City Council

1:27All right, good evening everyone. It's Tuesday, September 24th, 2024. It is 5.30 and I

1:33like to call the City Council meeting to order. We do have regrets from Councillor Alt tonight.

1:40With that, we have on the open agenda an option to go into closed for one item

1:49and it is a title called Council Consideration Authority to Commence Legal Claim.

1:58That is under Section 239-2E and F of the Municipal Act regarding litigation or potential litigation,

2:06including matters before administrative tribunals affecting the municipality or local board

2:11and advice that is subject to solicitor client privilege. It couldn't communications necessary

2:17for that purpose. Before moving into closed, is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest or

2:23general nature thereof? I don't see or hear anybody so we're good there.

2:28Councillor Busuttil, would you be willing to move to go into closed? Thank you. Councillor Chew,

2:32would you be willing to second? Yes, thank you. Is there anything further on that?

2:38No, okay. I'll call the vote. Is anyone against moving into closed?

2:43Nobody. Okay, so we will move into closed now for that discussion

2:47and when we're done, I will come back up back out. We all will and I will give

2:52high-level overview before we continue. Thank you. All right, good evening everyone. It is

29:25six o'clock so I'm going to call the open session meeting to order. Again,

29:29we did have formal regrets from Councillor Ault tonight.

29:34With that, I'm just going to give the quick summary. We did go into closed at 5.30 under

29:38the title Council Consideration Authority to Commence Legal Claim. We did receive information

29:44as Council in regards to that issue and we did give direction to staff to that. So that's all

29:53there is in the update and the summary from the closed session. And so if you can, if you're able,

29:59please stand as we recognize our national anthem. Great, thanks everyone and just moving on to our

31:35moment of silent reflection please. Thank you and our territorial acknowledgement. As we gather,

31:49let us take time to reflect on our privilege to live and work in Guelph, a city built over

31:53rich indigenous histories. We're guests here. We should reflect upon the responsibility to care

31:58for the land, the people who live here today and the generations to come. For actions today can

32:03move us towards reconciliation. We should take pause and make those decisions with intention

32:08and gratitude. This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of refuge for

32:13many peoples over time, but more specifically the Anahuanarok and the Hulna Shoni. This land is held

32:19as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Guelph lies

32:24directly adjacent to the Haldeman tract and is part of the long-established traditional hunting

32:28grounds for the Six Nations of the Grand River. Many First Nations, Inuit and Métis people who

32:34have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home today. Thank you. Is there any disclosure of

32:41pecuniary interest? Any general nature thereof for the items that are now in front of us?

32:50Seeing and hearing none. So we will move on. We do have the consent agenda. I'll go through each

32:59and see if there's anyone that wants to pull anything. So the first is the Downtown Collection

33:04Area update. Seeing none. The Downtown Guelph Heritage Conservation District Study.

33:13Seeing none. The 2024 second quarter budget monitoring report. Seeing none. And then the

33:21municipal scan of rent eviction bylaws. That's been moved to the eighth as we know. So other than

33:29the other two that were to action. Okay. Not seeing those either. So seeing anybody either. So those

33:35can be moved. Okay. I see you on the screen. Gibson and Billings. And is there anything further on that?

33:41No. Okay. I'll call the vote on all those items. Is anyone against?

33:46And again, that's nobody. That's unanimous. Thank you so much.

33:50First up for our discussions because we have a delegation. We only have one is

33:55Point of Order Mayor Guthrie. I think we skipped item five. Confirmation of open minutes.

34:00Oh yeah. Thank you. Sorry. Good catch. I'll move that. Would you be willing to move that for me? Okay.

