Author Archives: theburgwatch

About theburgwatch

Amherstburg's first local blogger since 2011, writing about town council and issues.

Two New Ombudsman Guides: Integrity Commissioners

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The Town of Amherstburg should update its complaint protocol to reflect best practices, including this one:

Remove barriers to making a complaint
There should be no barriers to making a complaint to the integrity commissioner, such as fees or onerous administrative requirements (e.g., requiring complainants to swear an affidavit). Municipalities sometimes impose such conditions in an attempt to discourage frivolous and vexatious complaints. Instead, they should address this concern by giving integrity commissioners discretion to dismiss complaints for these reasons.

The Ombudsman has strongly and repeatedly denounced the practice of charging a complaint fee because it penalizes complainants for exercising their statutory rights and may prevent legitimate complaints from being raised. He has noted that it is “entirely inconsistent with the primary intent of the integrity commissioner scheme, which is to foster democratic legitimacy and public trust at the local level.”[23] A number of municipalities have removed their fees and changed their codes of conduct in light of this position.

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé 

Ombudsman Dubé and staff debuted two newest guides at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in London in August:

  1. MUNICIPAL INTEGRITY COMMISSIONERS: BEST PRACTICE GUIDE
  2. CODES OF CONDUCT, COMPLAINT & INQUIRY PROTOCOLS, AND APPOINTING INTEGRITY COMMISSIONERS

What’s On The September 11 Council Meeting Agenda?

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The agenda is posted 10 days in advance o the meeting, which begs the question – why did it take so long to implement this practice?

Hopefully, this will allow more time for members of council to conduct independent research which might lead to more efficient meetings.

April minutes will be received along with six August meetings.

No delegations are listed, yet, but Enbridge Gas will present information on a proposed Boblo Island Community Expansion Project with a suggested letter of support as resource for Council if needed.

There is a recommendation to approve:

  1. An expenditure for the purchase of a 2024 Zamboni 650 Electric BE APPROVED with a total cost not to exceed $198,131.97 plus HST;
  2. The purchase of the 2024 Zamboni 650 Electric BE AWARDED to Zamboni Company Ltd.; and,
  3. Net proceeds from the sale of the current Zamboni BE DIRECTED to the Libro Ice and Arena Infrastructure project (#723004), along with any surplus funding after the purchase of the Electric Zamboni, estimated at $58,381, to be use towards the purchase of additional ice maintenance equipment required for the Libro Centre rinks.

There are recommendations to approve a Temporary Zoning By-law Amendment – East Side of County Road 20 North of River Canard (ZBA-14-23); Official Plan Amendment No. 23 and Zoning By-law Amendment for 9538Walker Road; and Suitability for Development on a Private Septic System on Front Rd N.

Another outdated policy, 10 years old, is being amended: Amendment to the Video Surveillance Policy.

There are two INFORMATION REPORTS:

  1. Update on the Status of Kings Navy Yard Park Extension Lands August 2023 with a Report and an Appendix;
  2. Council Request Re: Item 16.2 from the August 14, 2023 Council – Agenda – City of Toronto Response to the Proposed Provincial Planning Statement; Report.

CONSENT CORRESPONDENCE

Correspondence: Minister Steve Clark – Building Faster Fund

CORRESPONDENCE

Shine the Light on Woman Abuse /Wrapped in Courage Campaigns 2023 with Partnership Proposal and letter advising the New Date for Tree Lighting.

CONSENT OTHER MINUTES to be received include the Economic Development Advisory Committee August 17 Meeting

OTHER MINUTES to be received with recommendations:

Minutes- Co-An Park Advisory Committee Meeting – August 9, 2023

Minutes – Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting – August 24, 2023

UNFINISHED BUSINESS lists the August cheque registry but links to the unfinished business sheet.

NOTICE OF MOTION by Councillor Pouget: That Council RECONSIDER Council Resolution 20230711-016, namely that, Administration BE DIRECTED to proceed with Option # 1, decommissioning of the ATI – Siren System, as noted in the report entitled Public Alerting Considerations and Direction dated May 29, 2023; and, Equipment and poles BE REMOVED from all current Siren Sites, recycling materials.

Two attachments:

  1. Public Alerting Considerations and Direction.pdf
  2. Amherstburg Map 1 – sirens new Zones.pdf

Two Bylaws and the show ends:

  1. By-law 2023-094- Declaration of Surplus Lands on Victoria St S
  2. By-law 2023-095 – Confirmatory By-law

New Jack Purdie Park Swing

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I posted that I’d have more to say about the Multigenerational Swing Installation Jack Purdie Park.

While the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee spent about half of the meeting discussing the proposed new LCBO, it took about two minutes for the clerk to provide a background and for the committee chair to note it looks amazing and should be standard.

