Now hold a meeting that is closed to the public…

1:41:50of different types of housing.

1:41:52And I think the biggest component of that

1:41:53is centering people's needs

1:41:55and what's going to work best for them.

1:41:57I didn't emphasize that enough in my delegation,

1:42:00but it's also crucial that we are centering the voices

1:42:02of folks who are experiencing these issues

1:42:04across the continuum.

1:42:06And I know as counselors, you and Mayor,

1:42:08do a really great job staff as well

1:42:10of listening to those concerns directly from community members.

1:42:13And I would encourage you to continue doing so

1:42:14to hear what's going to work best for people.

1:42:18Thank you.

1:42:19And just to let you know,

1:42:20I'm going to telegraph to staff.

1:42:21I'm going to ask them the same question.

1:42:23I think this one's really important type matters a lot.

1:42:26Thank you.

1:42:29Councillor work is next.

1:42:35Thank you, Margot three through you to miss McPherson.

1:42:39Can you help me understand how the concept

1:42:43or the principle of housing as a human right?

1:42:48What's the expectation on the municipality

1:42:50when you adopt housing as a human right?

1:42:52What's the expectation on the municipality

1:42:54to meet all of those things that it means?

1:42:56And I'm thinking especially in light of the province

1:42:59removing rent controls on anything built or occupied

1:43:02after 2018, the municipality can never fill that gap

1:43:06that's been created, right?

1:43:08So what's the, what is the expectation when we say,

1:43:10yeah, we are going to adopt housing

1:43:12as a human right principle.

1:43:17And so what is the community's understanding of that?

1:43:20Yeah, thank you for that question.

1:43:22And I will highlight,

1:43:23I know the collective results report

1:43:25did mention some great work happening across the country.

1:43:28Shift cities is one that you can look to

1:43:30for resourcing around that.

1:43:32But I think I'll just first start by saying,

1:43:34in many senses, you are already implementing a commitment

1:43:37to a right to housing.

1:43:39City staff have been supporting that in multiple capacities.

1:43:42It was referenced earlier.

1:43:43But when I think about committing to that as an approach,

1:43:47to me, what that is ensuring is that you're applying

1:43:50that as a lens to your decision-making.

1:43:52It's a commitment to really prioritize the rights

1:43:56and dignity of people in this community

1:43:57and have that inform when you're making decisions.

1:44:00It doesn't change what you're responsible for

1:44:03or what's available to you as a mechanism or lever,

1:44:06but rather it ensures that when you are navigating

1:44:08decision-making processes,

1:44:09you have a framework to support you in making decisions.

1:44:13There's no, although this is legislated nationally

1:44:17and internationally, I think it's important to recognize

1:44:20that the federal government has made that commitment

1:44:22and they're still working on realizing what that looks like.

1:44:26They haven't, the national housing strategy

1:44:28have recognized in some areas it's been very impactful

1:44:30in other areas, there's opportunities to improve that.

1:44:32So I think it's also a commitment

1:44:34to kind of continuous improvement

1:44:35and being able to also realize what that looks like

1:44:38in a municipal context.

1:44:39There are some other municipalities

1:44:40you can look to for that, but to me,

1:44:43it's really about ensuring that you're thinking

1:44:44about those factors when you're making decisions

1:44:47that you're already faced with.

1:44:48Great, thanks.

1:44:49And just a second question through you, Marigathe.

1:44:52So we've had this conversation before.

1:44:54We tend to be very, very hyper-focused

1:44:56on the folks who are currently homeless.

1:44:59And we're sort of, we're a little bit glib

1:45:04when we're talking about, well,

1:45:05I know the municipalities got to fill these gaps.

1:45:08I'm concerned about folks who are one paycheck away

1:45:11from not making their rent.

1:45:12I'm concerned about folks for whom

1:45:14a significant property tax increase will, you know,

1:45:17make their, either their rental unit unaffordable

1:45:19because it'll be passed along

1:45:21or their property tax payments unaffordable.

1:45:24So I'm often thinking about all those folks

1:45:26who are just not homeless yet,

1:45:28but they are waiting for subsidized housing

1:45:32or they are making it, but just barely.

