions. We’ll call the question. Closing the vote, the motion’s passed 14 to zero.

[21:43] Thanks very much. So online are three guests. Rulahawa, Misha Maki, Schlemmer, excuse me, and Rita Chopra. So with that, I will advise them they have five minutes for their delegation and I will invite them to come in to do some selves and please proceed accordingly and welcome to our meeting. Hello everyone.

[22:18] My name is Rulahawa. I’m an assistant professor in County Studies and Human Development at Bresha University College in London, Ontario. First, I would like to thank members of the committee and senior leadership team for the opportunity to appear as a delegation and share highlights from our study with our focus on urgent housing for women and girls, experiencing or fleeing violence in the city of London. Part of our team today, we have Misha Maki, manager of city studio in London and Rita Chopra, student at Bresha University College. Our team would like to acknowledge that we’re meeting today on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabekha de Nishone Luna-peuek and other wondering peoples, all of whom have longstanding relationships to the land of Southwestern Ontario and the city of London.

[23:01] And here’s Misha with an introduction, but please. Good afternoon. So yeah, and Misha Maki, the manager of city studio London and just to kind of set the stage, city studio London is a very exciting, experiential learning collaboration between the city of London and the five post-secondary institutions in London. This year we had over 800 student participants across nearly 50 projects. And so today we’re gonna be talking about one of these projects that was a collaboration with Bresha University College and Rula’s class.

[23:37] And we’ll be looking at this collaboration was also connected with the London Community Recovery Network and emerged out of some discussion with the city, well, with the housing services and city planning offices. Oh, I’m just adding my video. And so part of the question that we’ll be looking at is really how in the city strategic plan there was sort of this urgent need for action around homelessness that was identified and in particular around accessible and safer housing options for women and girls as a priority.

[24:10] And so we’re really excited to share with you some of the findings of this project. And thank you again for your continued support in the program city studio. Thanks very much. And I think is there a third calling with you? Yes. Hi everyone, I’m Rita Chopra. I’m also, I’m also a student of Rula Hawa. So I am part of the research project as well. And so over the summer, we worked on kind of putting the finishing touches on the project with gender-based violence for women and girls fleeing violence in the community.

[24:49] So we worked on two research questions throughout this project. So the first one is how does the housing system meet the needs of women and girls fleeing violence? And more specifically, what special support should be put in place to help women and girls fleeing violence or access and retain housing and response. And then the second one was how has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the risk for family violence and access to needed housing services? So our project timeline consisted of four phases.

[25:26] And for the first one, our partnership was formed in November 2020. And then we received an expression of interest from the Housing Association in February 2021. Then three synchronous classes with the team were conducted from February to April 2021. And our data collection period was from February to April 2021. And our data analysis and report writing of eight student reports was in April 2021. And our hubbub event was April 2021 as well.

[26:01] And then over the summer, we conducted additional interviews, final reports and recommendations from May to August. And then our IKT and engagement was from February 2021 projected until June 2022. Thank you, you still have a couple of minutes, but I’m going to invite as appropriate or as the committee desires to prompt some questions of you as well. But if you have anything else to say, I promise you, you still have a couple of minutes and I tend to be fairly tight on the clock, but having with all due respect, if there’s anything else you’d like to add before I turn it back to council members.

[26:45] Oh, no, I think I’m okay. Unless one of my colleagues wants to say something. All right, I’m just going to step in quickly in terms of knowledge, translation and community engagement. Findings for this community university partnership. We’re planning to share it in different venues. We’ve already submitted a proposal for a paper presentation to the 2022 American Educational Research Association annual conference. In addition, we’re planning to submit proposals for paper presentations to the Canadian Society for the study of education conference, the Canadian Association for the study of adult education conference.

[27:22] And we also have plans for submission to appear review journal article in progress in community health partnerships in winter 2022. For next steps, we’re asking SPPC members to refer the recommendations we’re sharing today to the strategic planning staff for an assessment and timeline for implementation. We request that a copy of that report to be sent to us. And in addition to assessing our recommendations, we would like to invite one member of the city’s strategic planning team to join us as we move the city of London to the international stage. And we have some acknowledgments, but I think you already have the reports and we’re actually open to any questions or comments.

[28:03] Thank you for your time. Well, thanks for much. Then let’s open it up to colleagues for any questions or comments. They might have of our delegation, please. Councillor Squire. Thank you very much for coming today. And I’m not going to miss this opportunity to indicate the pressure colleges in ward six that I represent. And it’s a great place for learning. It’s a very inviting place. And I’m really, I’m proud to that it’s there. The question I had for you is that, I think, you know, you’re confirming things that we’ve had anecdotal awareness of for quite some time. One of the issues is providing safe housing for women shelter housing.

