COUNCILLOR’S REPORT: APRIL 28, 2008

I attended the Municipal Sustainability Planning workshop presented by the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) as a pre-conference session for the Alberta’s Environment Conference, April 21-22, in Edmonton.

AUMA is actively promoting the idea of municipal sustainability planning MSP which it describes as “an opportunity for municipalities to look long-term at the communities they want and take proactive steps to move there. It is an opportunity to engage citizens in a dialogue about what they value about their communities and what they want them to look like in the future.” Sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

The workshop itself consisted of a keynote presentation by the Executive Director of The Natural Step Canada which has been working with AUMA and Alberta municipalities on sustainability planning. The Natural Step website describes itself as:

The Natural Step Canada is a non-profit organization providing results orientated advisory and training services to help community and business leaders integrate social, environmental and economic decision making into their operations with a holistic, proven and scientifically-rigorous framework.

The Natural Step offers eLearning courses in sustainability and the AUMA has an agreement for a discounted price of $85 for the course (it is normally $120).

The AUMA’s toolkit on municipal sustainability has used features of The Natural Step’s process and added to it, so that the framework consists of five pillars or dimensions for municipalities to engage around: Economy; Governance; Environment; Society; and Culture.

We heard presentations from each of the five pilot communities that were funded by AUMA to under MSP: Town of Olds, Village of Thorhild, Village of Chauvin, Town of Claresholm, and Town of Pincher Creek, as well as the work done by Okotoks and Canmore towards sustainability. The PowerPoint presentations can be accessed at:

There will be a new Request for Proposals from AUMA for communities to be assisted to do an MSP and I think that we could make a very good case for Peace River, tying in nicely to the strategic planning that Council is undertaking soon and the community consultation we are already planning for.

We received a copy of a new booklet for Albertans produced by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and The Natural Step called Sustainability At Home: A toolkit. Decision-making help for your everyday choices. It will soon be available in hard copy but in the meantime is available online from the AUMA.

Following the workshop there was an optional networking dinner at which Todd Babiak, an author and Edmonton Journal columnist, spoke on the importance of arts and culture to municipalities to the quality of life and contributors to the economy. Babiak mentioned the recently-developed Edmonton Cultural Plan, The Art of Living: A Plan for Securing the Future of Arts and Heritage in the City of Edmonton and commented on how brilliant it is. I’d like to suggest that it would be worth reviewing with some members of Peace River’s art and culture community.

At Alberta’s Environment Conference, held in partnership with the AUMA, I attended the following sessions and would be pleased to share thoughts about any of them. Once the PowerPoint presentations for all sessions are available online, I’ll let Council know where these can be obtained.

• Economics: A science of decision-making (presented by Anish Neupane, a resource economist with Alberta Environment. Some of his major responsibilities include providing economic and socioeconomic advice related to policy formulation and development).

• The Impact of Energy Efficiency on the Environment (presented by John Rilett, the Director of Energy Efficiency and Conservation at Climate Change Central, a unique public-private partnership that promotes the development of innovative responses to global climate change and its impacts.)
• Where Ideas Flow: A panel on the newly created Alberta Water Research Institute
• Regulatory Considerations in a Brownfield Redevelopment Strategy (presented by Kevan van Velzen, Manager, Environmental Assessment and Liabilities, City of Calgary).
• Life Cycle Assessment of Oil Sands: A quantitative multi-sectoral approach to environmental stewardship (this was a panel on LCA, which extends traditional analyses of environmental impacts by incorporating the gamut of goods and services involved in production, use, and disposal of a product to construct a holistic reflection of total impacts from “cradle to grave.”
• Challenges, Solutions & Opportunities for Large Scale Wind Power Integration into Alberta (presented by John H Kehler, Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and David Huggill, Western Canada Policy Manager, Canadian Wind Energy Association.

The Environment Minister, Rob Renner, was a keynote speaker and there was a lunchtime announcement of a new certificate program in consensus building that the Alberta Government and the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society have established in prominent Alberta environmentalist Martha Kostuch’s name. There is also a bursary being made available for the program, funded by the Alberta Government. Ms. Kostuch died the day after the announcement and presentation of flowers to her grand-daughter.

There was a large trade fair of products and services related to the environment. I have passed along some information to staff.

Councillor Report: January 28, 2008

At the Town Council meeting last night, I provided the following report on my activities to Council and the public, but thought I'd also post it here before I head out for the workshop on occupational health and safety that is mentioned below (it's going to be a cold walk!).

When I went back and reviewed the various board and committee meetings I've attended over the past couple of months, never mind the other kinds of meetings (such as four about the river freeze-up and concerns about seepage flooding in Lower West Peace), it became apparent why life was suddenly feeling so much busier. There haven't been any meetings that I would consider a waste of time and they've all given me a broader look at the important work of various agencies and organizations as well as the work of the staff of the Town of Peace River and the Mayor and Town Councillors.