1:45:35Can you help me understand?

1:45:38I'm gonna ask you to do my job for me.

1:45:41Can you help me understand the precarity of that

1:45:44and what the, you know, in economics called elasticity?

1:45:48What is the capacity in the community to absorb

1:45:52the property tax increases that,

1:45:54so 2% that the county came to present with us?

1:45:58Potentially additional asks, right?

1:46:01How do you think counselors should approach that

1:46:04rather than have you make the decision for us?

1:46:06How do you think we need to be thinking about that

1:46:08in the upcoming budget?

1:46:10Because we want to say yes to everybody

1:46:11who comes to the podium, right?

1:46:13We want this awesome community.

1:46:15And at the end of the day, it is the taxpayer,

1:46:17the worst, you know, the municipal level,

1:46:20the worst possible level to make a transfer of wealth,

1:46:24which is what this is.

1:46:25So what lens do you want us to bring to this

1:46:27when we look at the budget next week?

1:46:30Thank you for that big question.

1:46:32And obviously I'm best positioned to speak

1:46:34to the experiences of people

1:46:35living with low incomes in particular.

1:46:38However, I know people who previously were middle income

1:46:41and comfortable are facing increasing pressures

1:46:43in our community.

1:46:44And I've heard from people in that situation,

1:46:47living pay tech to paycheck.

1:46:49And with housing costs and other pressures,

1:46:51it is pushing people where we're seeing an increasing divide

1:46:55between lower and upper income experiences.

1:46:59So I appreciate the fact that council considers that seriously

1:47:02when you're looking at budgetary constraints and pressures.

1:47:05I think when considering the importance,

1:47:08one of the things I say like a broken record is,

1:47:11it is critical that we need emergency needs.

1:47:14And we need to have the same sense of urgency

1:47:17for root cause solutions.

1:47:18I don't want to under appreciate the significance

1:47:22of the asks and pressures that are coming before you today.

1:47:25I think it's important to consider the balance

1:47:28to be considering what you are positioned to do

1:47:31in relationship to other levels of government

1:47:33and the context you're operating within.

1:47:34It does put you in unique pressures,

1:47:37which means considering those different factors.

1:47:40But I would say a balance considering

1:47:42where you can have the greatest impact.

1:47:44Staff are amazing at being able to draw attention

1:47:47to those pieces.

1:47:48But obviously it's no surprise to you that I would always say

1:47:51it's important to prioritize the greatest steps of need.

1:47:54We know that when we prioritize the greatest steps of need

1:47:56from both an immediate needs

1:47:58and a root cause solution oriented approach,

1:48:02that we not only have a beneficial impact

1:48:05to points said earlier, save lives.

1:48:07We are also having a broader impact

1:48:09for our broader community.

1:48:11When we lift people up who are facing

1:48:12some of the greatest marginalizations and pressures,

1:48:15it has a positive impact, not just on their wellbeing,

1:48:17but our community wellbeing overall

1:48:19or economic wellbeing and on our ability

1:48:22to be able to support one another.

1:48:24So I would just encourage you to consider those factors.

1:48:28Sorry for not a more clear direction,

1:48:30but those would be pieces that I would continue to advocate

1:48:32for in your decision-making process.

1:48:34I appreciate that, thanks.

1:48:36Councillor Pusatil and Councillor Chew.

1:48:39Thank you very much for the presentation, Dominica.

1:48:42And thank you also for articulating those levers.

1:48:45It's not only about providing housing

1:48:48and those other things, but I wanna,

1:48:50it's about the income for me.

1:48:51It's about adequate income.

1:48:53Can you talk a little bit about the advocacy

1:48:55that you've done collectively or provincially

1:48:57or nationally around the social safety net?

1:49:00And I'm not speaking about charity.

1:49:02I'm talking about OW and ODSP and so on

1:49:05to support the human right to an adequate standard of living

1:49:10because these are the two pieces in here.

1:49:14Can you speak a little bit to that?

1:49:16Yeah, thank you for that question.

1:49:18As many of you know, the poverty task force

1:49:20is a collaborative in our community

1:49:22that brings together lived experts, decision makers,

1:49:25community groups and agencies under a shared commitment

1:49:28to take action and advocate for system and policy change

1:49:31to address the root causes of poverty.

