Other Items Considered by the Committee

(a) York Coalition on Homelessness.

The Community Services Committee again deferred consideration of the following communications from the York Coalition on Homelessness, at their request:

(i) (November 1, 1999) from Reverend Dr. Paul D. Owen, York Coalition on Homelessness, requesting the opportunity to appear before the Committee in order to address the problem of homelessness in Toronto and, in particular, in the area of West Toronto as this relates to the former City of York; and

(ii) (January 6 and 10, 2000) from Reverend Dr. Paul D. Owen, York Coalition on Homelessness, advising that they are not yet prepared with the information necessary to make their deputation; and requesting a further deferral.

(b) Malvern Community Group.

The Community Services Committee reports having:

(A) concurred in the following recommendations, as amended, contained in the presentation from the Malvern Community Group, and referred such recommendations to the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, and the City Librarian, for a report thereon to the appropriate Committees:

"(1) the Community Services and Economic Development and Parks Committees give serious consideration to funding requests from the Malvern community;

(2) the appropriate City staff be directed to undertake an inventory of all City and other public space currently available in the Malvern community, with a critical review of current usage;

(3) the Commissioners of Community and Neighbourhood Services and Economic Development, Culture and Tourism direct staff to develop a local community service plan for the Malvern community, based on the existing resident driven needs assessments;

(4) the appropriate City staff of the relevant Departments form a joint working group to implement Recommendation No. (3), in collaboration with the Malvern Community Group and the Ward Councillors;

(5) the Toronto Public Library Board and City Council give serious consideration to the 2001 capital request for the expansion of the Malvern District Library, and that a community theatre space be included in the expansion; and

(6) the Malvern Community Group, in collaboration with the staff of the City, undertake a community audit eighteen months after approval of these recommendations to evaluate the effectiveness and outcomes of the local service plan and funding"; and

(B) directed that the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services be requested to:

(1) co-ordinate, as a joint venture, a team from various City Departments, i.e., Community and Neighbourhood Services, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, and Toronto Public Library, to report on the changes required for the Malvern area, referred to in their recommendations under (a), including immigrant settlement issues, and with particular emphasis on the request for the provision of an auditorium/community theatre;

(2) report to the Community Services Committee on:

(i) the demographics in the Malvern core area;

(ii) quick short-term solutions to provide needed services in the Malvern area, through local churches, school boards, etc.;

(iii) initiatives to encourage agencies to physically locate in the Malvern area;

(iv) providing youth workers in the high schools to support the Caribbean, African, South Asian and Tamil community etc.; and

(v) funding for the Malvern Community Group, to be controlled by staff, to raise awareness within the community, i.e., newsletter, study reports, etc.:

(November 29, 1999) from Mr. Cledwyn Longe and Ms. Margaret Thomson, Co-Chairs, Malvern Community Group, requesting the opportunity to address the Committee regarding community priorities in Malvern.

The Committee also had before it a copy of the Malvern Community Group presentation notes.

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The following persons appeared before the Community Services Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

- Ms. Marion Sang, representative of the Malvern Community Group;

- Mr. Asad Hussain, representative of the Malvern Community Group;

- Mr. Keith Crysler, Principal, Lester B. Pearson C.I., and submitted a pamphlet, entitled "Pride In Our Students Pride In Our School";

- Mr. Lance Williams, representative of the Malvern Community Group;

- Councillor Bas Balkissoon, Scarborough Malvern; and

- Councillor Raymond Cho, Scarborough Malvern.

(c) Standards of Care in Retirement and Lodging Homes.

The Community Services Committee reports having:

(1) recommended to the Policy and Finance Committee the adoption of the following report; and

(2) directed that a copy of the report be forwarded to the Board of Health for information:

(December 29, 1999) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services providing background information on the issue of standards of care in retirement and lodging homes; outlining the results to date of the short-term measures adopted by the City in the fall, the information received through consultations with key informants, and background research undertaken by staff, as well as analysis of the relationship of retirement and lodging homes to the regulated long-term care system; and recommending that:

(1) the provincial government be strongly urged to develop mandatory Province-wide standards of resident care in retirement and lodging homes;

(2) such standards be enforced by a body at arm's length from both government and the retirement home industry, consisting of representatives from the industry and appointments to represent consumers, advocates and government;

(3) the provincial government assume the full costs of the development and enforcement of resident standards of care;

(4) the provincial government be requested to respond to the City's recommendations for mandatory Province-wide standards of care by April 2000;

(5) notwithstanding provincial responsibility for standards of resident care, the City enhance its traditional inspection and enforcement activities in the areas of health, fire and buildings by considering the need for additional inspectors in each department for the purposes of inspecting retirement and lodging homes;

(6) the Retirement and Lodging Homes Action Team and Retirement Homes Hotline continue on an ongoing basis as effective tools for problem identification in those facilities most in need of regulatory oversight;

(7) as part of the 2000 budget process, the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health and the Commissioner of Urban Development Services, report on any additional resources required and financial impacts of implementing Council's recommendations respecting retirement homes (inclusive of Recommendations Nos. (5) and (6));

(8) the above report be sent to Policy and Finance Committee for consideration; and

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

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The following persons gave a presentation to the Community Services Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

- Councillor Case Ootes, Chair, Retirement and Lodging Homes Advisory Committee; and

- Ms. Julie Mathien, Community and Neighbourhood Services Department.