The clerk advised that for a second time the Town of Amherstburg received funding through the Enabling Accessibility Fund – Youth Innovation Component and they may have to recognize the individual’s support for the community and for being such a forward thinking youth to continue to drive forward the town and its initiatives.

The agenda attachment notes, ‘We are excited to announce the ‘swing along’ installation in Jack Purdie Park, which is already getting lots of use! This multigenerational swing allows children ages 5 and under to sit face-to-face with and in close proximity to a sibling, parent or caregiver. This configuration promotes social, emotional, visual, vestibular, proprioceptive and language skill development and is a great way to teach little ones how to swing.’

My critique? The swing limits use to under age 5. Stats Canada states in 2021 there were 745 children age 0 to 4; so what about the 1670 children ages 5 to 14 who want to swing? The swing is segregated; I question how that promotes social skill development. There is no sidewalk leading up to it. The surface is soft and uneven. There is no shade. And, as mentioned in this post,

‘When adapted or specialized equipment is made available, it is often limited in quantity and engaged with alone, thereby highlighting the functional limitations of that child and further segregating them from their peers.’

canadian public health association accessibility and usability of play spaces march 2019

Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Designing Inclusive Playgrounds to Enable Participation for Children with Disabilities By: Canadian Disability Participation Project, supported by Canadian Tire Jumpstart.

How does this playground compare?

photo 1: isolated new swing

photo 2: no sidewalk to it

photo 3: the rest of the playground in the distance

In Camera Agenda Posted

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There’s only one item on today’s agenda:

That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended for the following reasons:

Item A – Litigation Involving Identifiable Individual 

  • Section 239(2)(b) personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees; and,
  • Section 239(2)(f) advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.

AAAC Discussed New LCBO At Length

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Almost half of the one hour August 24 Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting was spent on the new LCBO site plan at the Walmart plaza.

The Municipal Property Audits, reviewed back in 2018 to 2019 will be revisited by members using the Building & Spaces Accessibility Assessment Form; – there should be no surprises regarding the lack of accessibility at the town hall and Gordon House, as I’ve pointed out numerous times.

  • Town Hall
  • Libro Centre & Property
  • Visitor Information Centre
  • Gordon House*
  • Amherstburg Public Library*
  • Gibson Gallery*
  • Community Hub*
  • *Note – Heritage features of designated heritage structures are restricted from modifications.

The Site Plan Review – 400 Sandwich St. South was discussed at length and focused on the town’s right of way and a sidewalk on Pickering. Apparently, the town asked the developer about a sidewalk several times but couldn’t demand it because it is town property and a municipal decision.

About fifteen minutes later.

Motion 1: to approve with the referring the sidewalk question to 2024 budget.

More discussion and clarification: approving it unconditionally or conditionally? waiting to hear back whether that’s going to be approved? the committee doesn’t have approval capacity – can make recommendations, endorse, but not approve. This can proceed with or without this committee’s endorsement.

Without a seconder, the motion on the floor was read: that the Site Plan for 400 Sandwich Street South be endorsed by the Amherstburg accessibility committee, and that consideration of a sidewalk on Pickering Drive from Sandwich to the proposed new LCBO store be brought to the 2024 budget deliberations. The Chair didn’t think they had a motion and asked if they did.

Motion 2: that the Accessibility Advisory Committee favours this development but calls on the developer and the town to put a sidewalk there.

More discussion.

The clerk was asked to read back the motion:

that the site plan for 400 Sandwich Street South be favored by the accessibility advisory committee and that the Accessibility Advisory Committee calls on the developer and the town to put a sidewalk from Sandwich Street South to the LCBO along the municipal right of way on Pickering drive.

More discussion. Favoured?

The motion is read again:

that the development for 400 Sandwich Street South be supported by the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee in principle, but that the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee calls on the developer and the town to put a sidewalk from Sandwich Street South to the LCBO along the municipal right of way on Pickering drive.

More discussion: Supported?

Motion amended to say that the Accessibility Advisory Committee calls on the developer and the town to build a sidewalk there.

Motion is read again:

that the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee calls on the town and the developer to build a sidewalk along Pickering drive to service the new development.

Carried.

Accessible On-Street Parking: public consultation will b held in the fall for the downtown core.

Multigenerational Swing Installation Jack Purdie Park: little discussion but I’ll have more on that in another post.

On to UNFINISHED BUSINESS and Maintenance of Tactile Surface Indicators and a motion that carried: the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee recommends that the town implement a maintenance schedule to paint tactile surface plates that have rusted.

