City Council on June 8 and 9, 2010, adopted the following:

1.         City Council approve the addition to Appendix L of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, of the following Professional Holistic Associations:

a.         Traditional Thai Massage Association of Ontario;

b.         International Health Qi Gong Federation; and

c.         Canadian Natural Medicine Corporation of Ontario.

2.         City Council direct the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary bill to give effect to the recommendations in this report, effective immediately.

3.         City Council authorize and direct all other appropriate City officials to take the necessary actions to give effect thereto.

The Licensing and Standards Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council approve the addition to Appendix L of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, of the following Professional Holistic Associations:

(a)        Traditional Thai Massage Association of Ontario;

(b)        International Health Qi Gong Federation; and

(c)        Canadian Natural Medicine Corporation of Ontario.

2.         City Council direct the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary bill to give effect to the recommendations in this report, effective immediately.

3.         City Council authorise and direct all other appropriate City officials to take the necessary actions to give effect thereto.

To recommend to the Licensing and Standards Committee the addition of three Professional Holistic Associations (PHAs) to Appendix L to Chapter 545, Licensing, List of Professional Holistic Associations for the purposes of licensing holistic practitioners and owners.

Staff received three applications to be added to Appendix L from the Traditional Thai Massage Association of Ontario, the International Health Qi Gong Federation, and the Canadian Natural Medicine Corporation of Ontario. These associations were evaluated on three main criteria: (a) Governance; (b) Membership and Membership Services; and (c) Ethics and Discipline.

Based on the applications submitted, all three associations meet or exceed the minimum requirements to be included in the City’s list of approved PHAs.

City Council on June 8 and 9, 2010, adopted the following:

1.         City Council adopt the amendments to Schedule A of Appendix K of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, as per Appendix A of the report (May 4, 2010) from the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards.

2.         City Council adopt the following definition for Demerit Point, to be included in Chapter 545:

“DEMERIT POINT – a unit of measurement applied to a bylaw conviction in accordance with Schedule B of Appendix K of this Chapter, for the purpose of administering the business licensing thresholds”.

3.         City Council make the amendments retroactive to January 1, 2010, the same date that the previous by-law amendments came into effect.

4.         City Council direct the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary bill, including any stylistic or technical amendments required, to give effect to any recommendations adopted by City Council.

5.         City Council authorize and direct City staff to take any other action necessary to implement the by-law amendments.

The Licensing and Standards Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council adopt the amendments to Schedule A of Appendix K of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, as per Appendix A of this report.

2.         City Council adopt the following definition for Demerit Point, to be included in Chapter 545:

“DEMERIT POINT – a unit of measurement applied to a bylaw conviction in accordance with Schedule B of Appendix K of this Chapter, for the purpose of administering the business licensing thresholds”.

3.         City Council make the amendments retroactive to January 1, 2010, the same date that the previous by-law amendments came into effect.

4.         City Council direct the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary bill, including any stylistic or technical amendments required, to give effect to any recommendations adopted by City Council.

5.         City Council authorise and direct City staff to take any other action necessary to implement the by-law amendments.

This report is a staff initiated report arising from: (a) an unintended amendment to the City’s licensing thresholds when the criminal code offence sections were clarified; and (b) a lack of clarity on what constitutes a demerit point with respect to the licensing thresholds.

The errors, because they have not been reflected in the Licensing System, have not had an impact on licence issuing, renewals or hearings. The proposed changes in this report address the issues to bring the bylaw back in line with practice.

The City Solicitor was consulted in the preparation of this report.

Public notice has been given in a manner prescribed in the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 162, Notice, Public.

City Council on June 8 and 9, 2010, adopted the following:

1.         In order to promote stability in the taxicab industry and eliminate a considerable disincentive to provide a well maintained, safe, quality vehicle for the safety and comfort of Toronto passengers, City Council amend Chapter 545, Licensing by replacing subsection C(8) of section 545-145 of the Toronto Municipal Code with the following:

              "(8)    (a)       the lease shall be for the period that the vehicle is permitted to continue to be used as a taxicab;

 (b)       the lease may be terminated earlier upon the written agreement of both parties or upon either party giving the other party 60 days notice that there is just cause for termination of the lease.

2.         City Council request the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to report to the Licensing and Standards Committee with clarification and recommendations on the definition of "cause" as it relates to subsection (8)(b), once he has consulted with industry stakeholders.

3.         City Council receive for information Confidential Attachment 1 in the report (May 17, 2010) from the City Solicitor.

4.         City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 in the report (May 17, 2010) from the City Solicitor remain confidential in its entirety as the content relates to solicitor-client privilege.

Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (May 17, 2010) from the City Solicitor remains confidential in its entirety, in accordance with the provisions of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, as the content relates to solicitor-client privilege.

The Licensing and Standards Committee recommends:

1.         In order to promote stability in the taxicab industry and eliminate a considerable disincentive to provide a well maintained, safe, quality vehicle for the safety and comfort of Toronto passengers, City Council amend Chapter 545, Licensing by replacing subsection C(8) of section 545-145 of the Toronto Municipal Code with the following:

"(8)      (a)        the lease shall be for the period that the vehicle is permitted to continue to be used as a taxicab;

(b)        the lease may be terminated earlier upon the written agreement of both parties or upon either party giving the other party one week's notice that there is just cause for termination of the lease."

2.         City Council receive for information Confidential Attachment 1 in the report (May 17, 2010) from the City Solicitor.

3.         City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 in this report remain confidential in its entirety as the content relates to solicitor-client privilege.

To report further on consultations with the taxicab industry regarding the by-law provisions governing the leasing of taxicabs contained in the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing.

This report provides a legal opinion regarding the proposal to amend Municipal Code Chapter 545 Licensing to require that taxicab leases be for the life of the vehicle.  This report is to be considered with the report of the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards dated May 17, 2010 entitled "Taxicab Lease Agreements".