Body: EOWC Type: Agenda Meeting: Regular Date: August 18, 2024 Collection: Council Agendas Municipality: Frontenac County
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Joint EOWC-WOWC-EOMC Meeting Agenda Sunday, August 18, 2024 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Provinces 1, Westin Hotel Ottawa, Ontario *Attendees are invited to serve themselves refreshments prior to commencement of, and during the networking portion of the meeting. Special thanks to Enbridge Gas for sponsoring this meeting’s refreshments. Page 1.
Welcome from the Chairs (5 Minutes) a) WOWC - Chair Glen McNeil (Huron County) b)
EOMC – Chair Jeff Leal (City of Peterborough)
c)
EOWC – Chair Peter Emon (Renfrew County)
Strategic Updates (15 minutes) a) Meredith Staveley-Watson, Manager of Government Relations and Policy, EOWC b)
Kate Burns Gallagher, Executive Director, WOWC
c)
Sarah McDougall Perrin, Advisor, Government Relations, City of Peterborough
AMO Social and Economic Prosperity Review / EOWC-WOWC-EOMC Combined Letter of Support – Chair Peter Emon / All EOWC-WOWC-EOMC Joint Letter - AMO Continues to Advocate for a Social and Economic Prosperity Review - August 18 2024 Prosperity Review At a Glance.pdf (amo.on.ca)
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Recommended Motion “That the EOWC, WOWC and EOMC direct staff to submit a combined letter of support to the Ontario Government to continue to advocate for the Social and Economic Prosperity Review that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario is leading.”
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‘Solve the Crisis’ Campaign – Joint WOWC-EOMC-EOWC News Release of Support – Chair Peter Emon / Manager of Government Relations and Policy, Meredith Staveley-Watson / All (5 minutes) EOWC-WOWC-EOMC News Release - Solve The Crisis Campaign August 18, 2024 - Final – intended to be sent Sunday, August 18, 2024 (post meeting) Campaign website: SolveTheCrisis.ca News Release - OBCM Launch Solve the Crisis Campaign Recommended Motion “That the EOMC, EOWC, and WOWC direct staff to send a joint news release to show support for the ‘Solve the Crisis’ campaign as part of our ongoing advocacy around housing, homelessness and mental health.”
Networking (20+ Minutes)
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August 18, 2024 The Honourable Paul Calandra Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing College Park, 17th Floor 777 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M7A 2J3 Minister.mah@ontario.ca The Honourable Kinga Surma Minister of Infrastructure 777 Bay Street 5th Floor, Room 5E200 Toronto, ON M7A 2J3 Minister.MOI@ontario.ca The Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy Minister of Finance Frost Building South, 7th Floor 7 Queen’s Park Crescent Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Y7 Minister.fin@ontario.ca Dear Ministers, As you know, municipalities provide the services that Ontarians rely on every day. The fiscal framework that enables municipalities to do this work is broken. Failing to fix this problem fails residents, small businesses, health and public safety partners, and major industries. Since last fall, AMO has called on your government to commit to working with municipalities on a Social and Economic Prosperity Review to put municipalities on solid fiscal footing for the benefit of Ontario’s competitiveness and quality of life. Representing 230 of Ontario’s 444 municipalities across Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, and the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus are united and fully support the urgent need for a review. Together, it is imperative that we form sustainable partnerships to ensure Ontario’s overall future prosperity and growth. The review calls on the provincial government to sit down with Page 1 of 3 EOWC | 235 Pinnacle St P.O. Box 4400 Belleville ON K8N 3A9
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municipalities and work together to conduct a joint review of revenues, costs and financial risks, as well as an analysis of Ontario’s infrastructure investment and service delivery needs. Since its launch, more than 150 municipalities and organizations have passed resolutions supporting this work – and counting. AMO, the WOWC, EOMC and EOWC, and its members remain committed to this important initiative. The review is critical to Ontario’s ability to make progress on the issues people care about most, including infrastructure, housing, healthcare, cost of living, and public safety. The municipal fiscal sustainability challenge is urgent, province-wide, and central to Ontario’s social and economic prosperity. This work has received support from the opposition, who recognize the importance and urgency of a conversation on the state of municipal finances and the need for a comprehensive review of provincial-municipal fiscal arrangements. All three opposition leaders have committed to a New Deal for municipalities if elected in the next election. Municipalities continue to call on Premier Ford to work together with municipal governments to get it done for Ontarians. We urge the Ontario Government to commit to this review at the upcoming AMO 2024 Conference. Working together, we can build a better Ontario.
