March 27, 1998

 To:Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team

 From:Chief Administrative Officer

 Subject:Terms of Reference for the Economic Development Committee

  Purpose:

 To propose Terms of Reference for the Economic Development Committee.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 The recommendations in this report will be accommodated within existing budget allocations.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that:

 (1)the Economic Development Committee be renamed the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee;

 (2)the proposed mandate for the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee, outlined in the Appendix to this report, be adopted;

 (3)the Economic Development Committee be composed of 9 Members of Council plus the Mayor, ex-officio;

 (4)the membership of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee be expanded to include the Chair of the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee;

 (5)the Procedural By-law be amended to reflect the changes proposed in recommendations (1), (2), (3) and (4) above;

 (6)the City Clerk be requested to report to the Special Committee on strategies to resolve the implementation issues related to establishing the membership and meeting schedule for the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee; and

 (7)the appropriate officials be authorized to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

 Council Reference/Background/History:

 The Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team recommended a political structure for the City of Toronto comprising a Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, a Budget Committee, six Community Councils and five Standing Committees: Urban Environment and Development; Works and Utilities; Community and Neighbourhood Services; Emergency and Protective Services; and Corporate Services. The Transition Team recommended that the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee should include the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and the Chairs of the Budget Committee, Community Councils and Standing Committees.

 On January 2, 6, 8 and 9, 1998, Council adopted the Transition Team=s recommendations as the interim political structure for the new City and established the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team and report thereon to Council. Council directed that all motions that come forward with respect to the Transition Team=s Final Report be referred to the Special Committee.

 On January 2, 6, 8 and 9, 1998, Council also adopted a recommendation that a new Standing Committee, named the Economic Development Committee, be established and requested the Special Committee to develop Terms of Reference for the Economic Development Committee. Council requested the Special Committee to consider the merits of including urban planning as a responsibility of the Economic Development Committee.

 Among the motions referred to the Special Committee by Council was a proposal by Councillor Layton that the AEconomic Development Committee shall be responsible for developing policy and co-ordinating programs across the city which relate to economic development and job creation, including:

 (1)developing and recommending job creation strategies to Council;

(2)monitoring trends in economic activity and reporting these to Council and the citizenry on a regular basis;

(3)ensuring that public consultation on economic development initiatives is a frequent and effective part of the mandate of the City;

(4)monitoring policies and programs of other orders of government in Canada and abroad in order to establish Council policies which may be required as well as to identify opportunities; and

(5)supervising the policies, programs and budgets of the major organizations owned or operated by the municipality which have a primary job creation or economic development aspect, including: the Toronto Harbour Commissioners, the Toronto Zoo, Exhibition Place, the Economic Development Division of the Civic Service, the Business Improvement Areas, and community economic development initiatives.@

 This report responds to Council=s request for the development of Terms of Reference for the Economic Development Committee.

 Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

 Mandate:

 On February 4, 5 and 6, 1998, Council approved a structure for the City=s Administration. The structure includes the senior management position of Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism with responsibility for: arts, culture and heritage; economic development; parks and recreation; special events; and tourism. The integration of these responsibilities into a common portfolio recognizes the significant relationships between them. Cultural and recreational assets, services and programs have an obvious bearing on tourism and all are major components of the City=s economy. In addition, most major special events in Toronto are cultural, historical or sports-related and attract many of the City=s tourists. It is appropriate that the economic significance of culture and tourism and the linkages between economic development, culture and tourism be recognized at the policy level in the mandate of the Economic Development Committee.

 Cultural matters also relate to urban planning, for example, public art and heritage preservation. In addition, there is a clear relationship between urban planning and quality of life, which has been one of Toronto=s economic advantages. At the same time, urban planning has a much broader purpose and focus than the facilitation of economic development. Furthermore, consideration of urban planning matters by the Economic Development Committee could divert the Committee=s time and attention away from economic development matters. Finally, the incorporation of urban planning into an Economic Development Committee would have major implications for the role and responsibilities of the Urban Environment and Development Committee.

