Councillor W. Byrne made reference to an article which appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on 20 May 99, describing a recent situation with homeless persons near the Rideau Canal, and she made the following Inquiry:

The Committee Chair, A. Munter, informed the Committee he has written to the Chief Administrative Officer, asking why the actions described in the article took place, and to clarify the Region’s policies on homelessness. He noted that the Region invests money into shelters for the homeless and participates in the street health network to provide homeless persons with resources. He also inquired why Regional Police and the Region’s security staff responded as opposed to representatives from the Health and Social Services Departments.

Councillor D. Holmes commented that such a "knee-jerk" reaction should not have taken place when there are numerous agencies available to assist in a more holistic manner. Councillor H. Kreling indicated he would be forwarding Councillor Byrne’s Inquiry to Regional Police Chief B. Ford for immediate action.

- Co-ordinator, Community Services Committee report dated 6 May 99

- Report, "Action Manual II", Spring 1999, issued separately

The Committee heard from Ms. Susan Kennedy, Chair, Young People’s Perspective (YPP), a coalition of twenty youth and youth oriented agencies. She introduced Mr. Chris Manning, Ms. Patty Pace, Co-ordinator of youth programs at the YMCA and Mr. Tom Nichols of the Boys and Girls’ Club.

S. Kennedy spoke about the YPP’s celebration of National Child Day with the second annual Regional Youth Forum on Parliament Hill on November 20, 1998. Tom Nichols drew Committee’s attention to the Action Manual II, saying this document summarizes the comments from the youth forum. Patty Pace provided additional details about the day, and she expressed the hope that National Child Day in 1999 will be as successful.

In response to a question from Councillor D. Holmes about youth living on the street surviving and having to pay for their basic needs, Ms. Kennedy indicated that making things such eliminating activities such as "squeegee-ing" is more likely to lead youth to illegal activities.

Councillor W. Byrne asked what the Region could do to support YPP’s efforts. T. Nichols stated that Council support was needed to make YPP a better organization, and to provide the necessary resources. Replying to a further question from the Councillor, S. Kennedy indicated the first Youth Forum was funded by the Trillium Foundation; this year, organizers hope to present a Youth Rock Fair to raise money to fund subsequent youth forums.

Councillor M. McGoldrick-Larsen suggested that corporate sponsorship was another possibility and that music companies, high tech forms may be interested in helping out. She said she had found the Action Manual informative, user-friendly to youth, and she encouraged organizers to continue their involvement in this area. She expressed the view it was important that youth from rural townships be involved and she asked whether the last forum had a good cross-section from throughout the Region. S. Kennedy said there were approximately 25 youth from North Lanark out of the 375 in attendance at the last forum. Funds had been earmarked for transportation purposes, but this could become an issue if the number of attendees keeps increasing.

Subsequent to this, the Committee considered the report recommendation:

RECEIVED

2. SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC TRENDS IN OTTAWA-CARLETON

- Co-ordinator, Community Services Committee report dated 11 May 99

Mr. Michael Allan, President and Executive Director, United Way/Centr’aide Ottawa-Carleton and Dr. David Welch, President, Social Planning Council of Ottawa-Carleton presented the report entitled "A Tale of Two Cities: Socio-Demographic and Economic Trends in Ottawa-Carleton". Mr. Allan began by saying the report presents a snapshot of Ottawa-Carleton, specifically, what it was and what it is becoming, from a relatively affluent, government town to an example of a knowledge-based community. He added that, as the latter, Ottawa-Carleton will be more shock-sensitive to the to the global economy, and the transition will bring challenges and social issues that will need to be addressed.

Mr. Allan made reference to other national and international reports that show similar trends to those illustrated in "A Tale of Two Cities". He spoke about the United Nations’ Human Development report which indicated that, overall, Canada is the best country in the world in which to live. The most notable exception was the gap between the rich and the poor, a trend which the joint report describes. This trend has also been identified in the Growing Gap report recently released by the Toronto-based Centre for Social Justice and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is monitoring this trend in municipalities across the country.

