Council Meeting

THAT the draft agenda presented to Council and dated the 12th day of November, 2024 be adopted as prepared.

THAT the Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of October 22nd, 2024 be adopted as circulated.

WHEREAS the Recreation, Parks and Culture Committee reviewed the Commemorative Park Donation Program Report; AND WHEREAS the Committee has provided input into the final document; AND WHEREAS the Recreation, Parks and Culture Committee recommends to Council that the Commemorative Park Donation Program be adopted as presented; BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT Council approves of this recommendation with the required amendments.

WHEREAS the Lake Nosbonsing OPP Detachment Board supports the Safe Streets Campaign of the Ontario Provincial Police; AND WHEREAS the campaign raises awareness about the Safe Streets Act, to improve roadway safety and promote overall community well-being; AND WHEREAS the Board recommends that this initiative be brought forward to the Board's respective Council's to determine how best to disseminate the information to the community; BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that Council for the Municipality of East Ferris approves of this recommendation and directs staff to share the campaign on social media.

THAT Council for the Municipality of East Ferris directs staff to undertake a public education campaign about best practices around septic system maintenance.

THAT Council for the Municipality of East Ferris supports the resolution received from the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit and endorses the Perspectives from Northern Ontario on the Public Health Funding Review letter; AND FURTHER THAT a copy of this resolution be sent to Dr. Kieran Moore (Chief Medical Officer of Health), the Honourable Sylvia Jones (Ontario Minister of Health), Elizabeth Walker (Executive Lead, Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health), Boards of Health of Ontario, the Honourable Vic Fedeli (MPP, Nipissing), the Honourable Graydon Smith (MPP, Muskoka-Parry Sound), and the Honourable John Vanthof (MPP, Timiskaming-Cochrane), Association of Municipalities of Ontario, The District of Parry Sound Municipal Association, and member municipalities.

WHEREAS official statistics from the Government of Ontario confirm that rural roads are inherently more dangerous than other roads; AND WHEREAS, despite only having 17% of the population, 55% of the road fatalities occur on rural roads; AND WHEREAS, rural, northern, and remote municipalities are fiscally strained by maintaining extensive road networks on a smaller tax base; AND WHEREAS, preventing crashes reduces the burden on Ontario’s already strained rural strained health care system; AND WHEREAS, roadway collisions and associated lawsuits are significant factors in runaway municipal insurance premiums. Preventing crashes can have a significant impact in improving municipal risk profiles; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Municipality of East Ferris requests that the Government of Ontario take action to implement the rural road safety program that Good Roads has committed to lead. It will allow Ontario's rural municipalities to make the critical investments needed to reduce the high number of people being killed and seriously injured on Ontario’s rural roads; AND FURTHER THAT a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Premier Doug Ford, Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, Hon. King Surma, Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Rob Flack, Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs, Hon. Trevor Jones, Associate Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health, and Good Roads.

THAT Council approve the Correspondence and Information as circulated with the agenda of November 12th, 2024.

THAT Resolution No. 2024-228

WHEREAS the owners (1851477 Ontario Inc.) of the lands described as Part of Lots 11, 12, 13 and 14, Concession 15, Township of East Ferris, District of Nipissing, has applied for approval of a draft plan of subdivision for the purpose of creating 12 new lots; AND WHEREAS this application is a resubmission of phase 2 a previously approved application under file SB-2018-02, which has lapsed; AND WHEREAS no additional lots or changes have been made to the proposed development from the approval that was given for file SB-2018-02; AND WHEREAS since the original approval was granted on May 14 th , 2019 the application has gone through an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing; AND WHEREAS in their letter dated September 12th, 2024, Tulloch Geomatics, on behalf of 1851477 Ontario Inc., requested Council for the Municipality of East Ferris waive the $2,000 application fee as it was previously collected for this application; AND WHEREAS the date of lapsing of the approval was set at three years, where five years is more common for developments of this size; AND WHEREAS the global COVID-19 pandemic had great impacts on the residential construction industry, as well as other industries, throughout the pandemic; BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that Council approves of the fee waiver request due to the three-year development period substantially falling within the same period of the COVID-19 pandemic; AND FURTHER THAT by approving this request, Council is not setting a precedent for future fee waiver reques

THAT Council approve the general accounts for the Municipality of East Ferris as indicated in the cheque register(s) dated November 12th, 2024 in the amount of $328,245.98.

THAT Council for the Municipality of East Ferris approves the following addition to the In-Camera session: 239(2)(f) advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose regarding a matter before the Human Rights Tribunal.

THAT this meeting proceeds to In-Camera session at 6:44 p.m., under Section 239(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25 in order to address a matter pertaining to: (h) information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them regarding the Algonquin Land Claim; (f) advice that is subject to solicitor client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose regarding a matter before the Human Rights Tribunal.

THAT we do now adjourn this In-Camera meeting at 7:27 p.m. and return to our regular session.

WHEREAS Council for the Municipality of East Ferris deems it expedient to pass three readings of the following by-law at this session; BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT a By-law to confirm the proceedings of Council from October 22nd, 2024 to November 12th, 2024, BE READ a first, second and third time, passed and numbered 2024-42; AND THAT said by-law be signed by the Mayor and Clerk and sealed with the Seal of the Corporation.

THAT we do now adjourn at 7:28 p.m. and meet again on November 26th, 2024.