 The Special Committee is reviewing the overall political decision-making structure and, as part of that review, is considering which policy areas fit best within common Committee portfolios. Until that review is completed, it is appropriate for the Urban Environment and Development Committee to continue to focus on citywide planning policies and issues and for development review to be the responsibility of the Community Councils.

 To more accurately reflect the scope of the Economic Development Committee=s mandate as defined in this report, it is recommended that the Economic Development Committee be renamed the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee.

 It is further recommended that the proposed mandate for the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee, outlined in the Appendix to this report, be adopted.

 Composition:

 In an effort to achieve balanced and manageable Councillor workloads, each Member of Council is a member of one Community Council and one Standing Committee. The Mayor is an ex-officio Member of all Committees. Currently the Corporate Services Committee has 12 Members plus the Mayor. The other four Standing Committees have 11 Members each plus the Mayor. With the addition of the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee, maintenance of the principle of each Member of Council serving on one Standing Committee would result in Standing Committees each having a composition of 9 or 10 Members of Council plus the Mayor. Consistent with this formula, it is recommended that the Economic Development Committee be composed of 9 Members of Council plus the Mayor, ex-officio.

 At present, the composition of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee includes the Chairs of the Standing Committee. Consistent with this principle, it is recommended that the membership of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee be expanded to include the Chair of the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee.

 Conclusions:

 On January 2, 6, 8 and 9, 1998 Council clearly expressed its intention to establish a Standing Committee that will focus on economic development matters. This report sets out Terms of Reference for an Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee, including the Committee=s proposed responsibilities and composition. These Terms of Reference, if adopted by Council, will result in the realignment of responsibilities among Committees and changes to the composition of Committees as currently defined in the Procedural By-law. It is recommended that the Procedural By-law be amended to reflect the changes proposed in this report=s recommendations.

 The creation of a new Standing Committee of Council gives rise to two immediate implementation issues:

 (1)establishing the membership of the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee has implications for the membership of the other five Standing Committees and/or the workloads of individual Members of Council; and

 (2)a cycle of meetings for the new Standing Committee must be scheduled and incorporated into what is already an extremely full calendar of Council, Committee, Community Council and ABC meetings.

 It is recommended that the City Clerk be requested to report to the Special Committee on strategies to resolve the implementation issues related to establishing the membership and meeting schedule for the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee.

Michael R. Garrett

Chief Administrative Officer

Appendix

 Proposed Mandate for the Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee

 The Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee shall be responsible for:

 (a)recommending policies and plans for, and management of, economic growth of the City of Toronto, as well as the Greater Toronto Area;

 (b)reporting to Council on matters related to plans to establish, acquire, construct and maintain parks and recreational facilities and related recreational policies, programs and fees;

 (c)proposing recommendations on the arts, culture and heritage policies and cultural grants policies;

 (d)recommending, monitoring and updating an economic development and job creation strategy for the City that enhances the growth of existing businesses and attracts new business to the City from outside the City boundaries and outside Ontario;

 (e)recommending tourism policies for Council=s consideration including; involvement in major event bids, such as the Olympic Games, and other events, where there is demonstrated economic development benefit including significant tourism potential from outside Toronto;

 The Economic Development, Culture, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee shall consider reports from and make recommendations on budget and corporate policy matters only for:

 (a)the Toronto Zoo;

(b)Exhibition Place;

(c)Business Improvement Area Boards of Management;

(d)the Toronto Harbour Commissioners;

(e)the Toronto Arts Council;

(f)the Toronto Historical Board;

(g)the Boards of Management of Recreational Facilities;

(h)the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts;

(i)the St. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts;

(j)the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts; and

(k)economic development corporations incorporated by or within the City of Toronto or the former municipalities, including but not limited to: The Toronto Economic Development Corporation, Trade Link, and The New Media Village Growth Corporation.