Sincerely,
Peter Emon Chair, 2024 Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus Info@eowc.org
Glen McNeil Chair, 2024 Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus gmcneil@huroncounty.ca
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Jeff Leal Chair, 2024 Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus jleal@peterborough.ca CC:
Association of Municipalities of Ontario, policy@amo.on.ca
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News Release Municipal Leaders (EOWC-WOWC-EOMC) Support ‘Solve the Crisis’ Campaign to Address Homelessness and Mental Health
Sunday, August 18, 2024
City of Ottawa - Representing 230 municipalities and over 2.6 million people across Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, and Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus join the call to action around the ‘Solve the Crisis’ Campaign, led by the Ontario Big City Mayors. During their joint meeting at the start of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) 125th Conference, the three caucuses are stating their collective support around the need for the Ontario and Federal Governments to take immediate and targeted action to help solve the crisis around homelessness and mental health. There is a homelessness and mental health crisis happening on streets across our communities, small and big, rural and urban. Municipalities continue to step up, but do not have the tools, expertise or capacity to fully address the intersectional and complex issues around housing, homelessness, health care, and social services. We appreciate the actions that both the Federal and Ontario Governments have taken to-date including Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness, the creation of the Homelessness Prevention Program, and investing in youth wellness hubs. But we need to do more to ‘Solve the Crisis’ together as government partners, and we need to act swiftly. As municipalities continue to raise, the rising number of homeless encampments and the human toll of the opioid crisis are a symptom of deeper system failures that hurt Ontario’s overall social and economic prosperity. The WOWC, EOMC, and EOWC will be sending a letter to Premier Ford to further underscore the need for a Social and Economic Prosperity Review. We need a municipal fiscal relationship that supports the foundations of a strong economy, sustainable communities and quality of life that reflects modern day and front-line realities. Organizations and Ontarians can join the call to support the ‘Solve the Crisis’ campaign by visiting www.solvethecrisis.ca. Page 1 of 3
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Quotes “In communities of all sizes, not just big cities, people are unhoused, suffering and dying. We need to help them and municipalities do not have the financial tools and resources to do it alone. It is time to take action to ‘Solve The Crisis’ together with municipalities, the Ontario Government, the Federal Government, and community partners at the table.” – EOWC Chair, Peter Emon, Warden of Renfrew County “As Chair of the WOWC, I see the impacts first-hand around the homelessness and mental health crisis. Municipalities have been working tirelessly on the front-lines to address complex issues. We want to build safe, health communities and the only way to do so is to work together. Let’s step up and ‘Solve the Crisis’ together.” – WOWC Chair, Glen McNeil, Warden of Huron County “This is something we (the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus) have been pursuing, over the last year: the need for substantial investment by both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada, to deal with this unprecedented humanitarian crisis that all municipalities are now facing.” – EOMC Chair, Jeff Leal, Mayor of the City of Peterborough
About our organizations Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus The Western Ontario Wardens Caucus Inc. (WOWC) serves as a unified voice for the 15 upper and single tier municipalities in Southwestern Ontario, advocating for their collective interest. Through collaborative efforts, WOWC works to address the unique challenges faced by rural and small urban communities, playing a pivotal role in shaping policies and initiatives that positively impact the region’s 1.6 million residents. Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus Inc. (EOWC) is a non-profit organization advocating for 103 small urban and rural municipalities across Eastern Ontario. The EOWC covers an area of 50,000 square kilometres, serving 800,000 residents. For more than 20 years, the EOWC has gained support by speaking with a united voice to champion regional municipal priorities and work with the government, businesses, non-profit organizations, Indigenous leaders, the media, and the public. The Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus The Eastern Ontario Mayor’s Caucus (EOMC) is comprised of ten Eastern Ontario municipalities that advocate for the region’s needs and priorities, especially in the areas of health Page 2 of 3
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care, infrastructure, and economic development. The caucus works collaboratively with other levels of government, health care providers, community organizations, and interest holders to address the challenges and opportunities facing Eastern Ontario. Ontario Big City Mayors Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) is an organization that includes mayors of 29 single and lower-tier cities with a population of 100,000 or more, who collectively represent nearly 70 percent of Ontario’s population. OBCM advocates for issues and policies important to Ontario’s largest cities. Media Contact Chair, OBCM Marianne Mead Ward chair@obcm.ca Executive Director, OBCM Michelle Baker michelle@obcm.ca Chair, WOWC Glen McNeil gmcneil@huroncounty.ca Chair, EOMC Jeff Leal jleal@peterborough.ca Chair, EOWC Peter Emon info@eowc.org