Mr. Allan continued by saying the United Way will use the report to guide its thinking, its work, its funding and fund-raising activities, and it will be shared with other decision-makers such as Regional Council. The United Way’s mission, to build a strong, safe and healthy community for all, cannot be accomplished without solid information about what is happening in the community. Mr. Allan expressed the hope that, together with community stakeholders and elected representatives and through partnerships with agencies such as the Social Planning Council (SPC), the United Way will be better able to respond to the needs of an aging population and those of a more ethnically-diverse community.

Dr. D. Welch said researchers examined the findings of previous reports and combined these with the results of the 1996 Census. He added that, while the report cannot answer all questions, it points to the need for additional research and investigation into key areas. He highlighted a few interesting aspects of the findings:

Dr. Welch concluded his presentation by saying the report will be circulated to all Ottawa-Carleton politicians and to local councils, and will be forwarded to community organizations and social service groups. Approximately 2000 copies will be distributed.

In response to a question from Chair A. Munter, Dr. Welch clarified the apparent discrepancy between the number of low income families, which has increased, and the number of people with income of $20,000 which has remained stable. Dr. Welch said an important question to ask is the following: if the number of low income families has actually increased over this period, what will happen now that the local economy is more closely linked to the high tech sector and to outside factors, and what will be the effect on the low income population of any future slowdown.

Councillor D. Holmes congratulated the report authors for what she called a very legible document. She said it would be helpful for the Region to use the statistics related to persons under and over 35 years of age and their employability, to pressure the Province into investing more money into training programs for these individuals. Dr. Welch pointed out that the Regional Chair’s Task Force on Employment is looking at how to deal with a sector of people who are under and semi-employed to help them get into the job market. He agreed with Councillor Holmes that Ottawa-Carleton presents obstacles to employment for persons with less schooling, because of the requirements of both the federal government and the high tech sectors.

Councillor W. Byrne asked whether there is any information about where people who lose their primary income supports (employment insurance, social assistance) are going. She also wanted to know what it means for Ontario Works that labour force participation rates are not growing. Dr. Welch responded by saying some people leave the Region when they lose their job. He noted that Social Services Commissioner D. Stewart has investigated the matter of what happens to people who lose their benefits, and the findings were varied. Councillor Byrne posited that, instead of addressing the need and re-training and re-employing people, they are effectively being chased away.

Councillor C. Doucet commented that, not only is the francophone population moving westward, it is also moving across the river to Hull and Gatineau. Dr. Welch agreed this was the case, there is displacement and a lot of coming and going between both shores, as has been the case in the area for the past 150 years. Councillor Doucet said that, to stem the flow of francophones, it was important to increase the number of activities in French in Ottawa-Carleton. He made reference to comments at the end of the report about agencies facing reductions in grants and volunteer agencies having to play an increasing role, and about the fact that the Region, as the area of last resort, has less and less funding to respond to emerging needs. Councillor Doucet wondered why the report does not reach this conclusion. Dr. Welch responded by saying the report was written to allow people to draw their own conclusions, and he reiterated that further research is needed to better understand certain problems.

Chair Munter pointed out that, within the context of a booming economy, the number of low income families and low income individuals is increasing. He referred to the statistic which says that only 17% of people in Ottawa-Carleton are eligible for Employment Insurance when the national average is 36%. He said this fact, coupled with the fact the local economy is increasingly susceptible to swings, illustrates that Council is at a very high level of exposure, as those persons have nowhere else to go but on social assistance, a regional responsibility. Chair Munter wondered what this will happen for Ottawa-Carleton if and when a recession occurs.

RECEIVED

3. SOCIAL HOUSING REFORM SUBSIDY FORMULA: FINANCIALIMPACT

- Special Advisor on Social Housing report dated 5 May 99

The meeting adjourned at 3: 00 p.m.

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CHAIR CO-ORDINATOR