34:05Thank you, Councillor O'Rourke. Anybody willing to second that for me? Okay. Clawson. And so it's

34:12the open council meeting minutes of July 9th, 16th, 23rd and August 22nd and the 28th, 2024

34:19and the Committee of the Whole Meeting on July 3rd, 2024 be confirmed as recorded and without

34:24being read. Anyone want to comment on that? Any changes? Nope. Okay. I'll call the vote. Is anyone

34:32against those minutes? Nobody. That's unanimous as well. Thank you, Councillor O'Rourke. Okay. Back to

34:40Morgan Dandy, who is going to be our delegation on the first item that we have a delegation on,

34:46which is the Indigenous Relations Framework. And so for all of our delegations tonight,

34:53you have no more than five minutes. You'll hear a chime at the four minutes and 30 second mark

34:59and then stick around just in case there's any follow-up questions. I'll turn the microphone

35:03over to you, Morgan. You've been here before. You know the drill. Go right ahead. I stand here

35:09today as one whose ancestors have come here as settlers and who have been settled.

35:18When I say that I've had ancestors that were settled here, I know that I wouldn't exist

35:28if it weren't for the Haudenosaunee, the peoples that at the beginning of every council meeting

35:38are mentioned. My ancestors were Irish, arrived on the shores of Turtle Island as indentured

35:48servants. When their servitude was completed, they were released with nothing. If it weren't for the

36:00Haudenosaunee in the area that's now called Georgetown, I wouldn't be here because my ancestors

36:08would not have survived those winters. The Longhouse people need to be a big part

36:20of what we talk about in the Dina Doni because this is, as we say, in the beginning of every meeting.

36:34Their traditional hunting grounds. I was blessed to have been raised in part by a Nehaewak woman

36:51who loved me so much that she named her daughter after me. I have teachings in my brain that I

37:00don't understand where they came from because they were instilled in me when I was so young.

37:07I'm really glad that this Indigenous framework is here and I really hope that each and every person

37:16now has the opportunity to really delve into their personal biases because personal bias

37:25frames so much of how we think. When I first heard about the 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops in 2021,

37:40my reaction, I didn't understand because it was, thank God, now maybe something can happen.

37:50I didn't know where that thought came from until I started delving into it after listening to

37:57a two-spirit Indigenous youth on the steps of the Basilica. That person said,

38:05on June 1st, it's so great to see all of you people standing here in orange shirts and if any of you

38:13were raising that flag of genocide in 30 days, you being here means nothing. That changed my world view.

38:27I am for everyone as we move through this Indigenous relations framework to look at our personal biases

38:39and learn how it informs our world view because until we actually look at it, we don't know what it is.

38:52Thank you. Thank you. Are there any follow-up questions for the delegate? Seeing none, thank you very much.

39:02With that, would someone be willing to move the Indigenous relations framework for me?

39:07Councillor Goller and Colosson will second. Is there anything further on that?

39:14No? Okay, I'll call the vote. Is there anyone against?

39:18Seeing none, that's unanimous. Thank you very much. The next one, we do have a delegation,

39:23is the Downtown Streetscapes Level of Service and Construction Mitigation. Mike Darman from

39:28the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation is here in person. Mike, come on down.

39:39And you as well, Mike, have been here before. You know the drill, so I'll turn it over to you.

39:44And no more than five minutes, the chime at four minutes and 30 seconds. Go ahead.

39:49Thanks Mayor Garthier. I haven't used one of these before, so you can give me a couple of seconds just to try it.

39:56Okay, good. Good evening, Councillor Mayor Garthier and City staff. My name is Mike Darman and I'm

40:02co-chair of GCAT Advocacy. We love the design of Wyndham Street because it is a crucial part of the

40:08overall vision we have for a more equitable, comfortable, active transportation network

40:15connectivity into and out of Downtown. In other words, a minimum grid of protected infrastructure.

40:21I echo Mayor Guthrie's comments at the Committee of the Whole that the staff

40:25presentation for Downtown Renewal is quote, the best he has ever seen, and I fully agree.