1:49:33We have extensive advocacy efforts that we undertake

1:49:37towards all different levels of government.

1:49:40But I will say that disproportionately,

1:49:43a lot of our focus around income issues

1:49:45has been on the provincial government in particular.

1:49:47We're part of a number of provincial networks.

1:49:50We work really closely with both provincial

1:49:52and national organizations advocating on these issues.

1:49:57So, and then we use that by bringing forward the voices

1:50:01of people experiencing these issues in our community

1:50:03to amplify calls for action on that level.

1:50:06I will say, as I know council has faced in some capacities,

1:50:10advocacy has needed to look different than it has in the past.

1:50:14There's been around opportunities for consultation,

1:50:17opportunities to be able to engage in those conversations.

1:50:20On social assistance in particular,

1:50:22we're fortunate to have really strong relationships

1:50:24with the County of Wellington and employment agencies locally

1:50:28and have been following some of the modernization efforts

1:50:30that have been underway and have been really amplifying

1:50:33that modernization improvements to support life stabilization

1:50:37won't be meaningful or impactful

1:50:39in the absence of increased rates or meaningfully investing

1:50:43in the supports that people need

1:50:45on both the health and housing standpoint.

1:50:48So, on that standpoint, any opportunities we have

1:50:50to advance advocacy on those fronts

1:50:52at different levels of government, we do.

1:50:55We assign on to a number of different provincial

1:50:57and national campaigns in that regard

1:50:59and amplify it at a local level.

1:51:01And any opportunities to meet with elected officials,

1:51:04we welcome and we are here to try and support you

1:51:07in any resourcing or support you need

1:51:09to also be amplifying those calls.

1:51:12Thank you.

1:51:14And Chu, please.

1:51:16Thank you, through you, Mr. Mayor.

1:51:18Thank you for your delegation.

1:51:20I'm learning a lot about your group

1:51:24and I'm very impressed with the work that you guys have done

1:51:27with some of the current initiatives,

1:51:29including how you guys are tackling food security.

1:51:33I think you guys are in a very unique position

1:51:36because you guys are a coalition of local partners.

1:51:39I'm just curious to see how you guys go

1:51:42about information sharing and knowledge transfer

1:51:45with external partners that aren't within the city

1:51:49and county because I think they're a lot of excellent,

1:51:53they're a lot of excellent best practices

1:51:56that we can maybe use and apply.

1:51:58So I'm just curious, like how do you guys go

1:52:00about that process of disseminating information

1:52:03and bring that in when you guys meet as a group?

1:52:07Yeah, thank you for that question.

1:52:08Hopefully I understood it accurately.

1:52:11You can correct me if I didn't.

1:52:11So from a knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing component,

1:52:15we create a number of different resources.

1:52:16We recognize that people need to be engaged

1:52:18in different ways and we try to reflect that in our strategy

1:52:21and I often say we've got a lot of amazing

1:52:23and kind contributions to our work.

1:52:25We are a mighty team of two, staff in particular.

1:52:29So we really do leverage our networks, our connections,

1:52:32our broader partnerships to amplify those messages

1:52:34beyond the doors we're able to access or get through

1:52:38and we try to provide that support.

1:52:41On the flip side, one of our commitments

1:52:43is to be evidence informed.

1:52:45And that's evidence informed both from a standpoint

1:52:47of what we're hearing from folks experiencing the issues,

1:52:49but also looking to more formal research

1:52:52or best practices in other communities

1:52:54so that we can learn from that, help amplify those examples.

1:52:57The London work was just referenced earlier.

1:52:59It's a great example of kind of a collaborative approach

1:53:01to health and housing planning.

1:53:03So that's also something that we do

1:53:05and we're able to leverage a lot of that

1:53:07through broader networks at the provincial

1:53:09and federal level.

1:53:11Thank you and one quick follow up for me.

1:53:13You mentioned the London model

1:53:15as did our colleague from the chamber did.