Open Air – To Survey Or Not To Survey; That Was The Debate

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There really needs to be a time limit on speeches and we could still do without the personal anecdotes that do not move the town business forward.

Council’s debate of Councillor Allaire’s motion for a survey of all residents regarding Open Air lasted almost fifteen minutes: who received a survey? who should be surveyed? who was surveyed? when to survey? who should vet the survey? should all events be surveyed? we’ve had many open air surveys to date, correct?

Councillor Crain was the sole opposition. He said he can’t grasp why Open Air specifically; and it was already mentioned that we’ve done an Open Air survey for residents and businesses so he felt a survey just on Open Air seems to be wasting staff time in his opinion; he would consider it if they opened it up to all events.

The waste of time, in my opinion, was the almost fifteen minutes that resulted in what Councillor Allaire wanted in the first place.

the burg watch: to CAO Critchley: would you please advise on what dates did admin/tourism dept. conduct Open Air surveys of Amherstburg residents/ratepayers?

CAO Critchley I believe that there have been several community surveys placed on Talk the Burg with respect to Open Air in the past but I do not have the precise dates. As you may know, Council has asked that a new survey be prepared and it will be issued in the Fall.

the burg watch: knowing the precise dates would be helpful for the public and for decision makers. a ‘talk the burg’ site search yielded no results.

CAO Critchley: I am attaching copies of all surveys that we were able to locate regarding Open Air. I would note that we have surveyed visitors to Open Air and the businesses inside and outside the footprint. We have not done a resident wide survey, however that is being prepared and will be done this year.

How many surveys were there?

  • Visit Amherstburg: Business Survey #1 May 20, 2020
  • Visit Amherstburg: Visitor Survey Open Air Weekends August 21, 2020 to September 27, 2020
  • Final Business Survey Open Air 2021 sent out to the businesses within the footprint on Sept 27, 2021 and closed Oct. 5, 2021.
  • Open Air Weekend Customer Survey August 7,8 9 2021 Administered by Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island
  • Amherstburg Open Air Weekends 2022 Business Survey Results 37 Businesses out of 45 in the Open Air Footprint
  • AMHERSTBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE delegation February 21, 2023 membership survey to gain feedback for 2023 budget & Community Strategic Plan

Accessibility And Usability Of Play Spaces

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Continuing awareness of definitions, the Canadian Public Health Association article, Accessibility and Usability of Play Spaces is another resource that fully explains ‘accessible’ and ‘useable’ playgrounds.

‘When adapted or specialized equipment is made available, it is often limited in quantity and engaged with alone, thereby highlighting the functional limitations of that child and further segregating them from their peers.’

CANADIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION ACCESSIBILITY AND USABILITY OF PLAY SPACES MARCH 2019

Delegate Request Form Amherstburg/Whitby

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If you can’t locate information on the town of Amherstburg website, do a search. When I typed in ‘delegate’ the drop down menu appeared as this:

A click on the town of Whitby delegation request form resulted in a list including this:

Clicking on that link resulted in a pdf of the Amherstburg Delegate Request Form:

Searching delegate request yields different results including different names: delegation request form which is online and Delegation Registration Form – Amherstburg which links to Drainage On-Site Meeting Delegation Regist:

The online delegation request forms differ. Amherstburg’s asks if you have contacted Administration regarding this matter and asks that speaking notes and/or presentation materials be attached.

Whitby’s asks for preferred attendance: either in person or virtually and also states, Additional information regarding appearing before Council can be found on whitby.ca/delegations.

Inclusive Playgrounds Are Possible

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The number and type of comments here and on Facebook about children with disabilities is concerning. I can’t imagine anyone would choose to deny any child a fun playground experience.

There seems to be some mis- and disinformation regarding playgrounds that children with disabilities can equally access and enjoy. I also think there is ignorance about the fact that the terms accessible, inclusive, and useable are not interchangeable.

The AODA and Canada Safety Association Standards are minimum requirements and nothing in the legislation stops anyone from exceeding those minimum standards.

When there is a claim that a playground is AODA or CSA Annex H compliant, it might mean that only some elements are accessible but the playground still might not be inclusive.

There are a number of excellent resources for municipalities to refer to if decision makers decide they will exceed those minimum standards and build playgrounds that are inclusive and useable.

Holland Bloorview’s EPIC Lab has teamed up with Dr. Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos (University of Toronto), Ms. Ingrid Kanics (Kanics Inclusive Design Services, LLC), and Dr. Jennifer Leo (University of Alberta) to create a comprehensive report titled, “Creating Inclusive Playgrounds: A Playbook of Considerations and Strategies.”

The development of this playbook has received generous support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities’ Inclusive Play Project and their mission to build more inclusive play spaces across Canada.