80
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WINNIPEG
April 27, 2016
The council met at 9:40 a.m.
The clerk advised the speaker that a quorum was present.
The speaker called the meeting to order.
The opening prayer was read by Councillor Gilroy.
ROLL CALL
Clerk: Madam Speaker Councillor Sharma, His Worship Mayor Bowman, Councillors, Browaty, Dobson, Eadie, Gerbasi, Gillingham, Gilroy, Lukes, Mayes, Morantz, Orlikow, Pagtakhan, Schreyer and Councillor Wyatt.
INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME OF GUESTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Madam Speaker: I would like to introduce our page for today's meeting, Katrina Chanas is with us again today. She attends Miles Macdonnell Collegiate and she resides in the North Kildonan Ward. Welcome. Mr. Mayor, I understand you have a few announcements this morning.
Mayor Bowman: I do. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker and good morning to everyone that…of course in the chamber as well as in the gallery, those that may be watching online or via television. On April 19th, Manitobans went to the polls and elected a new provincial government. I want to congratulate Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives and, of course, our Premier Elect, Mr. Brian Pallister on their commanding and historic victory. I also want to wish all new and all returning MLAs all the very best and I want to also, on all of our behalf, thank outgoing MLAs for their work and commitment to public service. I also want to briefly recognize all 221 candidates who are willing to run in the 41st provincial election. Putting your name on the ballot, as we all know here in this chamber, takes a significant amount of courage and commitment. It also takes a significant amount of commitment and support from family and friends as well as volunteers and I look forward to working collaboratively with our new provincial government. In particular, we’ll be working with them on the commitments made in response to the Fair Share Fair Say Campaign. This campaign led by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities was a significant success. It underscored how effective it can be when we work together and collaborate on common goals. With 137 mayors and reeves standing and working together, infrastructure led the campaign as a top of mind issue for voters and we know Winnipeggers overwhelmingly want us to continue investing in infrastructure and I look forward to working in partnership with our new provincial government on these and other priorities. Earlier in May, Madam Speaker, I was very pleased to be in Edmonton to participate in the Cities Reducing Poverty: When Mayors Lead Conference. It’s a national event that attracted mayors from across the country and as part of this event I was thrilled to announce a new initiative called the Winnipeg Promise. As part of this initiative we established a steering committee comprising local leaders in Winnipeg dedicated to finding the best ways to remove barriers currently preventing low-income families and children from accessing the Canada Learning Bond. Now the Canada Learning Bond provides a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in the lives of low-income children. This valuable program is extremely under-utilized by low-income families largely due to a number of barriers that prevent access to the program. For example, in Point Douglas alone only about 3,300 children accessed the Canada Learning Bond out of over 12,000 eligible children. Closing this gap would allow access to an additional $17.4 million to help fund post-secondary education. The many different barriers that families experience in accessing the Canada Learning Bond includes things like not having a birth certificate, a lengthy registration process, a lack of trust or social isolation. The Winnipeg Promise and the steering committee will build on the important work already undertaken by the Winnipeg Boldness Project and other organizations in our community in finding ways to remove these and other barriers to open up access to post-secondary education funding that already exists. I look forward to the important work that this steering committee will be undertaking and I hope that it is also a model that can be followed by mayors across Canada and I have already had discussions with several of my counterparts to see what they can do in their own respective communities to allow their citizens to tap into the Canada Learning Bond. Last week, as part of my campaign pledge to showcase Winnipeg on the national and the international stage, I led a business delegation to Montreal to promote Winnipeg as a great place to live, to work and to invest. Winnipeg today is growing, it's thriving and it’s a diverse city and as a former business owner, I know how vital it is for city leaders to promote Winnipeg across Canada, around the globe and to build relationships and attract businesses and investment into Winnipeg. It was great to have the leadership from Economic Development Winnipeg, now led by Dayna Spiring, Yes Winnipeg, the World Trade Centre Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Chamber Of Commerce accompany me. It was also great to have representatives from the Winnipeg Airport's Authority, Great West Life, MTS, Sightline Innovation and Solara Data join us as well. Moving forward, I will continue to work hand-in-hand with Economic Development Winnipeg, Yes Winnipeg, the World Trade Centre Winnipeg, and of course, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce to grow our economy and to help create more jobs and opportunities right here in Winnipeg. Tomorrow, we mark a solemn day in our civic calendar, it's the National Day of Mourning. This is a day that is set aside to remember workers who have been lost, injured or suffered illness as a result of their work. And it’s a day also for remembrance. It’s also a day about determination, about commitment and about hope. And it's also a day to rededicate ourselves to making every workplace safer and to foster a culture of safety. I hope every citizen in Winnipeg will join us tomorrow in remembrance and to pause and reflect on those who have been injured or those who have lost their lives as a result of their work. Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating volunteers at the 33rd annual Volunteer Awards Dinner and on Friday, we’ll be recognizing retiring civic employees for devoting many years of service towards many distinguished careers that have helped make Winnipeg a city we are all proud to call home. Now on Thursday, I will be kicking off my commitment to visit every high school in Winnipeg beginning with a visit to Nelson McIntyre Collegiate. And I look forward to meeting with hundreds of students and teachers over the course of these visits. It’s my hope that I will be able to assist in building a greater civic engagement and pride in our city, as well as to learn more about what our young people, our young citizens expect from their city and, of course, their political leaders. On a lighter note, I want to remind and invite all councillors to participate in the ball hockey game this Friday when the City of Winnipeg takes on the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. So I’d encourage you to come out and play, come out and watch, heckle, come out for the reception following the game. I’ll remind you that with no NHL teams in Canada in the playoffs, this may be the closest any of us get to a quasi-professional game. So I would ask that you come on out and join us and meet with the staff and the board members that, that will be able to come out from the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Thanks very much, Madam Speaker, merci and megwich.