1:53:18I was just wondering, I know your focus is really on,

1:53:22bring awareness towards rent, care to income,

1:53:25but I do see a lot of opportunity,

1:53:26especially with the groundswalling of conversation

1:53:29around housing throughout the province

1:53:31that we bring forward more formal education

1:53:36through our various meetings and discussions

1:53:39with different interest groups and development partners.

1:53:44I was wondering if there is appetite to even look

1:53:48at advocacy towards the market-based,

1:53:52I guess, affordable market-based component

1:53:58in our continuum.

1:54:00There's, I think, a lot of opportunities for education,

1:54:03for particularly small developers and local home owners

1:54:06on how they can individually take responsibility

1:54:09for looking at ways to retrofit their current footprint

1:54:16into something that could be attainable for folks

1:54:18on the left hand of the continuum.

1:54:20So I was wondering if there's appetite

1:54:22and if there's even opportunity that you see

1:54:25to collaborate with our folks at the chamber.

1:54:30Yeah, so I will say that I was fortunate,

1:54:32thanks to Shakiva and the chamber for their work

1:54:35to have an opportunity to meet with partners,

1:54:38especially for-profit developers,

1:54:40and had the opportunity to express to you what I did today,

1:54:43that I don't see that their best position

1:54:45to create the deeply affordable housing that we need,

1:54:47but there's huge opportunities for us to be partnering

1:54:50and to be leveraging.

1:54:51Some of the incredible work,

1:54:53the Kindle and Skylines work has been referenced tonight

1:54:56to build on those really incredible opportunities

1:54:58to continue partnership, connection,

1:55:00and to be leveraging strengths across the continuum

1:55:02among different development sectors.

1:55:05So definitely I would always welcome having conversations

1:55:08and discussions around that.

1:55:10At the same time, I'm considering what's going to be

1:55:14most impactful for folks living with low income,

1:55:16and for that reason, that's also one of the reasons

1:55:19why I really highlighted the importance of nonprofit,

1:55:21co-op, and public housing.

1:55:23And I think the for-profit sector can play a huge role

1:55:26in partnership in that, but also looking at

1:55:28what's our capacity around creating opportunity

1:55:31to respond to that need across the continuum.

1:55:36Thank you for all your work.

1:55:37Thanks.

1:55:39Okay, Councillor Prisatil, just wanna make sure you're okay?

1:55:43Yeah, okay, great.

1:55:44Okay, then we're good, and thank you to you, Dominica.

1:55:48Thank you.

1:55:48Thank you for the work that you do as well.

1:55:51James Smith, James is gonna be joining us by video,

1:55:54I believe.

1:55:57So James, it's Mayor Guthrie speaking here,

1:55:59just wondering if you can hear me and you've joined.

1:56:08Okay, I've been told from our clerks that you are

1:56:11in the meeting, and just to unmute,

1:56:14make sure you hit star six.

1:56:18Always on video only for the audio.

1:56:19Okay, so maybe if we could just turn on your video then.

1:56:31All right, James, if you can hear me,

1:56:32I'll just give you one more shot here.

1:56:34If you don't pop on the screen,

1:56:36and we're just gonna go to our next delegation,

1:56:38but we'll swing back to try to capture you,

1:56:40so not kicking you out here,

1:56:42we just gotta keep moving along.

1:56:44Okay, James, so if you can hear me, it's Mayor Guthrie,

1:56:47we're gonna move along,

1:56:47but our clerks will continue to try to help you

1:56:50jump in at another moment, okay?

1:56:53Mark, Mark Walton is here from our great hospital,

1:56:57and Mark, thank you for joining us,

1:56:59and the floor is yours once you start speaking,

1:57:02up to the five minute delegation, go right ahead.

1:57:07So, my name is Mark Walton,

1:57:08I'm the president and CEO of Guelph General Hospital,

1:57:11and it's been my pleasure to serve this community

1:57:13for the last six months.

1:57:15Also been a pleasure to be a member

1:57:17of the Guelph Wellington Ontario Health Team.

1:57:20I'll also say a pleasure to work along with CAO Stewart,

1:57:24city staff, Mayor Guthrie,

1:57:26as well as council on a variety of different issues.

1:57:29It is a pleasure to be here with you today.