40:29The use of animation videos of Wyndham Street immediately makes you think,

40:34I want to visit a place like this. We are huge supporters of our Downtown and love the wide

40:39sidewalks, trees, benches, and public spaces which will transform our Downtown into an even more

40:44desirable destination. Regarding the shade trees, I really like what Project Manager Reg

40:49Russ Worm said at the cow meeting. No one can deny that a mature tree will have the biggest

40:55impact. We cyclists and walkers love the shade provided by the canopy. Public washrooms are

41:00crucial for a place to go and the waste container plan will vastly improve the look and feel of the

41:05space and make it a place you truly want to linger in, show off to your friends, and stay for a meal

41:11on a patio on a warm sunny day. An investment in our Downtown will reap many benefits but we need

41:17all the elements of the complete vision to make it work. Increased AT Motor Share is a main goal of

41:23the TMP. Protected bike lanes on Wyndham Street is a big step but investing in making a fully

41:28connected and protected minimum grid into and out of Downtown is crucial to success. So we are

41:35working and advocating with City Sustainable Transportation and Park staff on our vision of

41:40making Downtown an accessible and enjoyable destination by AT. We are very pleased with the

41:46current flexible, complete street design which includes protected bike lanes. I'll remind City

41:51Council that we compromise on choosing the flexible street design over permanent, unmovable

41:56protected infrastructure because we love the patio program and supporting local businesses.

42:01The protected bike lanes on Wyndham will encourage more people to use bicycles but we also need to

42:06make it pleasant and safe to connect. Wyndham from many points in the Downtown, for example if one is

42:12coming into the Downtown on a bike from the north like me, the obvious choice is the TCT Trail

42:18which is part of our active transportation network but it suddenly ends at Healy-Aremassa

42:24Road but no safe means to connect to Downtown or the new Wyndham Street protected bike lanes.

42:28I'm going to attempt to answer it. There's one solution and another and I think there we go. Good.

42:48I hope you can kind of get that. I can't get it to play again over and over but we're proposing

42:53making low slope cardigan street from the Norwood Street pedestrian bridge to a protected Eremassa

42:58Wyndham intersection bi-directional for bikes with a multi-use trail on one side. The trail would

43:04curve around and behind the cenotaph to the intersection which which continue the trail-like

43:09experience into Downtown quite unlike the current situation. High slope Eremassa will never get

43:14high modal share shift. So we have some good active transportation infrastructure and we have some

43:20great active transportation trails but they're disconnected networks when you reach street

43:26crossings with unsafe infrastructure and unfortunately this fact rings true every

43:32time we organize a GCAT ride into and out of our Downtown and sadly the ghost bike ride we are

43:37leading starting at City Hall this Saturday for a former GCAT member who died recently from her

43:41injuries following a collision while cycling on Victoria Road is no exception. If we are truly

43:47committed to making the Downtown an attractive destination and place to live we need complete

43:52AT grid connectivity to and from it. So consider the wise investment in flexible street design,

43:58trees, public washrooms and public amenity space only when it is all fully connected do you realize

44:03the vision and return on investment. Cycling master plan update will start in 2025 and I hope

44:10you will continue your support for Downtown renewal by also supporting the budget for the

44:16cycling master plan update. We hope many of the improvements for connectivity will be

44:20considered in the plan. In conclusion I would like to quote General Manager of Engineering

44:26Terry Gayman's comments from the COW meeting. We have a rare once in a generation opportunity

44:31to examine and build the things we love about Downtown Guelph connecting all the dots and all

44:35the opportunities. I couldn't agree more and hope you keep this in mind when we have the opportunity

44:40to support active transportation connectivity dots into and out of Downtown. Thanks.

44:47Thanks Mike appreciate you and your delegation looks like I have a follow-up here from just

44:52Councillor Goller. Thank you through your worship to Mr. Darwin. Thank you for your presentation.

