Provincial Offences Act Transfer Project,

(Establishment of Task Force to Examine

Implications Inherent to Bill 108)

The Corporate Services Committee recommends that:

(1)a Task Force be established to examine the implications inherent to Bill 108;

(2)the proposed Task Force be composed of Councillors John Adams, NormanGardner and David Miller;

(3)the report (March 11, 1999) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer be referred to the aforementioned Task Force for report to the Corporate Services Committee within three months' time;

(4)no further steps be taken by staff until the proposed Task Force has had an opportunity to consider this matter; and

(5)the City Solicitor be requested to submit a report to the proposed Task Force on the requested amendments to the Municipal Act for the purpose of increasing minimum fines; and to increase staffing for inspections; and that Licensing, Buildings and Public Works staff be requested to work with Legal staff to make those amendments part of the Local Side Agreement with the City of Toronto.

The Corporate Services Committee submits the following communication (March 12, 1999) from the Director of Secretariat, Printing and Distribution:

Attached is a motion by Councillor Gardner, seconded by Councillor Miller, regarding the establishment of a task force to examine the implications inherent to Bill108, together with a copy of paragraph (q) of Clause No. 35 of Report No. 13 of The Corporate Services Committee, which was considered by City Council on October 1 and 2, 1998.

It is my understanding that the report referred to in the aforesaid Clause will be before the Corporate Services Committee at its meeting of March25, 1999. Pursuant to section 28 of the Council Procedural By-law, I am referring to the Corporate Services Committee Councillor Gardner's motion for consideration therewith.

Moved By:Councillor Norman Gardner

Seconded By:Councillor David Miller

Whereas with Bill 108 "An Act to deal with the prosecution of certain provincial offences, to reduce duplication and to streamline administration", the City of Toronto will assume the enforcement and prosecution of Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the Provincial Offences Act, so that the benefits and costs either generated or created will be realized or borne by the taxpayers of this city;

Whereas this Bill provides the mechanism for Municipalities to assume both the responsibility for, and the income derived from the prosecution of all Parts 1 and 2, and possibly Part3 Provincial Offences, where the Province currently receives all general revenues from fines from its Provincial Offences courtrooms that deal with all matters arising from violations of the Revised Statutes of Ontario, and currently bears the costs of prosecutions and all aspects of court operations and, maintenance and wages of all legal support staff;

Whereas in the Toronto Region, Provincial Offences Notices mainly filed involve violations of parking, traffic and liquor laws, and other agencies and departments including health, fire, building inspection may also issue Part 3 Offence Notices;

Whereas estimates of costs and revenues presented by the Provincial Government might not accurately reflect the city's costs because a significant number of violations recorded by the Province do not include figures generated by "non-Police" agencies, and guilty pleas with their associated reduced fines;

Whereas Police Officers and other members of the Police Service attend Provincial Offences Court for Parts 1, 2 and 3 Offences in a variety of Off Duty capacities which in 1998 numbered approximately 30,000 cases and translated to a cost approaching $3,700,000.00;

Whereas in 1998 On Duty appearances by Police Officers numbered approximately 11,000 which affected the number of Police Officers and other members available to respond to "Calls for Service"

Whereas based on studies, possible cost savings can only be realized in the Provincial Offences system by scheduling court appearances for Police Officers in the most economical or optimal manner, recognizing that Provincial Offences are subject to virtually the same rules as govern criminal proceedings, and are based on the rights of the accused to a fair and speedy trial, disclosure prior to trial and an objective appeal process which cannot be sacrificed in pursuit of either cost-savings or revenue generation;

Therefore be it Resolved that a Task Force be established to examine the implications inherent to Bill 108 with a mandate to determine whether it would be to the benefit of the City of Toronto to exercise its legal option to assume the duties inherent to the Act, to address the Act's benefits, and to develop an appropriate and cost effective structure;

Be it Further Resolved that this Task Force be Chaired by Councillor NormanGardner, and Co-Chaired by Councillor David Miller.

The Corporate Services Committee also submits the following report (March 11, 1999) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, entitled "Provincial Offences Act Transfer Project":

Purpose:

To obtain authorization to submit a proposal for the transfer of responsibilities for Courts Administration and Court Support Services for offences under the Provincial Offences Act, Parts 1 and III and for the prosecutions of offences under Part I of that Act from the Ministry of the Attorney General to the City of Toronto.