1:57:31I wanna start by first extending my gratitude

1:57:34to the staff, the CAO, council,

1:57:38for the development of these recommendations.

1:57:42They've obviously been developed in consultation

1:57:44with the sector, and obviously aimed at addressing

1:57:48the housing, the homelessness, the human crisis

1:57:53that sits in front of us.

1:57:54And I hope that today, my being here,

1:57:57actually is a bit of a testament

1:57:58to a different way of thinking.

1:57:59Hospitals are not typically involved

1:58:02in housing or homeless issues.

1:58:04We require a different framing,

1:58:07we require a different paradigm to look at.

1:58:09And so hopefully what I'm going to do today

1:58:11is talk to you about what I see as a human crisis.

1:58:14And I say it intentionally,

1:58:16because it was a term that was recently used

1:58:18by a visitor to our city.

1:58:20I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Krimavelgi,

1:58:22our province's chief nurse and assistant deputy minister

1:58:26with the Ministry of Health recently,

1:58:29following a tour of our hospital

1:58:31and a meeting with our nursing staff.

1:58:33I took Dr. Velgi for a walking tour

1:58:36of our downtown, and along with representatives

1:58:39of our OHT collective, Dr. Velgi,

1:58:42a clinical professional who's provided care

1:58:44across the globe in war ravaged third world nations,

1:58:48was moved emotionally by the desperation

1:58:50of the people that she saw on our local streets.

1:58:53I will note, she was equally inspired

1:58:55by the hard work of our health and social service agencies,

1:58:57such as our CHC, CMHA, and others.

1:59:01She's now working to give us focus

1:59:04with our affordable housing efforts, our proposal,

1:59:09to bring some relief with senior levels

1:59:11of the provincial government,

1:59:12because she believes in our community,

1:59:14she believes that our people are in danger,

1:59:16and she recognizes as I do that we have a crisis.

1:59:20Mr. Mayor and members of council,

1:59:23I've worked in the Ontario Health System

1:59:24for almost 35 years now, and I know crisis.

1:59:27For the last three years,

1:59:29I served as the senior vice president on Ontario Health

1:59:32to manage the province's COVID-19 pandemic response.

1:59:37When our long-term care homes were in peril,

1:59:39I was responsible for the deployment

1:59:40of staff into those homes.

1:59:42When we exhausted our ICU bed capacity in hospitals,

1:59:45I worked to coordinate the transfer of hundreds of Ontarians

1:59:48from their home hospitals across the province,

1:59:51in order to maintain a system that worked.

1:59:56Last year, when COVID and RSV converged

1:59:59into a single synchronous wave,

2:00:01I was responsible for transferring children

2:00:04across the province to ensure

2:00:06that safe pediatric care could be provided.

2:00:08And when Saskatchewan became overwhelmed

2:00:10and could no longer care for the residents,

2:00:12I helped to spearhead our provincial response

2:00:14and facilitate the transfers of Saskatchewan's people,

2:00:19sick and dying from their province to ours.

2:00:22I know what a crisis looks and feels like,

2:00:24and I feel that we do have a crisis,

2:00:27a human crisis in Guelph.

2:00:29And while I am absolutely supportive

2:00:31and thankful for the recommendations

2:00:33that have been put forward,

2:00:35I also believe that we need an immediate tactical response

2:00:39as well.

2:00:40And with that said,

2:00:42while I believe these are a step in the right direction,

2:00:44I think we lack a certain ruthless focus and urgency

2:00:47in some of the recommendations

2:00:49that will be required over the coming months.

2:00:52Now, I offer my observations not out of arrogance

2:00:55nor out of criticism,

2:00:56but rather as humble advice

2:00:58based on what I saw work and didn't work

2:01:00in the pandemic response over the last three years.

2:01:03The one thing I will say is the systems that worked

2:01:08in a crisis had a compelling ruthless belief

2:01:11in the universal human right to health,

2:01:14a collective unwavering commitment to efficient collaboration

2:01:18and a commitment to immediate action.

2:01:22We knew that those systems that had that would do well

2:01:26and people would be spared.

2:01:28And so today, what I would like to ask of you

2:01:30as we look at this,

2:01:32is to recognize that winter is coming

2:01:34and we will require a few things.