44:59I wanted to get a little bit of clarity. You spoke about three options to connect the

45:05the Royal City Trail coming from Riverside Park into the Downtown. Which of those options would

45:13be preferred from the perspective of GCAT? I think by far if we could convert Cardigan Street

45:20into bidirectional it's the lowest slope you'll find of any direction coming from

45:24north into downtown. Aramasa is extremely just right near the end just before we get in.

45:32In fact I've seen bicyclists bike up right near the top and in one instance their chain snapped.

45:37It was so much effort they had to put onto it. So even putting protected bike lanes say from

45:42the lower slope at the bottom right up to the top wouldn't really get too many people actually

45:46biking in that in on that street. Another great connection though would be at

45:54Arthur Street where it meets Aramasa and we've actually suggested again to city staff that

46:00there's a pedestrian light further up the hill if you move it to that location.

46:04It's actually part of the bike route too so it would actually lead into downtown

46:08downtown too from several directions but also lead over to the ward actually

46:12where I travel all the time actually and anybody trying to cross Aramasa at that point knows it's

46:17a horrible way to cross it including the existing trail. The existing trail you know goes behind

46:23the large apartments and it's a there's a very tight section just before you get to Aramasa

46:29which is also a very you know it's actually kind of a dangerous spot for a lot of people especially

46:33at night time so and then you reach Aramasa again and it's very dangerous to cross there but you see

46:39people flying across all the time so I think ideally to offer the lowest slope or pedestrians

46:47and cyclists by the way just into downtown. Pedestrians it's a no-brainer but cyclists of

46:51course need that ease of getting into downtown and I see many cyclists illegally doing it already

46:58and it would be the same as actually what's happening on what we have right now on Wilson

47:02Street very similar situation. Thank you for that and the proposal then for Kartigan Street

47:08are you suggesting that we eliminate one of the lanes of parking on one side and make it

47:14active transportation or what is a request? It probably would need to be eliminated. I'm not

47:21sure we would have to get staff to look at that it might involve removing some parking which

47:28be an issue for some people. Okay well thank you thank you for your presentation.

47:31Thank you worship. Thank you and Councillor a work please. Thanks Margarit through you to

47:38Mr. Darman first of all condolences on the on the loss of your GCAT member and just because I'm

47:45focused on the agenda item which is the streetscapes downtown you're just connecting the docks

47:52so that we're thinking about it when the cycling master plan comes back correct you're not asking

47:57us to make a decision you're not you're just priming the pump for those future conversations

48:02that correct because we really do need to stay on the agenda. Yeah exactly yeah that's I'm asking

48:06for the next opportunity to just you know complete that vision and also get a return on what you're

48:10investing on downtown by you know by investing in this early in the cycling master plan hopefully not

48:18delaying it any further. Okay and through omega three to Mr. Darman you have no reason to believe

48:23that staff wouldn't consult with GCAT right like in that next so so it's quite likely that that

48:29staff will consult with GCAT when we develop that cycling master plan you have a good partnership so

48:34we expect that that is going to happen correct. Yep okay it's correct yeah great okay thanks.

48:41Yeah great thank you Mike thank you very much thanks okay may I have someone put the recommendation

48:50first number one and number two on the floor for me please okay Guller, Karan will do will do the

48:56seconder for that thank you. So I passed a motion that I thought would be interesting for us to at

49:05least have a little bit of a discussion on as we move forward I don't know I won't speak to it

49:10unless someone wants to actually move it and second it for me for discussion it has to do

49:16with looking to save a little bit of money on the sidewalk pavers issue and concrete so I will just

49:24ask to see if anyone wants to move their second that for me if not then we'll move on okay we'll

49:31move on thank you is anyone want to comment before we move on to number for either of those

49:38no oh yes okay Guller and then I'll call the vote thank you through worship just a question for

49:44staff with regards to the delegation we received from GCAT if I could just have a confirmation and

49:51understanding the importance of the connectivity into the downtown as we build the the downtown