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Ontario’s Big City Mayors Launch Solve the Crisis Campaign August 8, 2024 TORONTO - There is a humanitarian crisis happening on our streets. An unprecedented number of Ontarians are homeless, living in encampments and other unsafe spaces, and too many are dying from addictions and mental health issues. Municipalities have done everything we can, but we don’t have the resources or expertise to take this on alone. That is why today Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) are launching our ‘Solve the Crisis’ campaign. Together with various community partners, municipalities have been tackling this issue head on, funding various programs and spaces to find solutions. Despite the success of many of these programs, the crisis continues to grow and municipalities need help. Over the last few years OBCM has requested that the federal and provincial governments address this crisis as it unfolds on our streets, affecting our downtowns, impacting our public spaces, and hurting our most vulnerable residents. The federal and provincial governments have taken some action on this issue, including Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness, the creation of the Homelessness Prevention Program and investments in youth wellness hubs. But it’s just not enough. This issue spans multiple ministries and we need someone to take the lead and take action now. We want to ‘Solve the Crisis’ together, today we are requesting that the provincial government: ●
Appoint a responsible ministry and Minister with the appropriate funding and powers as a single point of contact to address the full spectrum of housing needs as well as mental health, addictions and wrap around supports.
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Have this Minister strike a task force with broad sector representatives including municipalities, healthcare, first responders, community services, the business community and the tourism industry to develop a Made in Ontario Action Plan.
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Provide municipalities with the tools and resources to transition those in encampments to more appropriate supports, when deemed necessary
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Commit to funding the appropriate services these individuals need, community by community where there are gaps in the system.
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Invest in 24/7 Community Hubs / Crisis Centres to relieve pressure on emergency centres and first responders
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We are asking for all Ontarians to join our call by visiting www.solvethecrisis.ca and show their support by signing up and contacting your local MPP to tell them that you want the province to take action now. Together we can do this, but we need your help. To watch our video please visit our YouTube channel here - https://youtu.be/6VRjoEgQm98 Quotes “There is a humanitarian crisis happening on our streets, people are dying and something needs to be done. The number of people who are unhoused, as well as those suffering with mental health and addictions issues, is growing at alarming rate, and municipalities cannot tackle this crisis alone. We need the province, along with all levels of government and community partners, to implement the programs that have proven to be effective. This cannot wait, we must work together to solve this crisis now.”
- Marianne Meed Ward Chair of Ontario’s Big City Mayors and Mayor of Burlington “As Mayor, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of homelessness and the urgent need for comprehensive solutions. Our city, like many others, has been working tirelessly to address this crisis, but we cannot do it alone. The ‘Solve the Crisis’ campaign is a crucial step in bringing together all levels of government and community partners to ensure that every Ontarian has access to safe, supportive housing and necessary mental health and addiction services. The only way we can solve this crisis is by working together.”
- Josh Morgan Vice-Chair Ontario’s Big City Mayors and Mayor of London
“We’re proud to work in lockstep with Ontario Big City Mayors on this humanitarian crisis. Our branches work with municipalities to support individuals facing mental health, addictions and housing-related issues. Our hope is for increased investments to community mental health and addictions to support Ontarians in need.”
- Camille Quenneville CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division
“The Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA), working together with the 300 BIAs and more than 120,000 businesses along our main streets and commercial cores, stands with the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) in asking the province to take action to address this crisis. Our main streets, our businesses and those living rough, are suffering and it is time for strong and positive action.”
- Kay Matthews Executive Director, Ontario BIA Association
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About Ontario’s Big City Mayors Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) is an organization that includes mayors of 29 single and lower-tier cities with a population of 100,000 or more, who collectively represent nearly 70 percent of Ontario’s population. OBCM advocates for issues and policies important to Ontario’s largest cities. Media Contacts Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Chair chair@obcm.ca 905-335-7777
Michelle Baker, Executive Director michelle@obcm.ca 647-308-6602
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