[28:44] And as you may know, the city of London generally hasn’t been involved directly in the ownership of shelters and those sort of facilities. And I wonder what your thoughts are on that. In other words, we rely on caregivers in the community, other organizations to provide that to us. Do you feel that that’s something that we should be looking at in the future, whether we actually become owners and operators of facilities? We’ll take that back to the delegation for their thoughts. Yes, actually, I believe so. And I think based on some of the recommendations that we came up with, I think it’s quite important.

[29:21] And being a member on the Homelessness Coalition as well, I’m fully aware of the fact that there are some housing units that are being built. So I feel that’s definitely a very great suggestion. Councillor Skar. Oh, that’s fine. I wanted to confirm what I thought they were suggesting in the report. So thank you very much. That was very clear to me, thanks. Councillor Lewis. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I too had a couple of questions arising out of the report and the recommendations.

[29:55] And I’m actually going to build on what Councillor Squire began with, which was that we don’t actually own and operate shelters. And in fact, most of our social service agreements are in partnership with the province because when we fund operational costs like running a shelter through the property tax base, it actually makes housing more precarious for Londoners who are already struggling with housing costs, unlike the provincial and the federal governments that have access to revenue through income and consumer taxes.

[30:30] So I’m wondering through you, Chair, to our presenters, not just on the shelter piece, but there was also a piece in there about counseling services. And again, the city’s not involved in the direct provision of health care. And that includes mental health services. So I’m wondering if this information has been shared with our members of provincial parliament and if these findings are going to be brought to the province’s attention as well, because while some of them are, well, actually all of them are very valid concerns, I do see where the funding request through the city would not be something we could meet without actually creating more precarious housing for more individuals in the community.

[31:12] So is there a plan to bring this to the province’s attention as well? We’ll take that to the delegation, please. Okay, thank you. So again, being a partner with London Amused Women’s Centre, particularly with the leadership team, Megan Walker and her team, these recommendations to give you some background came out of the interviewing of members from the city of London and Middlesex. So all of that is actually at the level of the city. We have not discussed the potential for moving some of those recommendations provincially, given now all the facts around funding, but this is definitely we can discuss as a team.

[31:54] And if you have any suggestions for us as in how to bring this forward to the province level, given the funding, then we’re clearly very open towards that. But these are recommendations very much brought by, locally by leaders in the violence against human network in the city of London and Middlesex. Councillor Lusz. Thank you, Chair, and through you to our presenters. I certainly appreciate that. And certainly I’m more than willing to reach out and provide some suggestions and some thoughts on how to best connect with the province on that.

[32:30] ‘Cause I think we need them to be partners in this very much if we’re going to be successful. Even though the data that you’ve collected is local, I would be honestly surprised if similar situations can’t be paralleled in other communities in the province, given what we’ve seen in the last couple of years, both on the housing file and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. So I appreciate taking that forward. I just one further follow-up question. I know that it’s in the recommendations that you’ve brought forward.

[33:06] There are a number of things in those recommendations that we’re already working on through our multi-year budget and the commitment that actually was unanimously supported by this council with some really, really significant investments in housing. In fact, the largest investments city councils ever made in housing in this area. So have you had discussions with our housing staff in terms of what’s already in process around these? And I guess the part B to that is do you feel that some of this work is already well underway to our delegation?

[33:44] Okay, again, I need to consult with our team from the London Abuse Women’s Centre in terms of what’s happening on the ground and what’s already underway. And these are the recommendations brought from the local leaders. So I’m making the assumption that some of those things are already underway and there’s definitely room for improvement, hence those recommendations. So it’s probably worthwhile to look at what’s already been done from those recommendations.

[34:18] And again, any support that we can get from the committee towards that, we’re very much open to meeting with any member so that we could actually streamline and perhaps take those recommendations and prioritize perhaps those recommendations. Councillor Luss. Thank you, Your Worship. I’ll just finish by saying I appreciate all the work that you’ve put into this and the information that you brought forward. And I can only speak for myself, but I will certainly be following up with an opportunity to speak to you in more detail and see how I can lend a hand in getting some of the things that need to go to the senior levels of government for their attention heading in that direction too.

[35:02] Thank you, Councillor got a host. Thank you, Your Worship. And thank you to our presenters. I was very pleased to read your report and this has been some good questions already. I thought it was interesting that you also looked at the abusers in recommendation number eight ‘cause that’s a little less common to hear about. I remember years ago hearing the statistic that a boy who witnesses his father abuse his mother is 10 times more likely to become an abuser himself, which is staggering.

[35:37] And I think we see the need for that early intervention. So my question, you’re suggesting that we support these kinds of programs. What kind of programs do you think could be supported here in London in that regard? Again, back to our delegation, please. Okay, so in terms of this particular one, we’re definitely encouraging the city to support programs that provide that early intervention. And if the justice system begins to order male perpetrators removed from their homes and required to live in a shelter, the city of London could support the creation of a shelter for male abusers.

