Organization of the Toronto Licensing Commission

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (August 28, 1998) from the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to provide a process by which the pending reorganization of the administrative functions of the Toronto Licensing Commission may be integrated with the implementation of the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Toronto Licensing Commission, without delaying the pending appointment of additional citizen members.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

If adopted, the recommendations contained in this report will ensure that the implementation of the reorganization of the Toronto Licensing Commission (the "Commission") will reflect both the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission and the restructuring of the administrative functions of the Commission, without delaying the appointment of additional citizen members to the Commission.

This does not delay or impact the separation of the tribunal functions of the Commission from its policy functions as that separation has already been implemented in practice.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the three additional citizen appointments to the proposed Toronto Licensing Tribunal approved by City Council at its meeting of May 13 and 14, 1998 by its adoption of recommendation No. 1 of Report No.6(2) of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team headed "Organization of the Licensing Commission" (the "Special Committee's Report"), be appointments to the Toronto Licensing Commission pending enactment of the by-law establishing the Toronto Licensing Tribunal; and

(2)upon enactment of the by-law establishing the Toronto Licensing Tribunal, the Tribunal be composed of the four existing citizen members of the Toronto Licensing Commission and the three additional citizen members appointed to the Toronto Licensing Commission.

Council Reference/Background/History:

At its meeting of May 13 and 14, 1998, City Council adopted, with amendments, Report No.6(2) of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team headed "Organization of the Licensing Commission" (the "Special Committee's Report"). This report addressed the structure of the Commission as it pertains to the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission. With respect to the composition of the proposed restructured Toronto Licensing Tribunal, City Council adopted recommendation No. 1 contained in the Special Committee's Report recommending that the Toronto Licensing Tribunal be composed of seven citizens, composed of the current four citizen members of the Commission and three additional citizens appointed as Tribunal members by City Council through the Nominating Committee.

It is anticipated that the recommendations of the Nominating Committee in respect of these three citizen appointments to the Toronto Licensing Tribunal will be considered by City Council at its meeting of October 1, 1998.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Since the meeting of City Council on May 13 and 14, 1998 at which City Council considered the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission. I have taken a number of steps to determine the integration of the licensing function into the Urban Planning and Development Services Department. A decision was approved by the Chief Administrative Officer in July to combine the licensing and municipal standards (by-law enforcement) activities in one Division. An executive search is currently underway, internally and externally, for the recruitment of the Executive Director, Licensing and Standards. A consultant has been retained to lead concurrently the organizational review of the administrative structure of licensing and municipal standards and to design the appropriate management structure. That review should be completed by early October.

This pending reorganization of the administrative functions of licensing has an impact on the implementation of the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission.

By-law No. 20-85 of the former Metropolitan Council respecting the licensing, regulating and governing of businesses deals with both the administrative and quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission. The bill implementing the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission requires that these quasi-judicial tribunal functions be clearly distinguished from the administrative functions of the Commission. If the bill implementing this restructuring is enacted at this stage, it will not reflect the reorganization of the administrative functions of the Commission, which reorganization is imminent.

The recommendations of the Special Committee's Report, adopted by City Council at its meeting of May 13 and 14, 1998 contemplated that the by-law required to effect the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission would be enacted prior to the appointment of the additional three citizens to the Toronto Licensing Tribunal. It is anticipated that the recommendations of the Nominating Committee in respect of these three additional citizen appointments will be considered by City Council at its meeting of October 1, 1998.

In order to avoid delaying the appointment of the additional three citizen members and to ensure that the implementation of the restructuring of the Commission reflects both the restructuring of the quasi-judicial tribunal functions of the Commission and the restructuring of the administrative functions of the Commission, it is recommended that the three additional citizen members be initially appointed as members of the Toronto Licensing Commission rather than as members of the Toronto Licensing Tribunal. This would permit the three additional appointments to be made and would permit these appointees to sit as tribunal members pending the enactment of the by-law implementing the restructuring of the Commission.

It is recommended that, upon enactment of the by-law implementing the restructuring of the Commission and establishing the Toronto Licensing Tribunal, the Tribunal be composed of the four existing citizen members of the Toronto Licensing Commission and the three additional citizen members appointed to the Toronto Licensing Commission.

Conclusions:

It is recommended that the three additional citizen appointments to the proposed Toronto Licensing Tribunal approved by City Council at its meeting of May 13 and 14, 1998 by its adoption of recommendation No. 1 of Report No.6(2) of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team headed "Organization of the Licensing Commission" (the "Special Committee's Report"), be appointments to the Toronto Licensing Commission pending enactment of the by-law establishing the Toronto Licensing Tribunal.

It is further recommended that, upon enactment of the by-law establishing the Toronto Licensing Tribunal, the Tribunal be composed of the four existing citizen members of the Toronto Licensing Commission and the three additional citizen members appointed to the Toronto Licensing Commission.

Contact Name:

Virginia M. West, Commissioner, Urban Planning and Development Services, 397-4154