Madam Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Councillor Gillingham, on to you to make your morning announcement. Thank you.
Councillor Gillingham: Thank you, Madam Speaker and good morning to my colleagues. This past Sunday, April 24, marked the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong. The battle was an important conflict in the Korean War. On April 24, 1951, Canadian soldiers from the 2nd battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry or 2PPCLI, along with United Nation Forces from Australia and Britain, took up positions to halt the advancement of enemy troops. The approximately 700 members of 2PPCLI were dug into Hill 677 overlooking the Kapyong River Valley. Their mission was to stop the advance of the communist Chinese army whose sights were set on Seoul, Korea. The historic accounts of the battle are remarkable, they play like a movie script. Vastly outnumbered by the enemy, the soldiers of 2PPCLI were surrounded on every side. The Canadians fought valiantly successfully repelling repeated waves of attack. Many of those attacks came in the night, signaled by the spine tingling blast of a Chinese bugle call that pierced the darkness. The bugle call was followed immediately by the barrage of enemy assault. The next day, on April 25, 1951, the Chinese army withdrew. The Canadians of 2PPCLI had staved off the communist army's advance. Today, there are three veterans of the Battle of Kapyong remaining in Manitoba and I believe it's important that our community continue to remember their sacrifice and service in this historic battle. And though the old barracks of the former home of 2PPCLI along Kenaston bare the name Kapyong, that property's future development is uncertain. Therefore, in the 65th anniversary year, I have launched an initiative to rename a city park at the corner of Ness and Amherst, Kapyong Park. And I have received overwhelming support from the Korean War veterans, the Korean Society of Manitoba, the current commanding officer of 2PPCLI based in Shilo now, the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba, the Canadian Legion No. 4 of St. James, the Military Family Resource Centre, City Council colleagues and many members of the St. James community. The motion to rename the park passed unanimously through our Assiniboine Community Committee. The motion now will go before our Standing Policy Committee on Protection, Community Services and Parks on May 9. And if supported on May 9, the park will be renamed at a ceremony in late summer, early fall and I, of course, will invite everyone to attend as details will be made public in due time. I just want to take a moment to thank my many Council colleagues that have expressed their support especially Councillors Pagtakhan and Mayes who from the outset have given good advice in the launch of this initiative. I did invite the three surviving members of the Kapyong Battle to join us today. Mr. Mike Czuboka, Mr. Doug Jones and Mr. Ron Sheppard, but Mr. Jones and Sheppard are actually in Korea right now, marking the 65th anniversary. And it was Mr. Jones who, in January, told me about the bugle call in the middle of the night. And his description nearly transported me there. It was quite remarkable. The other veteran, Mr. Czuboka, was unable to attend today and sent his regrets. But, I am very pleased that Master Cho, the President of the Korean Society of Manitoba, Mr. Martin Kwan, as well as honourary colonel, Barry Burns, of the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba have joined us in the gallery today for the opening of today's Council meeting and thank you to them for being here. These gentlemen and their organizations have been strong supporters of the project and I thank them for being here, I thank them for their partnership efforts that will ensure the memory of Canada's contribution to the victory of Kapyong is told to future generations. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker: Thank you, Councillor Gillingham. On to Councillor Gerbasi, for your morning announcement.