49:57active transportation infrastructure could you confirm that that staff will be exploring those

50:02connections as part of the transportation master plan update that's coming early next year

50:09through the through the chair to council Guller so yes connectivity for cycling is always very

50:15important to us that's always what we're trying to achieve as we go through some of our designs in

50:22the downtown so we've as councillor roark had mentioned that we have a really good relationship

50:28with GCAT we value their input so of course they will be part of the stakeholder group that we will

50:34consult in order to be able to do when we start to go into detail design perfect I really appreciate

50:39that and could we could we expect a response once the the staff information comes back to to council

50:47that reflects that these options have been considered as part of that work in next year

50:53well we probably wouldn't come back to council I think what I'd like to be able to tell you is

50:58that we will we will take that away and as we normally would we would consult with all stakeholders

51:04but again I I think we're violently agreeing here that we all want the same thing so we will come

51:11up with a solution that that works the best for everybody thank you very much thank you worship

51:17great thank you all right we're ready to call the vote then is anyone against those two motions for

51:24for this councillor Caton did you have a comment or I had a question okay go ahead okay I will remove

51:36okay next time get your get that get that hand up for me I will not I will just revoke that

51:43call for the vote and I'll go to you go ahead thank you sir through you to staff I had a question

51:49about the AAC feedback and how that would be incorporated during the design phase I just

51:56had a concern about the potential of the pavers I just heard in the past from the AAC that they

52:02preferred no pavers so I just wanted to know how that would go if the AAC is very against the type

52:10of pavers used then what would happen in that case um through the through the chair to councillor

52:18caten I'm actually a little a little bit surprised that they might be um not in support of the pavers

52:25a lot of times when the pavers do allow us to demark some different areas of the right-of-way

52:32that is desirable from an AAC point of view we are actually going to go back to the AAC when

52:39we start to do our detailed design when that design is ready we will go to the AAC and get

52:46some advice from them in terms of what their concerns are and how we might be able to address

52:50them so we would do that with any project councillor Caton um and try to take everybody's I understand

52:56that we're not going to make everybody happy we certainly do try um and we do take the advice of

53:01the AAC uh very seriously so um we are going back in December to review um what we have in terms of

53:09design with them so we will take that away and try to incorporate that into our design

53:14thank you very much thank you okay with that for real for really easy this time I'm going to call

53:23the votes anyone against those two motions for the downtown construction and streetscape

53:29unanimous okay that's that's great is there anything else on that item at all no okay we're

53:38moving to the next delegation an item I'm improving access to public washrooms in Guelph again Morgan

53:43dandy will come up and again you know the drill Morgan so I'll turn the mic over to you

53:50and you can begin when you're ready thank you just really quickly want to say thank you so much

53:59to everyone that has worked on the motions for this myself and others have advocated for equitable

54:09access to washrooms and drinking water especially in the downtown as someone that spends

54:16time downtown especially after 7 p.m. I know how hard it is to not have money and have to go to the

54:26washroom or maybe want to have your water filled up I've also spent time on the hottest days this

54:35summer downtown distributing water to anyone and everyone be it two-legged or four-legged

54:43to ensure that there is some access to water outside downtown because currently

54:52there's not much basically there's the frog and I don't know very many people that want to drink

54:59from the frog so I am very appreciative of all of the work that has been put into these motions

55:09I'm happy that council sees the need for this to be incorporated into the downtown renewal

55:18and I look forward to being able to access a bathroom anytime I'm in the downtown for thank you

55:28thank you is there any follow-up questions at all seeing none thank you so much

55:35all right would somebody be willing to move all of those motions all 10

55:41auror and I'll go to the screen Koran sorry Richardson I'll go to you Richardson for adjournment

55:48okay just so you don't feel left out so Koran will second that and is there anything more on that

55:55before I go call the vote okay auror yeah thanks mega three I was just at the basic needs working