Financial Implications:

There are no net financial implications associated with implementing the recommendations contained in this report. Costs of the transition and implementation of the transfer of responsibilities will be recovered from the revenue from fines, costs and fees received for offences under Part I, II and III of the Provincial Offences Act. The 1999 operating budget incorporates $13 million in net revenues from this POA Transfer.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, in consultation with the City Solicitor and other key stakeholders, proceed with the transfer of responsibilities for Courts Administration for offences under Parts I and III of the Provincial Offences Act, for Court Support Services for offences under Parts I, II and III of the Provincial Offences Act, and for Prosecution Services for offences under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act for an April 2000 completion by preparing a proposal to the Ministry of the Attorney General;

(2)the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer continue to consult with the key stakeholders and report back with the proposal, which would include a detailed project work plan, to the next meeting of the Corporate Services Committee for approval; and

(3)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Background/Council History:

At its meeting on March 6, 1997, the former Metropolitan Council received Clause No.20(d) of Report No. 6 of The Corporate Administration Committee entitled "Provincial Transfer of Responsibility for Prosecution, Courts Administration and Court Support Functions for Certain Provincial Offences Act and Contraventions Act (Canada) Matters". As part of the Provincial downloading in 1997, the City has been credited with net revenue from the transfer of Part I and III of the POA effective January 1, 1998. As a result, the 1998 operating budget included $5 million in net revenue from this transfer.

On October 1 and 2, 1998, Council received Clause No. 35(q) of Report No.12 of The Corporate Services Committee. The Committee reported having requested that:

"The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, including the City Solicitor, to submit a report to the Corporate Services Committee respecting the negotiations currently underway regarding the takeover by the City of Toronto of the Provincial offenses matters".

Finance and Legal staff have been carrying on discussions related to POA Reform, POA Streamlining and the resulting POA Transfer Project since 1992. Parking Tag Operations staff were actively involved in the transfer of Courts Administration functions related to offences under PartII of the POA (parking offences) and have been performing these functions in an ever increasing role since 1994. The transfer of responsibilities will result in the processing of over 450,000 POA I andIII cases each year.

Bill 108, the Streamlining of Administration of Provincial Offences Act, 1998 (the Act) received Royal Assent on June 12, 1998. The Act provides for the transfer of responsibility for Courts Administration and Court Support Services for offences under Parts I and III of the Provincial Offences Act (POA) and for prosecutions of offences under Part I of the POA from the Ministry of the Attorney General to the municipalities. There is a two year implementation time frame in which a municipality may submit a proposal to the Ministry of the Attorney General for the transfer of POA responsibilities. To date, the Ministry has accepted proposals from seven municipalities, the first of which is scheduled for implementation on March 15, 1999.

As of January 1, 1998, the Province has been setting aside the net revenues received for POA offences for each court area within the Province. The revenue related to fines for the Toronto Court area will be passed on to the City on the assumption of POA responsibilities.

Discussion:

City and Ministry staff have been meeting since June 1998 to discuss the key issues surrounding the transfer of POA responsibilities. A major concern raised by the Ministry was the integrity of the administration of justice and the perception of the public regarding the fairness of the judicial process. Excerpts from the draft Memorandum of Understanding indicate the level of their concern. The applicable sections are as follows:

"2.0Principles of Transfer: Integrity of the Administration of Justice, Judicial Independence and Fair Hearing:

2.1In fulfilling their roles and responsibilities under the Transfer Agreement, the parties recognize and shall respect and adhere to the following guiding principles:

2.1.1The independence of the judiciary shall be preserved.

2.1.2The confidence of the public in the justice system must be maintained through every effort by all parties. To this end, open access to the system and a fair and timely process must be assured.

2.1.3The fundamental tenets of procedural fairness and natural justice shall be affirmed and upheld.

2.1.4The separation of the prosecutorial function and the policing function shall be assured.

2.1.7The entire justice process, from the laying of charges through to final disposition of appeals, shall continue to operate independently and free from political intervention."

The following organizational structure was proposed to the Ministry:

Finance:Project Lead

Courts Administration

Court Support Services

Legal:Prosecutions for POA I Offences

Other key stakeholders identified in the discussions included Human Resources, Facilities, Information and Technology, and others. The enforcement agencies, including Toronto Police Services, the Licencing Commission, Fire Services, Public Health, City Building, TTC, Ontario Provincial Police, GO Transit Police, and CN Police would continue to enforce POA Part I and III offences as they do now, i.e., no major change to current responsibilities.

After extensive discussions, the Ministry is now satisfied that the proposed structure for the Transfer Project itself and the on-going post-transfer responsibilities will be satisfactory to meet the principles of the transfer to ensure integrity of the administration of justice, judicial independence and fair hearing.