2:01:37First, I want to affirm what we've already heard,

2:01:40is that there is a need to believe that housing is health.

2:01:44This is something that has been articulated in London

2:01:47and across many systems.

2:01:49And we believe it is a universal right

2:01:51for each and every citizen.

2:01:53Driven by this principle,

2:01:54we need to organize effectively and efficiently

2:01:57to make decisions quickly.

2:01:59And our timelines must be hours and days,

2:02:01not weeks, months or quarters.

2:02:04And I would certainly encourage the city

2:02:06to prioritize the recommendations

2:02:09that are specifically around permanent supported housing.

2:02:12I believe these will not be an abandonment of our plans,

2:02:15but rather an expedition of them.

2:02:17Thank you.

2:02:18Thank you very much, Mark.

2:02:21Thank you very much for your delegation.

2:02:24Any, anything, okay, Councillor Klassen.

2:02:28And I saw Councillor Goller's hand go up too.

2:02:30Go ahead.

2:02:31Thank you through you, Mr. Mayor, to the delegate.

2:02:33Thank you very much for being here

2:02:35and thanks for the delegation.

2:02:37I did have a question about some of the language

2:02:39that you used around crisis and Guelph is in crisis.

2:02:42And when I hear that,

2:02:43like I mean, we have been talking about it a lot.

2:02:45It's really, it's bringing in our ears

2:02:48and I'm looking around

2:02:48and I think that my council colleagues agree with me.

2:02:52I just, I wanted you to speak a little bit more

2:02:55to that in Guelph,

2:02:56but then also perhaps the broader context

2:02:58across Canada as well.

2:02:59Of course, absolutely.

2:03:02Our problem, our crisis is not unique.

2:03:05Guelph has a crisis as do many other towns.

2:03:10I just had the ability to be in Waterloo yesterday

2:03:13and drove past a very similar scene

2:03:15that we would see on our streets here as well.

2:03:18It is multifactorial, economic, financial,

2:03:22social, the forces that created some of these challenges

2:03:26are significant.

2:03:27And so I would say that, yes, we have a crisis,

2:03:30a homelessness crisis, a housing crisis

2:03:32across our province and across our country.

2:03:34No question about it.

2:03:36However, as someone who gets to see the back end of this,

2:03:42what I can tell you is that we are seeing increased

2:03:45prevalence of emergency visits from people that are homeless,

2:03:49from people that are malnourished.

2:03:51And what I can also tell you is that with winter coming,

2:03:54we can expect to see more frostbite, more exposure,

2:03:57other issues related to homelessness.

2:04:01Our numbers are increasing.

2:04:03We are seeing people who were formerly in other tenements

2:04:05within the affordable housing,

2:04:0890 carden as an example,

2:04:10coming through our emergency department

2:04:12in greater numbers.

2:04:13So we know that on the back end,

2:04:16that we are gonna see more sick people.

2:04:18And of course, from my perspective is,

2:04:20how does we get ahead of that?

2:04:21How do we get upstream to that?

2:04:23I will also say that just given my experience

2:04:25in the pandemic, organizations, groups,

2:04:29collectives that move quickly and move fast,

2:04:32often have the advantage of trying to get upstream faster

2:04:35and better than others.

2:04:36My fear is if we wait till Q1 as an example,

2:04:39to hold a summit,

2:04:41we'll already halfway through the winter.

2:04:43And to me, that's a challenge.

2:04:48Thank you.

2:04:49A goller than a roark, please.

2:04:54Thank you for your presentation, Mr. Walton.

2:04:58I wanted to ask, just to be clear about what you're asking,

2:05:03because none of the 17 recommendations

2:05:05actually have us move forward

2:05:07with more permanent supportive housing.

2:05:09So are you suggesting that we are missing action here

2:05:12and that we should enact one more,

2:05:15more than today that has more permanent housing

2:05:19or shelter built before winter?

2:05:21Is that?

2:05:23No, I'm not suggesting that I would see us move forward

2:05:27for more permanent housing,

2:05:28but rather support for the existing permanent housing

2:05:31that we have built,

2:05:33but do not have operating dollars to support.