56:02group this week so I have quick question around the timing so some of these motions are for the

56:10downtown streetscapes when it's all rebuilt and beautiful and others are in the interim questions

56:17so I'm looking at number three portable washrooms continue to be used to expand access to washrooms

56:22in public places until permanent facilities are provided number four is also continuing to look

56:29at use of washrooms in parks and other locations and then number nine is access to water so I'm just

56:36wondering uh through you margaret three of staff have an idea on process and timeline for those

56:43and if it's not now can can there be an undertaking just to get back to me so that I can report back

56:50I'm through the chair to council or work that is something on our mind we have had some initial

56:53discussions on that but I think I'd like to get back to you if that's okay we can send an email

56:58to mayor and council just to confirm great I'd appreciate that great thank you anything further

57:05on that no okay I'll call the vote on that is there anyone against all of the improving access to

57:13public washrooms motions nope okay that's also unanimous as well bylaws we have a few of those

57:24popping up here so it's bylaws 2024 2099 1 to 2024 209 23 be approved subject to section 284.114

57:36the municipal act but someone be willing to move those bylaws for me busitil karan third

57:44seconder of the night perfect keep it up uh okay is there anything on those bylaws

57:50no okay I'll call the vote anyone against the bylaws no okay that passes unanimously

57:59uh announcements and or comments I have one from councillor uh clausen and then just one quick

58:07quick insight from myself so go ahead oh and from katin as well okay so you go first uh

58:16uh councillor Klassen yes thank you mr. mayor I've got two announcements both to do with

58:22uh downtown renewal so coming up um on october 2nd which is next wednesday we have um our

58:30downtown renewal open house um it's taking place right here at city hall so door is open at six and

58:37there is a presentation with a q and a happening at 6 30 uh which will be able which will be live

58:43streamed as well so people can tune in at home um and we'll be talking about uh some of the phasing

58:50and mitigation strategies um so that's the first one we hope you can all make it out to that one

58:57and then on october 17th um there's the next construction cafe and it's taking place at cornerstone

59:03and it's happening from 9 30 until 11 30 and we suggest that downtown businesses attend these

59:10to talk with staff about what's happening downtown uh and what what those mitigation strategies are

59:16going to be for those businesses so it's really important to come out and really get that face to

59:21face time thanks great thank you and katin please yes I had a motion that I sent out earlier today

59:35okay I I had asked if there's anything more on that item and you did not you did not jump in at

59:42that time frame for the downtown streetscape I said right after I called the vote I said is there

59:47anything more on that item so it was my understanding because it's not directly about the streetscape

59:53that it wasn't on that item so so it's just an added item yet because it's just topple to the

1:00:01item because it's about um the Ontario government and their bike lanes so it's a separate motion

1:00:14related to that because yes yeah and I I acknowledge that fully acknowledge that but I

1:00:20I asked at that point if if there's anything more on that item and then there wasn't so then we moved

1:00:26to the washrooms so that item is now technically closed so to bring it forward now would I have to

1:00:33do a notice of motion no well or you could find another spot for it or I could ask uh council

1:00:41to suspend the procedural bylaw I would need a vote of three just give me a minute everybody

1:00:47thanks I would need a vote of three you know a majority of council present to do that and then

1:00:54we could go back and look to actually table that as a third item something it's up to you

1:01:01I'm happy to do whichever one you feel is better in this situation well um

1:01:10all right I will ask for a motion for uh reconsider sorry to suspend the procedural

1:01:17bylaw I would imagine be the first step to the clerk am I right yeah through you mr mayor

1:01:23I think in this case you would want to suspend section 5.1 one of the procedural bylaw related

1:01:28to notice is a motion to allow a notice to be placed on an agenda without prior notice to the

1:01:32public or members of council it is in reference though to what item 7.2 was so like there's a

1:01:41little bit of a caveat there to give her credit right so okay so um I will I will ask that uh