[36:17] Potentially women and children would not have to leave their homes to flee the violence. However, even if these abusers are sheltered, resources must be put in place to move the victims to a safe location or shelter if it’s still unsafe to become unsafe for them to stay in their homes. So I feel there is room for that. And given that 12 of our, these are consolidated recommendations. So 12 of the members that we interviewed and these are all leaders have recommended that this is actually a great place to suggest for the city. Councilor Van Host?

[36:52] Thank you very much. Thank you. I have Councilor Palazzo next, please. Thank you, Your Worship. And thank you to our presenters for joining us this evening. In the past, I have had the opportunity to present with the Women’s Coordinating Committee to women abuse, as this council did make a standalone pillar of the strategic priority of ending abuse for women and girls in London. Just for our presenters, as it is a multifaceted approach that’s gonna take to work our way out of this many levels of government.

[37:27] Earlier in this evening, just want to make sure that you were aware that in item 2.1, the 2020 performance report and semi annual parts report, there is a section in there on page 65 that specifically deals with women girls and what the city is doing. Lots in there have been identified, but the start date is still to be determined. And I just want to assure you that it is something that this council takes very seriously. It’s conversations that I’m sure we’re all having as individual counselors with staff.

[38:00] Part of this in 2.1 was that employees received trauma and violence lens training, which hasn’t been implemented yet, but recognizing our city staff is frontline workers and public servants. And sometimes if you are fleeing abuse, it could be a safe person that you come into contact with in our parks where you might have a chance to get with your children away from your abuser. So staff is very aware of the opportunities that the city can do to play in a role in this. Going through your report tonight, also just lots of comments coming from the community, recently as we’re discussing housing and more planning applications coming forward that there needs to be housing, not just one bedrooms, but more than one bedrooms for women kind of a place to go with their children and still have an opportunity to stay in their neighborhood even if it’s not in a home.

[38:49] And sometimes they don’t feel secure in a home. Apartments have controlled entry and they feel safer there. So as we develop our city making sure our policies use that lens of protecting vulnerable populations. As with Councillor Lewis and any counselor here, our door is always open. Happy to have any conversation offline and with definitely support making a call or a letter to the province asking them to take action and keep using these lenses as they develop. They’re programs and recognizing a lot of this taxpayers, municipally can’t shoulder the burden themselves and we really do need to be partners throughout all levels of government to help address abuse of women and girls.

[39:31] Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Hoffman. Thank you, Mr. Chair and thank you to my colleagues for their comments. And I want to thank the delegation for coming out and keeping this conversation going in our community. It’s been mentioned a couple of times that it is in our strategic plan and we still have some work to do when it comes to violence in particular, keeping women and girls safe in our city. And again, thank you for that.

[40:05] But this delegation reminded me also the importance of the need for women to be sheltered and the impacts to them when it comes to housing and homelessness is great. And I would like to, I know you’ve got some recommendations here. I would like through you, Mr. Chair, just to ask staff, if these recommendations would be looked at as it relates to our strategic plan and a report coming back if that would be possible.

[40:49] That’s my question. Yeah, let me start by, I’ll do the part response to that, Councillor. And I think that will depend on the direction of SBPC and the direction that Council chooses to take with respect to this report. If the intention were to, with the various recommendations, receive the recommendations and refer to civic administration for a consideration that might well be something that Council puts forward and supports or there may be something else as well. I say a head nod from one of our delegation members and I’m not here to presuppose, but that could be one of the options for sure.

[41:27] But that’s the will of Council. I know, thank you. Yeah, thank you for that. I know it’s the will of Council, but I just would like to get back from staff if these recommendations can be looked at if that would present a problem given where we are in our strategic plan. Perhaps I could ask our City Manager for some thoughts around that. Yes, Your Worship and thank you through you. We have reviewed the recommendations and a number do align with components within our strategic plan.

[42:05] In fact, we’ve delivered on some of them and if Council wishes to know more detail about that, I’m sure we could provide a report back. It takes time to provide that report and staff time to write it, but we could certainly go through each recommendation and show you where we are doing work in the area and to other comments that have been made earlier where perhaps the responsibility rests with other levels of government other than us. Thank you, Councillor Hopkins.

[42:37] Yeah, thank you for that. I would like to, I think it’s important that we keep this conversation going and the importance as it relates to women when it comes to housing in particular. And I think you could also throw in childcare. I appreciate the comments about provincial federal funding. I sit on the AMO board. I’ll be taking this information to the AMO board as well. But in the meantime, from a municipal perspective, I know there’s already work being done having a similar report or a sort of condensed report coming back.