In June 1998, the Ministry provided an informal Municipal Information Session for key Finance and Legal staff. This session was followed by numerous meetings and discussions between City and Ministry staff related to the transfer process, the draft Memorandum of Understanding and the Local Side Agreement which will form part of the Transfer Agreement.

In December 1998, Finance hosted the formal Municipal Information Session conducted by the Ministry. Invitations to attend the session were sent by the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to the senior staff identified in Attachment 1, along with other key persons. The persons invited are stakeholders in the POA Transfer Project. The session was attended by over 40 City and Toronto Police Services staff. The Agenda for that session is shown in Attachment 2.

At the Information session, the Ministry requested that the City participate in the evaluation process of the short listed responses to a Request for Proposals for an Integrated Justice System. In January and February, 1999, staff from Parking Tag Operations, Legal and Toronto Police Services attended demonstrations of the electronic filing and processing and court recording modules of the proposed systems.

Preliminary discussions have also been held with representatives of the Ontario Judiciary regarding the transfer and related judicial issues. As well, on-going discussions with Ministry staff related to implementation and transition time frames and work plans continue to take place. It has become clear that due to the volume of cases on the Ministry's ICON system for the City of Toronto Court Area, which require conversion, the City's proposal should include a four week phased implementation for the transition. The fourth and final data conversion is proposed to take place during the four-day Easter weekend in 2000. The City would thus assume full responsibility for the transferred responsibilities on April 25, 2000.

A draft project plan has been prepared and meetings are currently being scheduled with key stakeholders to review the plan with a goal of presenting a detailed work plan to the next Corporate Services Committee meeting for approval. The project plan would be a key element of the proposal to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The detailed workplan will identify the key issues and key decision points for the POA Transfer Project. These issues include, but are not limited to:

(1)Location and number of Court Houses, i.e., in existing provincially leased building or City owned buildings and state of good repair;

(2)Staffing requirements and Human Resources/Labour Relations issues, i.e., CUPE and OPSEU;

(3)Technical/Information system and processes;

(4)Case/file transfer protocols;

(5)Estimated budgetary requirements;

(6)Implementation timetable; and

(7)Delivery model issues - location of unit, number and location of First Appearance Facilities and office modifications.

Decisions on these issues must occur early in the project to ensure successful implementation and transition. Attachment 3 identifies the additional responsibilities of the key stakeholders during the transition and after implementation.

Not unlike the transfer of the Family Benefit caseload to the Social Services program, that began planning in 1998 but is scheduled this year, the POA Transfer process requires significant planning and issue resolution, from an administrative perspective in 1999 prior to the actual transfer in 2000.

Conclusion:

The next major milestone in the POA Transfer Project is the preparation and submission of the City's proposal to assume responsibility for Courts Administration and Court Support Services, and Prosecution Services functions for most provincial offences.

It is therefore recommended that the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, in consultation with the City Solicitor and other key stakeholders, proceed with the transfer of responsibilities for Courts Administration for offences under Parts I and III of the Provincial Offences Act, for Court Support Services for offences under Parts I, II and III of the Provincial Offences Act, and for Prosecution Services for offences under Part I of the Provincial Offences Act for an April 2000 completion by preparing a proposal to the Ministry of the Attorney General. It is also therefore recommended that the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer continue to consult with the key stakeholders and report back with the proposal which would include a detailed project work plan to the next meeting of the Corporate Services Committee for approval.

Contact Name:

Bryan Kerr

Manager, Provincial and Parking Offences

392-5880

--------

Attachment 1

Provincial Offences Act Transfer Project Planning Session

December 9, 1998, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

List of Invitees

Attachment 2

POA Transfer Project

Municipal Information Planning Session

City of Toronto Court Service Area

Metro Hall, Room 307

55 John Street

Toronto ON

December 9, 1998 at 11:00 a.m.

Municipal Host:Bryan Kerr, Manager City of Toronto Parking Offences

Session Facilitator:Inez Diamond-Gleeson, Municipal Liaison, POA Transfer Project

Agenda Topics

(1)Introductions

(2)Opening Remarks

(3)What is POA?

(4)Forging a Justice Partnership

Justice Principles

Transfer Agreement

- Memorandum of Understanding

- Local Side Agreement

(5)POA Statistics

(6)Justice Technology

(7)Toronto Court Profile

(Working Lunch)

(8)Toronto Court Financial Information

(9)Next Steps

Province's "Reasonable Efforts" Obligations

Submission Guidelines

Attachment 3

POA Transfer Project

Key Stakeholders Responsibilities

--------

Mr. Gerald Parker, President, Beyond-Ability International, appeared before the Corporate Services Committee in connection with the foregoing matter, and filed a written submission in regard thereto.