1:01:49I I'm asking council to allow this okay because councillor caton did send it out earlier and

1:02:01there could be an onus here a little bit on me for not nudging at that moment other than asking

1:02:05is there anything more so I just I think it's only reasonable for me to be fair to her to allow her

1:02:12to at least bring that forward I that's just to me that's only fair okay so um with I just so

1:02:18procedurally I just got to do a couple little hurdles here to get back to 7.2 councillor caton

1:02:23to allow you to do that okay so just forgive me on that but who wouldn't be willing to move the

1:02:28suspension then for me goller and clausen will second okay um and so I'll call the vote on the

1:02:36suspension uh is there anyone against okay just one so that passes all right so to the clerks

1:02:46can I just now go back to that moment of 7.2 and look to add a third of course it's up to

1:02:52council to vote for it but can I just go back to that moment in time now through you mr mayor I

1:02:57don't know that we're going back to that moment in time but I think a motion can be placed on the

1:03:01floor at this point in the agenda in reference to 7.2 okay councillor caton sorry about that

1:03:07about the hurdles there but we did get through them pretty quick so I know that your intention

1:03:13was to speak directly to 7.2 which is like the downtown streetscapes it was it was launching off of

1:03:19that yes and it was in regards to sort of a third motion sort of a standalone motion in regards to

1:03:26that item so I'm going to turn the mic over to you but just make sure that you do have a

1:03:31seconder up front for this before you before you go on and on okay so I'll turn the mic over to you

1:03:37go ahead thank you and I apologize for the procedural snafus there um if clerks could

1:03:44put them motion on the screen please so through you mr mayor sorry we'll just need an extra moment

1:03:50to get that pulled back up and ready well we'll pull it up okay I can do my pre-talk while you're

1:03:55doing that so um this is in regards to um the provincial government's reports that they are

1:04:03going to be changing where we can put bike lanes so here's a thoughtful planning best practices and

1:04:10community engagement I've gone into our transportation master plan as well as our downtown uh infrastructure

1:04:17and streetscaping a wide micromanaging approach to where bike lanes should be simply doesn't work

1:04:24not all municipalities have side roads that run the length of their main roads

1:04:28legislation that's imagined for grid cities like Toronto forced on an entire province

1:04:32are going to cost us time money and ultimately lives as you heard um very recently Susan Bard a

1:04:39local community gardener volunteer and avid cyclist was killed after being struck by a vehicle on

1:04:44Victoria drive outside of a high school near a commercial center by Grange road on her 79th

1:04:49birthday Ford's legislation would make us unable to put bike lanes along Victoria drive

1:04:54Grange road and all other main roads currently lacking cycling infrastructure which could include

1:04:59wind up in downtown and council has agreed in the past that a safe active transportation network

1:05:04meets the needs of our climate change plan vision zero and gives people the infrastructure they need

1:05:09to live in newly mandated parking free developments imposed on us by uh bill 185 so we need to tell

1:05:17the government that this idea doesn't work for Guelph and instead to invest in public transportation

1:05:22to help relieve traffic congestion and so my motion would be that the mayor be directed to

1:05:29write a letter to the premier of Ontario minister of municipal affairs and housing minister of

1:05:33transportation amo obcm and mpp mike shriner on behalf of the city wealth council to oppose the

1:05:40media reported plan for provincial legislation to restrict municipal bike lane placement as

1:05:45counter to wealth division zero goals best practices and transportation management

1:05:50climate change initiatives cost management for future infrastructure maintenance

1:05:54bill 185 development goals and economic benefits to business further that the mayor requests the

1:05:59provincial government instead invest in public funding public transportation goals to reduce

1:06:05traffic congestion and aid future developments to be built with less parking and it's going to be

1:06:11seconded by councillor Goller okay thank you so much is there anything further on this item from any

1:06:19members of council okay well there is from me so the legislation is not even tabled yet