COUNCILLOR REPORT: LESLIE AYRE-JASCHKE

JANUARY 28, 2008

Aboriginal Interagency Committee

I’ve attended two meetings of this group, which is coordinated by Alberta Child & Family Services, chaired by Dennis Whitford of CFSA and Corinna Reimert, Aboriginal Liaison at the Peace River Health Centre. The Interagency includes representatives from a range of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations that are active in the Peace area, including Manning and Cadotte Lake. The model has been so successful in providing a venue for identifying and addressing issues of importance to the Aboriginal community that other Aboriginal Interagencies within the boundaries of the Region 8 (Northwestern)Child & Family Services Authority have been established in the past year. For a map of Region 8, go to: http://www.child.alberta.ca/home/511.cfm.

The AIC is working with CFSA on an initiative to try to increase the number of Aboriginal foster homes available. Another important activity is planning and fundraising for the annual Aboriginal Gathering which will be held in Peace River, June 21-22.

Community Health Council

The council has not yet met since I was appointed. The next meeting is scheduled for February.

North Peace Housing Coalition

A news conference about the preliminary housing report that I prepared prior to election to Council was held on Wednesday, January 16. My contract with the coalition is now complete and I’ve been released, at my request, from the remainder of the contract.

As per the motion at the January 14 Council meeting, I now am the Town Council representative on the coalition and will report to Council accordingly.

Peace River Municipal Library Board

I attended my first board meeting on January 22.

Highlights of the meeting:

· The new librarian, Chelsea Ferguson, was introduced and welcomed back to Peace River. Chelsea worked at the library as a teen and has a library technician diploma.
· The library board is looking for new members. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Heather Schramm, the board chair at 624-4815 or email: heather_43@hotmail.com.

· The 2007 financial statements were reviewed and thanks given to Chantal Patterson, who did a large amount of work after her resignation as librarian to complete these.

· Linda Duplessis of the Peace Library System (PLS) did a presentation on the wide range of services offered to the local library as a result of our membership. Council members may want to visit the library website to find out more about the services it provides and for a link to the PLS. The PLS provides the benefits of a network and partnerships, such as centralized ordering (which results in significant discounts), cataloguing and delivery, advice from professional librarians, coordination of granting programs, technical support and training for local staff, among others. With the TRAC/TAL library card you can borrow books from 240 participating libraries and access a variety of databases from home (including ones on auto repair, genealogy, among others). Go to the Peace River Municipal Library website and click on PLS for more information. http://www.prmlibrary.ab.ca/

Town of Peace River Health & Safety Committee

I’ve attended two meetings of this committee, which addresses issues related to Town of Peace River staff. Highlights:

· A series of workshops are being offered for staff by the Alberta Municipal Health & Safety Association (AMHSA) on January 29-31. Topics include: Overview of Occupational Health & Safety Act, Regulations and Code (I am taking this one, as a member of the H&S Committee); Hazard Identification; Formal Workplace Inspections; and Incident Investigations.

· We received the results of the 2007 Municipal Health and Safety Audit. The Town of Peace River exceeded the minimum standards of the audit, which allows us to maintain the Town’s Certificate of Recognition and to receive a 5% rebate from the Town’s annual Workers’ Compensation Board contribution.

The following elements make up the audit, which is done every three years by external auditors (2007) and followed up annually with internal auditors: Organizational Commitment, Hazard Control, Formal Workplace Inspections, Orientation & Training, Emergency Response Planning, Incident Investigations, and Program Administration. The H&S Committee will be working with the departments to review the report and develop an action plan for addressing ways to further improve in each of these areas.

Town of Peace River Municipal Planning Commission

I’ve attended two meetings of the commission since being appointed. There is one more meeting scheduled in January. We meet with Amy Murphy, Development Officer, to review development proposals.

Town of Peace River Risk Management Committee

I attended my first meeting of this committee on January 21. This committee’s mandate is to address issues of concern around insurance and the public’s well-being. Due to the large number of new members, this meeting was used as an orientation and an introduction to the Alberta Municipal Services Corporation (AMSC) Risk Management Manual and accompanying modules that the committee will use to guide its work in the area of risk identification and management. The AMSC is an arms-length body of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) created in 2005 that provides a wide variety of services to urban municipalities, including insurance. For more information about AMSC, go to http://www.munilink.net/live/AMSC/About+AMSC

NOTE for Councillors: If we see hazards around the town, we are required to report them to the Municipal Secretary.

Intermunicipal Mutual Aid Committee

This committee hasn’t met since I was appointed.

Other Activities

Municipal Elected Officials Course
Along with Councillors Hancock and Heinen, I attended this half-day workshop in Peace River with elected officials from around the region. It was presented by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). The course familiarized participants with the context of disasters, the Alberta Emergency Management Framework, and the roles and responsibilities of elected officials during a disaster.

AEMA website: http://www.aema.alberta.ca/