(d) Interim Appropriation for Retirement and Lodging Homes Hotline and Inspection.

The Community Services Committee reports having recommended to the Policy and Finance Committee the adoption of the following joint report:

(December 29, 1999) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services and the Medical Officer of Health recommending that:

(1) the amount of up to $149,347.00 be pre-approved and added to the Public Health Operating Budget for the year 2000, to enable the division to continue to operate the Retirement and Lodging Homes hotline and inspections from January 1, 2000 to March 31, 2000;

(2) this report be forwarded to Policy and Finance Committee for their consideration, and to the Budget Advisory Committee administrator for the budget process pending file, in accordance with the Financial Control Protocols adopted by Council;

(3) this report be forwarded to the Board of Health for information; and

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

(e) Update on Youth Employment Programs Restructuring and Strategy Development.

The Community Services Committee reports having received the following report:

(December 23, 1999) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services providing an update on the youth employment programs restructuring and strategy, and on the development of the North York Toronto Youth Job Corps site; and recommending that the report be received for information.

(f) Implementation of the Learning, Earning and Parenting Program.

The Community Services Committee reports having concurred in the recommendation contained in the following report to forward such report to the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration during the 2000 Operating Budget process:

January 4, 2000) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services advising that the Province has confirmed funding in support of the City's implementation of the mandatory implementation of the mandatory provincial Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP) Program; providing the assurance Council requested that the City and Province are discussing the impact of the Provincial Operational Review recommendations on Ontario Works and child care services; indicating that provincial subsidy in the amount of $3,290,000.00 for implementation of the mandatory LEAP program has been approved for the year 2000; and recommending that:

(1) this report be forwarded to the Budget Advisory Committee for inclusion in the year 2000 operating budget discussions; and

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

(g) Patterns of Child Respiratory Illness in Toronto.

The Community Services Committee reports having received the following communication:

(December 6, 1999) from the City Clerk advising that the Board of Health on December 6, 1999, had before it a report (November 29, 1999) from the Medical Officer of Health respecting the approach being taken by Toronto Public Health to investigate the apparent elevation in respiratory hospitalizations among children in certain parts of the City, as indicated in the "Toronto Report Card on Children, 1999"; and that the Board recommended that the report be forwarded to the Community Services Committee for information.

(h) Children's Garden Program.

The Community Services Committee reports having referred the following communication to the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services and the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism for consideration and report thereon to their respective Committees during the 2000 Operating Budget process:

(December 7, 1999) from the City Clerk advising that the Children and Youth Action Committee on November 30, 1999, recommended to the Community Services Committee that the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism be requested to consider including a Children's Garden in:

(1) all future parks and parkettes;

(2) parks and parkettes which are being redeveloped; and

(3) City-owned housing projects.

(i) "Young Voices From The Street" - Toronto Public Library Publication.

The Community Services Committee reports having deferred consideration of the following report until its next meeting to be held on February 10, 2000:

(December 23, 1999) from the City Librarian providing background information on the Toronto Public Library publication "Young Voices from the Street," which reports on the number of street youth that took advantage of the "Reaching Out with Young Voices" program, as requested by the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee on December 3, 1998; outlining future developments for the project; noting that the project "Reaching Out with Young Voices" and resulting publication "Young Voices from the Street" has been nominated for the Minister's Award for Innovation, which is awarded by the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation; and recommending that the report be received for information.

(j) A Program to Generate A Housing Stock for Social and Supportive Housing Purposes: Proposal Review.

The Community Services Committee reports having received the following communication:

(January 11, 2000) from the City Clerk advising that the Planning and Transportation Committee on January 10, 2000, recommended to Council the adoption of Recommendations Nos. (1) and (3) contained in the joint report (December 22, 1999) from the Acting Commissioner of Urban Development Services and the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services respecting A Program to Generate a Housing Stock for Social and Supportive Housing Purposes: Proposal Review, and wherein it is recommended that:

(1) City Council reaffirm its direction to the Commissioner, Urban Development Services that policies on urban intensification and the inclusion of affordable housing in new residential developments be considered a high priority in the preparation of a housing implementation plan as part of the Official Plan process;

(2) this report be forwarded to the Community Services Committee for information; and

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

and directed that the report be forwarded to the Community Services Committee for information, in accordance with Recommendation No. (2).

Respectfully submitted,

COUNCILLOR BRAD DUGUID,

Chair

Toronto, January 13, 2000

Rosalind Dyers

Tel. (416) 392-8018