Councillor Gerbasi: Thank you. Friday, April 29th is International Dance Day, which was started in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of UNESCO International Theatre Institute. And I would like to acknowledge the presence in the audience of Stephanie Ballard who is the Director of the Winnipeg Dance Preservation Institute and the Manitoba representative of the Canadian Dance Assembly Advocacy Committee. Also, we have some representatives of the Drive Dance Company, so thank you for taking the time to come today. International Dance Day takes place around the globe to bring people and nations together in the common language of dance. It's important to recognize Winnipeg's unique cultural position of being home to the oldest ballet company in Canada and the oldest contemporary dance company in Canada, and as well as the Chai Folk Ensemble, Folklorama and countless professional and non-professional dance groups. Even some of us who aren't ball hockey players, we do other things like clog dancing. Dare to Clog Dancers is one of those groups, some of your councillors belong to. So this is something for all our citizens. I just wanted to also let you all know that on Friday, April 29 at 12:30, there will be a dance performance and it won't be me clogging in the public courtyard at City Hall put on to recognize this day. So I just wanted to let Council be aware of that and if you can extend a wave, look out the balcony, perhaps, when they are here. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker: Thank you, Councillor Gerbasi. Councillor Gillingham will you move that the minutes of the meeting held on March 22 and March 23, 2016 be taken as read and confirmed?
MINUTES
Councillor Gillingham moves that the Minutes of the meetings held on March 22 and March 23, 2016 be taken as read and confirmed.
Madam Speaker: All in favour? Contrary? Carried.
DELEGATIONS
Madam Speaker: We will now move on to delegations. First up, we have Jennifer Feschuk, on behalf of the Green Action Centre, in support of Item 3, of the report from Water and Waste, Riverbank Management and the Environment Committee regarding the Garbage Recycling and Organic Waste Programs. Welcome, Ms Feschuk. You have ten minutes for your presentation.
Jennifer Feschuk: Thank you. Good morning, councillors. Again, I am here again today to talk to you about the importance of organics diversion. I am speaking on behalf of Green Action Centre in support of the implementation of a city-wide curbside organics collection program. Composting is the right thing to do. City Council is committed to a waste diversion goal of 50 percent and Green Action Centre wants you to be successful in achieving this goal. As an organization that has been work on composting initiatives in Winnipeg for over 30 years, we firmly believe that residential curbside pickup is needed to reach such a target. At Green Action Centre, our goal is that composting be accessible to all, to seniors, to apartment dwellers, to low-income citizens, to those who want to do it on their own and to those who might find it intimidating and would appreciate a curbside collection system. We are a non-profit organization that works to train Manitobans to compost onsite emphasizing that it is easy and worth it. Our composting program focuses on getting citizens to compost in their backyard, indoors with worms, at their school and in their community compost bins. We have also trained hundreds of volunteers who we call master composters to spread the word on composting. We have a compost info helpline and an extensive web-based information set up to support and guide anyone who wants to learn about composting. In the end, managing organics onsite will always be the most environmentally friendly method of dealing with compostables. We know that. However, a curbside pickup program will benefit those who don't want to do it at home and for those backyard composters who want to go to the next level of composting and responsibly dispose of their meat, dairy and other things that cannot be composted in their backyards. So investing in both onsite composting programs and a green bin program is what will divert the most amount of organic waste and allow you to achieve that 50 percent diversion goal. While backyard composting will remain important, some people won't adapt to the backyard composting because it involves such a behavioural shift. Whereas sorting your organics in a third bin has shown to be a fairly easy shift. We were pleased with the vote at the committee meeting to amend the motion that was tabled. This is a step in the right direction. The amendment clause is congruent to City Council's commitment to public engagement and this proposed broader consultation plan should include an analysis to...and discussion on alternative funding methods such as pay as you throw. This model has worked well in Toronto. Residents are charged according to their size of the cart they choose, the garbage cart they choose. The larger garbage cart costs the homeowners substantially more which allows then for residents to be rewarded in their efforts in waste reduction such as recycling and composting initiatives and then save money if they choose a smaller cart option. A strong education component is also essential in the public consultation process in order to ensure citizens are well informed when giving their opinions and perspectives. We need Winnipeggers to be informed on the importance of composting and to understand its benefits. This will help with citizen buy-in and in turn, stimulate support for a curbside program. The message to residents needs to be inclusive for all. Highlighting that those who wish to continue to compost in their backyards or on school grounds can do so but that they can also take advantage of a program for the remaining organic materials they generate. Green Action Centre is a grassroots, nonprofit organization that understands the dynamics of composting. We train and educate residents to do it on their own. Our composting program is a team of two people. We spend most of our time out in the field doing presentations, consultations with schools, communities and residents. We have also looked at the commercial sector and have recently launched a social enterprise initiative called Compost Winnipeg which provides a pickup service for organic work places and small restaurants in the downtown core. Perhaps City Hall would like to get on board. Also, we have recently confirmed a new project which looks to get multifamily dwellings on board as well. In response to high demand from these particular residents, we will be providing direct onsite support for apartment dwellers to start composting. So as you can see councillors, we have thought about composting a lot. We have considered all pieces of the puzzle. Our recommendation for a curbside composting program comes from this kind of forethought. When it comes to managing organics from our residents, Green Action Centre knows that this is what it needed for a significant waste diversion and for Winnipeg to reach this diversion target. We need you as councillors to make this happen for Winnipeg. We urge you to use your influence to move this forward and get an organics pick-up program going for Winnipeg residents. Thank you.