The Corporation of the City of St. Catharines CITY COUNCIL AGENDA Regular, Monday, February 13, 2023 Council Chambers and Electronic Participation, 6:00 PM
This Meeting will be held in both person at Council Chambers and electronically. Individuals who are feeling unwell are asked to watch the Meeting online at www.stcatharines.ca/youtube rather than attend in-person.
Delegations to Council can be made in-person in Council Chambers or electronically through Zoom. Requests to delegate must be submitted using the City’s Electronic Delegation Form by Monday, February 13, 2023, before 9:00 a.m. Those wishing to delegate through Zoom must attend a test session on Monday, February 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.
Public Comments: The public may submit comments regarding agenda matters to the Office of the City Clerk by contacting [email protected] by Monday, February 13, 2023, before Noon.
His Worship Mayor Mat Siscoe takes the Chair and opens the meeting with a Land Acknowledgement |
1. | Mayor's Report |
2. | Adoption of the Agenda |
3. | Adoption of the Minutes |
4. | Declarations of Interest |
5. | Motion to Move Consent Reports Consent Reports are approved in one motion which approves all of the recommendations contained in each report. Prior to this motion, a councillor may request that one or more of the reports listed under Item 6 be moved to the list of Discussion Reports. |
6. | Consent Reports |
| 6.1 | Chief Administrative Officer Future of the Garden City Arena Complex
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| 6.2 | Engineering, Facilities and Environmental Services P18-062-1 Lake Street Road Improvements from Welland Avenue to Ontario Street - Award of Tender and Budget Reallocation
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| 6.3 | Legal and Clerks Services, Office of the City Clerk Consent and Discussion Reports
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7. | Public Meetings |
| 7.1 | Planning and Building Services Recommendation Report to amend the Vital Services By-law to clarify that transient hallways are excluded from the prescribed requirements
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8. | Presentations |
9. | Discussion Reports |
| 9.1 | Economic Development and Tourism Services Seasonal Temporary Commercial Patio Program Update & Future Recommendations (Staff presentation will precede discussion of the report)
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10. | Motions |
| 10.1 | Support for Ukraine as First Anniversary of the War of Ukraine Approaches Councillor Townsend will present the following motion: WHEREAS February 24, 2023, marks the first anniversary of the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia; and
WHEREAS Russia’s actions are considered by many to have crossed the threshold of being war crimes, and include illegal actions such as the bombing hospitals, national historic sites, leveling cities and villages and raiding museums of cultural importance; and
WHEREAS St. Catharines has welcomed nearly 100 people displaced by this illegal war this year and is welcoming more every month; and
WHEREAS Ukrainians and Ukrainian diaspora have been an integral part of the diversity in St. Catharines for over 100 years; and
WHEREAS it is every citizen’s and government’s duty to stand for peace, freedom and democracy;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of St. Catharines and Council show support and solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their time of hardship and suffering at the hands of Russia; and that Council recognize that all people of St. Catharines stand together with Ukraine until the end of the war; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Council urges the Government of Canada to support Ukraine morally, economically, financially and militarily until the resolution of the war in a manner agreeable to Ukrainians.
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| 10.2 | Raising of the Welland Canal Bridges Councillor Phillips will present the following motion: WHEREAS the area known as Port Weller East has a population of approximately 700 residents; and
WHEREAS the Welland Canal separates Port Weller East from the rest of the City; and
WHEREAS the primary access to Port Weller East is crossing the Welland Canal via the bridge at Lock 1 (Lakeshore Rd.) or the bridge at Lock 2 (Carlton St.); and
WHEREAS during the shipping season both bridges are allowed to be raised at the same time to allow the passage of ships halting all vehicles from crossing at either of the two bridges; and
WHEREAS both bridges being raised at the same time creates a potentially dangerous situation given the fact that first responders could be significantly delayed in arriving at an emergency;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to arrange a meeting with senior staff of Transport Canada, senior staff of the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, MP Chris Bittle, and MP Vance Badawey to discuss the urgency of not allowing both bridges to be raised at the same time.
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| 10.3 | Hospital and Ambulance Patient Offload Times Councillor Dodge will present the following motion: WHEREAS ambulances and paramedics are being tied up for too long waiting to hand over patients to medical staff at hospitals across the province, and this is causing a safety risk to the community; and
WHEREAS in December, Ontario paramedics warned that the spillover effects from overburdened hospitals could lead to a greater shortage of ambulances in communities across the province, a chronic problem commonly referred to as a code zero; and
WHEREAS emergency call volumes have returned to pre-pandemic levels, driven by an aging and growing population and with absences due to illness and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board adding to staffing and system pressures, this situation is expected to continue impacting service delivery in 2023; and
WHEREAS some communities have declared a local emergency in response to persistent ambulance offload delays that are causing situations when there are no ambulances or only a limited number of ambulances available to respond to emergency calls; and
WHEREAS Emergency Medical Services is a responsibility of the Niagara Region, however the increase in offload times affects all residents and local hospitals;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Council advocate to the Minister of Health expressing concerns over the Ambulance Offloading Delays at hospitals throughout the Province, and the need for more funding and solutions to alleviate the delays; and
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of St. Catharines directs staff to submit this resolution to Niagara Regional Council, local provincial representatives, and the Ontario Minister of Health.
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11. | Call for Notices of Motion |
12. | Report Requests |
13. | Committee and Task Force Minutes |
| 13.1 | Minutes to Receive 2029 Historic Welland Canals Task Force, meeting of August 9, 2022, December 13, 2022 and January 17, 2023 (draft). Social Sustainability Pillar Committee, meeting of January 31, 2023 (draft).
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| 13.2 | Amendment to the Terms of Reference for the 2029 Welland Historic Canals Task Force: That the terms of reference for the 2029 Historic Welland Canals Task Force be amended to include the third Welland Canal.
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| 14. | Closed Session Council will meet in Closed Session for the following purpose(s): |
15. | Motion Arising from Closed Session |
16. | By-laws |
17. | Adjournment |