[43:13] I really appreciate one of the comments in the report about a working group even. And I would hope some of these as Councillors would be part of that. I think the more we understand the challenges in the community, we are better off as a council to deal with the challenges that are faced out there, not only just for women and girls, but for everyone. But they’re speaking particular for women and girls. So I’ll listen to the rest of the comments and we’d like to come back with a motion to ask the committee to refer these recommendations to have city staff look at and to well receive it and refer to city staff to have it aligned with a strategic plan with the information coming back as to how that looks like.

[44:09] Thank you. Thank you. We’ve noted that Councillor, and we will come back to you at the appropriate time. Councillor Cassidy. Thank you. And thank you to Councillor Hopkins because I’m happy to second that motion. And I would have made it if the Councillor hadn’t done that. So I do, I also wanna thank the guests for coming and speaking to us today. Also, for giving us such a thorough report with the attached presentation as well, has a lot of information in there. We do have a question for the city manager because we recognize things like this. People are talking about a lot of this goes to the provincial government and things like that.

[44:44] And that is definitely true, but everything is a local issue, regardless of who’s going to fund it or who has the most capacity to take it on, everything’s local. And we did a poverty report called London for All a few years ago was endorsed by the previous council. And the recognition in that report was that this is, it is a whole community effort when we’re looking at things like poverty and when we’re looking at things like violence against women and girls is the same thing.

[45:19] And I just wanna ask the city manager recommendation number 15 from the report, London for All was implement strategies that assist in housing women at risk or experiencing homelessness. So it was right in the report. It was something that could possibly have taken place in the first 12 months. And I’m wondering what role if any of its city has played in that recommendation number 15, knowing that we did take the approach with the poverty report, that it was a whole community approach and there would be different areas of accountability to implement these strategies.

[45:57] So that’s my question for the city manager. Ms. Lewis. Thank you and through the chair. I apologize if I’ve been misunderstood. I wasn’t suggesting that the municipality would not be interested in the recommendations. I was trying to suggest where the accountability or funding might lay and that we would try and highlight that when we brought our report back. With respect to recommendation 15 for London for All in the actions that the city has taken regarding housing for women, I understand that a number of initiatives have been underway. I don’t have those details in front of me, but perhaps Mr. Dickens might be able to comment on some of the actions that have taken place.

[46:35] Mr. Dickens. Thank you Your Worship and through you. Our team here at the city has been very actively involved with a number of community organizations and working tables in particular across our social housing network as well as our city staff. We’ve been working with the London Coordinating Committee to end women’s abuse with their working group, which is focused primarily on providing these type of recommendations to the city and creating a safe city for women and girls.

[47:08] We’ve been involved as well in program design for the street level women at risk in partnership with the London Abuse Women’s Center, for their anti-human trafficking funding. This program is administered by community organizations and is supported by the city as a service manager through funding and through some project oversight. We’ve also been working on a number of temporary transitional and supportive housing projects, including working with women’s organizations in the community on women’s only resting spaces, looking at rent-greeting prioritization for women and individuals fleeing violence and human trafficking.

[47:54] We have prioritized and while it’s recommended in the or it’s mentioned in the presentation that the bureaucratic process is not always smooth, we have prioritized the Canada Ontario Housing Benefit to focus predominantly and almost solely on women and women and children. We have worked with multiple shelters on women-only private rooms and dorms for women and their children. We just recently announced through a partnership with an Ontario Aboriginal Housing Program, the development of the Old Elm Street School into an indigenous led housing program for women or sorry, single mothers through the Homeward Bound Program.

[48:46] We’ve been working with organizations like ANOVA and my sister’s place around housing first initiatives for women fleeing violence. And we also just received funding under the Rapid Housing Initiative Round Two, our RHI-2 funding for more affordable housing of which, much of the criteria is centered around creating housing for women and those women who may be fleeing domestic violence as well. Through our Life Stabilization Program, we also provide some short-term counseling dollars. I know that was mentioned earlier, thought that Committee be aware of that, that we do try to support individuals’ access counseling services, although it is short-term in nature, the counseling agencies often will take their clinical expertise and extend those sessions if required.

[49:38] We’ve also created a partnership around Holly’s House, which is supporting single women experiencing violence as well, but may not be in an immediate crisis. So there’s been a lot of work ongoing in this regard, tied to both London for all, but also our direct work with some of the organizations that are here tonight and some of those that are referenced in the report. Thank you. Excellent, just some follow-up comments, Mr. Mayor. Thank you to Mr. Dickens through you, to Mr. Dickens for that very thorough rundown of what’s going on.