2:05:36It's very important to highlight

2:05:38that simply creating four walls in a room

2:05:42will only take us so far.

2:05:44There are a variety of supports that need to be around people,

2:05:46not only to ensure that they get into that housing,

2:05:49but also stand that housing in a productive

2:05:51and meaningful way.

2:05:53And as such, all of us collectively,

2:05:56as health service providers, community providers,

2:05:59local government, et cetera,

2:06:01really do need to move quickly

2:06:02to make sure that we get those operational dollars in place.

2:06:06I would also suggest, however,

2:06:08that some of our conventional notions,

2:06:10and this was referenced by Ms. Fishburne earlier

2:06:13in her discussion about how these get funded,

2:06:16where they get funded, and through whom the money flows,

2:06:20really needs to be challenged,

2:06:21because I can liken this only to one other thing

2:06:25that I've dealt with over the past few years,

2:06:27and this had to do with the international farm workers

2:06:29that were down in Windsor Essex.

2:06:31They had the opportunity to work

2:06:34through the pandemic response for them.

2:06:36This was a group that had multiple agencies,

2:06:39multiple level of government, federal,

2:06:41provincial, municipal,

2:06:43all involved in some way, shape, or form

2:06:45in their management and care.

2:06:47And when COVID hit,

2:06:50it was very difficult to discern who was in charge

2:06:53and who was actually gonna take accountability

2:06:54for solving this problem.

2:06:56I see a lot of parallels in what we're talking about today

2:06:59because there's a multiplicity of factors

2:07:01and other things contributing to this,

2:07:03multiple layers of government, multiple agencies, et cetera.

2:07:07And for me, it's not necessarily about more,

2:07:10but it is about ensuring that we have the appropriate funding

2:07:13and place to care for these humans,

2:07:15our co-residents, our co-citizens,

2:07:18and to make sure that we're advocating

2:07:20at all levels effectively from one voice.

2:07:22Team Guelph is how I would describe it.

2:07:24We need to all be speaking together.

2:07:27Thank you for that.

2:07:28Thank you.

2:07:31Oh, Rourke, then boost until.

2:07:34Thank you, Marga, three.

2:07:37Through you to the hospital CEO's name I'm blanking.

2:07:42Mr. Mark Walton, Mark is perfect.

2:07:44I'm thinking Walker, you know that happens like,

2:07:46okay, sorry about that.

2:07:50I'm thinking that in the examples you gave about COVID

2:07:54and mobilizing people across the province,

2:07:57and thank you for that.

2:07:59You had the authority to do that

2:08:01and the province had the jurisdiction to do that.

2:08:05So with this same ask, I'm gonna ask you again,

2:08:08as I've asked other people,

2:08:09have you made the same ask to the county

2:08:13as our services provider?

2:08:15Yes, to be blunt.

2:08:18So again, having had them,

2:08:19I was on the delegation down to London as an example

2:08:23and spoke extensively with some of the county staff

2:08:25that were there.

2:08:27And interestingly, sorry, through the mayor to you,

2:08:30counselor, in some cases,

2:08:33we didn't actually have the authority

2:08:36under the pandemic challenges that we had.

2:08:39In fact, there was a point in time

2:08:41when I made a series of asks through the provincial government

2:08:45and through some of the agencies

2:08:46who might normally typically deal with this.

2:08:48And I got a call from my boss at the time,

2:08:50Matt Anderson, it was a very somber call

2:08:53because he called me and he said, no help is coming.

2:08:56And I said, what do I do with that?

2:08:58He said, you need to act with commission.

2:09:02He said, do what you believe is right.

2:09:04Do what you believe will serve these people

2:09:06in the best way possible and just make things happen.

2:09:09And so we did.

2:09:10And so one of the things I would take away

2:09:13from that particular lesson was at some point in time,

2:09:16regardless of the swim lane,

2:09:17regardless of the accountability,

2:09:20someone needs to step up and take action.

2:09:22And I hope my being here today is a little bit atypical

2:09:26and perhaps a bit of a symbol of our desire collectively

2:09:30to take action together.

2:09:31My colleagues that sit as part of the OHT,

2:09:34as part of the health and social system,