1:06:30so we're basing a motion on media i'm i'm not i'm not really down for that that's not how i'm

1:06:40going to move forward on deciding things so i will decide things once legislation is actually

1:06:45tabled um i so i will not be supporting this so any other comments at all okay goer thank you

1:06:55through your worship just to that point uh the reason i'm supporting this at this very early

1:07:00stage is that oftentimes when the province has asked for input from the municipalities

1:07:05they two days later they make it into law without even reading our comments so maybe if we act

1:07:12proactively uh and get our comments in before a common period it may have more of an impact

1:07:18thank you katin and karan uh through you mr mayor exactly what councillor Goller said

1:07:26we've noticed that there has been a pattern of pushing things through very quickly and so because

1:07:32this is now at the stage before it's being written i think it's the time to do our commentary so that

1:07:40they understand the impact it would have and then potentially we won't have to go through

1:07:44the large process so i'm trying to get in early so they can understand how this would impact

1:07:51the groups outside of toronto because sometimes um there's a toronto-centric view

1:07:59when they're creating legislation okay thank you and karan

1:08:04yeah i had similar comments i think copying our mpb a copying amo and other municipalities

1:08:11is key because if this input starts to create momentum they get province um early early out

1:08:23might uh nip this great thank you all right i'll call oh sorry councillor Downer

1:08:32well nothing's coming forward like the legislature i mean the premier is talking about it himself

1:08:40so um you know this he's saying it's coming forward i'm just reading quotes from him here

1:08:46from him saying that this is what he wants to do so i think we i don't see any problem with

1:08:52responding to his comments that's what he wants to do okay thank you all right um i'll call the vote

1:09:02is anyone against two richardson and guthrie okay that passes great sorry about the mess on how that

1:09:11got there uh katin but good that you got it done okay is there anything else before i move on

1:09:18okay for real this time okay you have six motions councillor clauson no you don't okay i i had mentioned

1:09:29during the mayor's announcement that i just wanted to say something and i meant to say this earlier so

1:09:33if if council could just give me a tiny bit of grace um it's just in regards actually it's an

1:09:40overall statement just in regards to correspondence um you know i just want to make sure that when we

1:09:45receive correspondence there correspondence is a flow through right it's directly from constituents

1:09:51right through our clerk's office and it lands on our desks as the elected officials the decision makers

1:09:57and it's important that that process of correspondence flowing from a constituent

1:10:02through the clerk's office it has a high standard of transparency of not editing or omitting and

1:10:09things like that and so i know that there was some friction in regards to one of the core pieces of

1:10:14correspondence from an earlier item and i just wanted to make sure that i addressed that um that

1:10:21there are sometimes things we may not like and in fact there was many things i did not like or nor

1:10:26agree with in some of the correspondence and that's that's the way it works there can be lots of

1:10:31correspondence or delegations or things like that that come forward where we may agree or not not

1:10:35not agree on certain certain things um but we have to be careful i think as as as we're i say this to

1:10:41citizens as as we sit as we write things in you know to be careful about what we are saying especially

1:10:46when we're addressing other people or other things like that as well so um but again the high standards

1:10:52of transparency and flow through to the decision makers as us as the elected officials um that's an

1:10:57important piece of democracy really and transparency of having that come through as unedited and

1:11:03unomitted of things as possible and so i just want to make sure that that was addressed because i know

1:11:09it was a little bit of a concern moving from committee the whole to here uh and uh thank you

1:11:13for allowing me just that moment for for addressing that issue um with that then i will ask for

1:11:19adjournment and i think i promised uh councillor richardson that i would go to her to move adjournment

1:11:26oh boy yes there we go i'm going to go to my favorite seconder of the night councillor Caron

1:11:33to it's a second uh adjournment are you good with that okay perfect uh with that i'll call the

1:11:39vote is anyone against uh adjournment nobody thanks everyone have a great night and appreciate you

1:11:45stay safe