[50:12] I did have a note to mention the street-level women at risk program as an example of some of the collaborative work that the city’s involved in, but the city’s not necessarily leading. So I know London police are very deeply involved in that street-level women at risk program as well. So perhaps, I’m not sure if a Councillor Hopkins has a specific wording for Emotion in mind, but perhaps something like along the lines of what Mr. Dickens just did, I refer this letter with the recommendations to staff that we could have a report back on the recommendations in the letter, perhaps some information on what the city is doing, perhaps some information on what the city knows is being done apart from the city, but by and through other organizations, that might be some good information.

[51:01] And also perhaps some thought from city staff on what more the city could do as well, including Councillors. So I’m glad that Councillor Hopkins mentioned that working group idea, that’s something where the Councillors could be involved as well. So I also didn’t want to mention, Councillor Van Holst brought up the recommendation where I spoke about the perpetrators of the violence. And I do know, we do know different ones of us know of other programs in the city.

[51:33] So I know that the Atlosa family healing center does have programming for the entire family when there’s the domestic violence that goes on. And I know that the program, one of the programs at Atlosa is in a Schnabe language, but the translation is I am a kind man. And so it is definitely focusing on the perpetrator of the violence and looking to heal the entire family. So that’s something that you might want to get more information on directly from Atlosa to see some of the programming that’s out there in the city. And I did also want to finally mention Mr. Mayor through you that Middlesexland and Health Unit in late 2020 recommended some key priorities coming out of the pandemic as a result of the pandemic or that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

[52:21] And domestic violence is definitely one of them. And that’s where the Middlesexland and Board will be focusing funding and programming around domestic violence, recognizing as well officially by the Board that poverty is directly related to health outcomes, poverty and domestic violence. And so just one more organization in the city that is focusing on this issue and has recognized that it is priority.

[52:54] So once more, thank you so much for coming. I’m looking forward to hearing more coming from city staff. And as you have requested, I am hopeful that city staff when they have their report finalized that they will share it with you as well. So I acknowledge that, thank you. I acknowledge that Councillor Hopkins has her hand up again, but I’m gonna firstly, if I may, go to the clerk because I think she’s been synthesizing the spirit of what has been suggested by Councillor Hopkins. And there is something there. I wonder if I could, before I call on Councillor Hopkins, potentially to move this or make any other comments, could I ask the clerk to read what we anticipate that motion might well look like, please?

[53:39] Thank you through the chair. The draft motion that is prepared at this point in time reads as follows, that the following actions be taken with respect to the delegation from Rula Hawa, Misha Bakke and Riti Chopra related to the housing and homelessness crisis in London. Part A, the above note of presentation B received and part B, the recommendations forming part of the presentation be forwarded to the Civic Administration for consideration and potential implementation, including but not limited to participation in the knowledge exchange activities related to this report.

[54:16] So that’s what we gleaned from Councillor Hopkins and other, some other comments that came in. Councillor Hopkins, I’m gonna come to you to see if you’re comfortable with that or what you’d like to do with that, since we said we’d come back to you. Yes, I’d be happy to bring forward that motion. And Councillor Caster, are you comfortable seconding that? I see a yes there. Any other comments or questions on this motion? Councillor Hummer. Thank you, I’m gonna support the motion.

[54:48] I wanted to say to the delegates well done, not just on the delegation, but on the overall project in the city studio, I think is a wonderful example of collaboration across many different organizations. Great way for students to get involved in the real world problems that are happening in our city, and I think you’ve done a really good job of presenting the work of the students, and it looks like a great collaboration with the city and number of agencies. So good work. Thank you, I don’t mean to anticipate Council, but I think I can echo colleague’s comments.

[55:22] Councillor Ben Hose, do you have anything else to add to this motion? Yes, Your Worship, well, really, I just want to make one more comment before we vote, is that I see Megan Walker’s name is on here. We didn’t get to hear from her today, but I do want to thank her for her work on this report in her very long-standing work in this community to bring awareness to this issue. She’s been a great asset to London and our gratitude goes out to her. Thanks very much, any other comments for colleagues before we vote the motions in front of you, we’ll call the question.

[55:57] I’m sorry, we have a delegate, one of our delegation, did you wish to add something before we, I see your hand is up? I actually just wanted to echo the sentiments around Megan Walker and her leadership. I had the honor and privilege to work with Megan and her leadership team and I’m just in awe in terms of her dedication to the field. And I know she’s not gone, I know she’s going to continue the work with us. So she’s definitely going to be still around with us to support us. Well, thank you very much for those comments. Colleagues, we’ll call the question.

[56:47] Those in the vote, the motions passed 14 to zero. So before we move off of this to the matters and additional business, a heartfelt thanks to our three guests who attended tonight. We sincerely appreciate the work that you have done. And I think you can tell by the questions that have been asked and the resolution that has been passed as a result of you being here. How serious this council takes these issues and how thoughtful your report was in presenting to us.

[57:21] So please accept our sincere thanks. So with that colleagues, then we will now move to in a moment to deferred matters and additional business of which there are two. The first is 5.1, which is consideration of vaccine mandates. I’ll turn your attention to page 257. This is a motion put forward by Councillor Van Halst. And you will see a preamble there. And I will go right to the motion and look for a mover and seconder and then any consideration that would come from that.

[57:54] So again, to your attention to page 257. And what we will now do is I will read the motion that is there and look for mover and seconder that the issue of vaccine mandates. Point of order, you’re in worship. Yes, sorry, Councillor Van Halst. Yes, please. Yes, thank you, we are at committee. And so I don’t think motions have to be put immediately on the floor. So since it was my communication, perhaps you’d allow me the privilege of making a brief comment and putting that motion on the floor myself.

[58:29] Why don’t you, well, I was going to look for you, presumably to put that motion on the floor. But if you’ve a preamble, go ahead, Councillor Van Halst. Thank you. And so I just wanted to say to my colleagues, as I see corporations considering vaccine mandates and encounter questions from our public, like I want to go to the civic gardens, but I’m concerned someone there might not be vaccinated. I suspect that someone’s going to ask us to implement a mandate outside of what the province might be doing. I also see how that might bring rise to a few moral dilemmas because there are a number of reasons why we might not want to mandate the new mRNA vaccines in certain situations.

[59:10] So my hope is that we could have die act two on this issue ahead of time and bring to us some orienting generalizations about when it would be fine and when we might be in a little jeopardy of putting forward a mandate on our own initiative. So with that, I’ll put the motion on the floor and look for a seconder. So I’ll ask the clerk to read the motion and then we’ll look to see if there’s a seconder.

[59:44] Clerk, if you would, please. Thank you through the chair. The motion that I have dropped, it is that the communication dated July 26th, 2021 from Councillor and Van Halst regarding the issue of vaccine mandates be referred to the diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression advisory committee for consideration and comment. Thanks very much. Do you have a seconder? Councillor, I see no seconder, but thank you for bringing this forward.

[1:00:23] Thank you, Rorsha. Colleagues, the second item is 5.2 of the regional. Thanks very much. As clerk always gives us wisdom on me wisdom, certainly on these things. We look for a motion to receive this communication from Councillor Van Halst. Is there a mover for that? Councillor Morgan, we’ll move to receive the report as their seconder.

[1:00:57] Councillor Ploza, any comments or questions? Councillor Ploza, you have a question? I guess a friendly amendment, can we receive and take no action? According to the mover, that’s acceptable. So receive and take no action. Are you comfortable seconding that Councillor Ploza? Any other comments or questions? Call the question. And as we vote, I’d like to thank the clerk for keeping me focused and organized as she has want to do.

[1:01:57] Opposing the vote, the motion’s passed 11 to two. Thanks very much. I’d now like to take item 5.2. Colleagues on your agenda, the regional transportation and mobility across Southwestern Ontario item. And I will pass the chair over to the deputy mayor. Yes, so we’re on 5.2. And just like the mayor did with the last item, there’s a letter drafted from the mayor and myself.

[1:02:32] And I’ll go to the mayor to present that letter and move potential motion. Thanks very much. Colleagues, as you will know, I was asked to chair the Southwest Ontario Transportation Group. We have taken the model of the LCRN and created several subgroups. One which includes rail, a second which includes inner city, a third which includes roads and highways, bridges, ferries, air. And what has become more evident as we have worked through this is that there may well be an interesting opportunity for our city.

[1:03:16] And in that with that respect, you’ll note that this past week, the federal government minister of transportation came in and put, as we call, a stake in the ground with regard to via rail. Talking about three particular areas of increased frequency, higher speed and greater reliability, something that we had a task force on in London sometime before. We’ve also had Greyhound bus, as you know, vacate London something over a year ago.

[1:03:51] And there’s at least one bus operation that is trying to fill part of that gap between Windsor and London. We also know that from the major 400 series roads, the 4012 and three, London is the center of that as well. And it’s clear to me that there may well be a strong economic opportunity for the city of London. And as it relates, not just economic development, but tourism, hospitality, and those who come to London for a number of reasons. And particularly as we know of what we’re doing with rapid transit, what we’re looking at in terms of electric buses and the transit commission and what all that means, I think there’s an incredible opportunity to consider the impacts of what a downtown transportation and mobility hub might look like.

[1:04:46] So I will ask the clerk to read the motion, but if I can just tell you the spirit behind it firstly, that we would look to administration to consider a framework for what this hub could look like in downtown London. And secondly, that I get your support as council members to engage the task force of which I chair the opportunity of positioning our city as a regional transportation and mobility hub for consideration by the province. And it’s my hope that if by getting that support from you, and as you know, we do these things and I don’t think it’s appropriate that I go off in all directions without the support of council.

[1:05:26] And so in that regard, what that has the potential to mean is that we would look for provincial supports for this as well, and I’m talking financially, but it also means engaging certainly the mayors in Southwestern Ontario and that transportation task force does include 10 mayors, as well as five First Nations representatives. So with that, colleagues, I’ll perhaps, if I might just so that there’s clarity of this, I might ask the clerk to bring your attention to the motion, then I’ll see if there’s a seconder.

[1:06:01] Thanks. Thank you through the chair. The motion that’s prepared reads as follows, that the following actions be taken with respect to the communication dated July 27th, 2021 from Mayor E. Holder and Deputy Mayor J. Morgan regarding the regional transportation and mobility across Southwestern Ontario. Part A, the civic administration be directed to develop a conceptual framework for a regional transportation/mobility hub in downtown London, including working with London Transit to explore potential connections between a regional transportation and mobility hub and the local city of London transit routes, including the proposed bus rapid transit system for council’s consideration.

[1:06:47] And part B, the mayor be requested to engage with the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Task Force membership on the opportunity of positioning the city of London as a regional transportation/mobility hub for consideration by the province of Ontario under the connecting the Southwest, a draft transportation plan for Southwestern Ontario. Thank you and through you, Chair. Just one thing, as I look for a second, I want to acknowledge both Deputy Mayor Morgan and Councillor Squire for their help in aspects of drafting this piece, particularly as it was fairly late, but some strong input was there and appreciated.

[1:07:26] So I wonder if I could look for a second. Oh, Mr. Mayor, respectfully end of the chair over to me and you move the motion. So I’ll take care of that part and I am willing to second, which I can do from the chair. So I would also like to go to Councillor Squire because the draft that was circulated is slightly different than the version that was read out by the clerk and as the Mayor indicated, Councillor Squire had some suggestions which we considered as friendly and I’d like to go to him to talk about those. Thank you very much.

[1:07:58] And when I received the motion yesterday, it was clear to me that there was a peace missing that I thought would be important and that would be the involvement of our local transit routes connecting to any transit hub that we had coming into the city of London. And so I conveyed that to the mover and seconder of the motion and they were kind enough to incorporate that into the motion. I don’t think anyone would disagree that if there ends up being a transit hub in downtown London that connects outside transit to the city of London that we should also be looking at how the enhancements we’re doing in transit would connect to that and distribute traffic to other areas of the city.

[1:08:41] So I asked them to include that. They were kind enough to do that. I had a chance to speak to the management of London transit. They are eager to engage and wish to engage on discussing this and anything they can bring to the table to enhance the regional transit hub. So that’s why the language was added. And I think it just makes clear that transit’s inter-connected and that anybody coming into the city of London, it would be great if they got onto local transit. From a transit hub and we’re able to go to other areas of the city where we’ve invested money.

[1:09:13] So that was my contribution. Thank you, Councillor Squire. And if colleagues are using the E-Scribe system to vote, you’ll be able to refresh to the current item and see the wording of the full motion there. I’ll look for other speakers. Councillor Hopkins. Yeah, thank you. And I wanna thank the mayor and Deputy Mayor for bringing this motion forward. I think anything that supports economic opportunities in our city, making our city a regional hub is very important in the Southwest region.

[1:09:55] So I’m more than happy to support anything that we can do when it comes to economic development. I have a slight reservation to calling up the hub downtown, a downtown hub, I hope that if there are other areas in the city, that would be a better hub that that would not be excluded. I think it’s important that we do not just say it’s just downtown and nothing else.

[1:10:31] I would like to not exclude other opportunities that may come about in the city that may be better than the downtown. I’m not saying that downtown isn’t the best place for it, but I just have that reservation, but moving forward, I’m happy to support it. Other speakers, Councillor Lewis. Thank you, Mr. Presiding Officer. I’m gonna echo Councillor Hopkins’ concerns. I too would like us to keep an open mind on location. I’m mindful that we are in the process of developing the Wellington Gateway rapid transit line, which is proposed to include a park and ride at the end of the route.

[1:11:14] And that may actually be a good fit for some of this as well in the future. So I would just echo those concerns about, let’s not limit it to the downtown, although the downtown may prove to be the right location in the end. Councillor Hummer. Thank you. I just wanted to say good work to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. I think the suggestions made by Councillor Squire have made the motion better, but I think it’s important that we act quickly. I’m glad to see the initiative coming forward.

[1:11:47] I think the Mayor’s in a really great position as the Chair of the Transportation Task Force to push forward things that will be good for the whole region, but definitely good for London. And I think getting support from Council about this idea and getting the ball sort of rolling on how could this work is really important to be doing now. Something that this magnitude will take some time. I think the opportunity is right before us. And I think the Mayor is acting in a timely way to try and make something great happen for the city. So a good work. I hope that the province is receptive to the idea and that the task force thinks there’s merit in it and that we get some positive moment to happen quickly.

[1:12:29] Thank you. I have Councillor Van Holst next. Thank you. It makes a lot of sense and I’m going to support it. And Councillor Lehman. Thank you. Yeah, I’ll echo what I’ve heard. I was involved in the task force looking at a better rail connection to Toronto. Once the high speed rail was canceled by the province, you know, I think we have to keep London’s voice, a strong voice and a transportation conversation with higher levels of province and the federal government.

[1:13:09] I think what this does despite the fact that, you know, we have one of the busiest VIS stations around, this initiative will add half to our discussions with VIA or other transportation solutions in securing not high speed rail, ‘cause I think that that door has been closed, but higher frequency and faster times, which it looks like the momentum has started with that announcement from the federal government or from VRL, sorry, the other day.

[1:13:50] So good work for the mayor in coming up with his initiative and the deputy mayor and Councillor Squire, I think it’s a solid approach to keeping us in this conversation, to seize upon this momentum, which the end result would be a much stronger economic city tied to, you know, Toronto, thank you. Councillor Cassidy. Thank you, Mr. Presenting Officer, not to, you know, build the mayor’s head with all sorts of flattery, because it seems like he’s getting a lot tonight, but I also wanna say thanks to him, through you and to you for this initiative.

[1:14:35] People talk about the momentum that’s going on. I think regardless of who has formed the provincial government there is a recognition that a better connection to London and beyond is necessary, and whether it’s higher speed rail or more frequent rail or some kind of hybrid version of both, it’s something that will serve this area of the province and not just this area of the province by moving people around your benefiting the entire province, by moving people around more efficiently and effectively, because, and this allows people to have greater choice of where they live and where they work and they might be two different places.

[1:15:18] So this is really going where the puck is, where does it skate to where the puck already is? And we’ve seen successive provincial governments and we’ve seen the federal government talk about the need for better transportation in the region and between regions. And so this really is indicating that London wants to be a partner in that, and that’s something to commend the mayor for as well. When you look at the busy and not just moving people around, but moving goods, if we’re talking about transportation in general, London is right there, along the busiest stretch of highway in the country and not just on the way between Toronto and even Montreal and Windsor, Detroit, but also between London and Sarnia as well, the truck traffic along the 402 is incredible, and which is why, you know, a few years ago, they added another blue water bridge so that there are twinned bridges there instead of just one.

[1:16:22] So we are the hub, asserting ourselves as the hub is an important thing to do, and being recognized as the hub is the next step, and I think this is going to help us get there. So again, thanks very much, excellent motion. Yes, and I saw Councillor Lewis’s hand go up when you made a hockey analogy, and I think he’s gonna give you a correction to it. It’s good, Councillor Lewis. Thank you, Mr. Presiding Officer. Yes, Councillor Cassidy, it’s skate to where the puck is going. And I think that that’s what you’re pointing to, is that this is where the future is.

[1:16:59] It’s not where we are today, it’s where we want to be in the future. So, but I’ll happily give you a call later and give you a whole list of hockey analogies that you can use in future comments. Thank you for the extra curricular information, Councillor Lewis. I don’t have any other speakers on the list. So with Councillor’s indulgence, I’m just going to add one small piece of information with some of my colleagues have said. When this was reported on the media, I had two regional Councillors reach out expressing support for this.

[1:17:31] As our strategic plan says, we envision being our region’s connection to the world, and there is interest from the region in what we’re doing here, and they see this as a great advantage to those who want to come into the city and connect with other parts of the province. So, I would add that, and I have no other speakers. So with that, I will put the motion on the floor for vote. Opposing the vote, the motion’s passed, 13 to zero.

[1:18:20] I will turn the chair back over to the mayor. Very much. With that all from motion to adjourned. Councillor Ploughs is seconded by Councillor Hopkins. Let’s do a show of hands this time. I think that works screens on. Those in favor, please. Motion’s carried. And before we cancel this meeting, or terminate this meeting colleagues, you notice my custom to say sincere thanks. It feels a little interesting too, because as we thank our staff, because it feels, I don’t know why, it just feels a while since we’ve met.

[1:18:54] But Ms. Livingston, I know that you’ll take back from this council since your appreciation for the work that’s been done over the summer. We’re now moving through step three, and soon enough, God willing, we’ll be in step four. But that creates challenges as well as opportunities. So with that, Ms. Livingston, please, again, from all of us as council members, thank you and your team for helping us get through this summer. We appreciate it very kindly at this meeting’s adjourned.