Dufferin County Council met on September 12, 2024 for a Council meeting. For the full Council meeting agenda and minutes, please see the County’s Meeting Agendas and Minutes page.

Here are the highlights from the September 12 meeting:

• County Council proclaimed September Hunger Awareness Month in Dufferin County
• Child care spaces in Dufferin
• Early Years and Child Care Service System Plan 2023-2026
• Physician shortage in Dufferin
• Municipal Comprehensive Review Progress Report – OPA No. 2 and 3 approved
• Electrifying Back Roads project
• Edelbrock Centre Redesign Principles
• Fire Protection and Prevention Review

County Council approved a motion that the County request the federal and provincial governments fix the archaic for-profit/not-for-profit quotas in the Canada – Ontario Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

On March 22, 2022, the federal and provincial governments announced a funding agreement that will reduce the cost of childcare in Ontario to an average of $10 per day by March 2026; however, the for-profit/not-for-profit quotas [30/70] mandated by the federal government artificially limits the number of licences that can be given out, therefore limiting the childcare spaces that can be created.

The waitlist for child care in Dufferin County is over 1000 children and families are being forced to waitlist for $10 per day childcare despite an unspent budget for unrealized not-for-profit centres due to a lack of not-for-profits applying. The changing of this ratio could unlock thousands of new $10 per day childcare spaces immediately, helping families in the Dufferin community.

Dufferin County will circulate the resolution to the attention of Kyle Seeback Member of Parliament, Dufferin-Caledon; The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development; The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; The Honourable Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education; and The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario.

The Early Years and Child Care Service System Plan will act as a road map for the next three years to make system improvements for the benefits of children and families in Dufferin County.

As the local Service System Manager, Dufferin County is responsible for developing an Early Years and Child Care Plan for children aged 0 to 12 years for the Dufferin community. The plan is based on key demographic data, the completion of an environmental scan of services and consultation with key stakeholder groups. These groups included the Early Years Workforce, parents, children, community partners and licensed child care operators.

The Plan outlines three strategic priorities for the next three years, including Early Years and Child Care Programs and Services, Workforce and Pedagogy and Leadership and Governance.

County Council received correspondence from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) containing a request to pass a resolution to urge the provincial government to recognize the physician shortage in Dufferin County and the Province.

The state of health care in Ontario is in crisis, with 2.3 million Ontarians lacking access to a family doctor, emergency room closures across the province, patients being de-rostered and 40 per cent of family doctors considering retirement over the next five years. The percentage of family physicians practicing comprehensive family medicine has declined from 77 in 2008 to 65 percent in 2022 and per capita health-care spending in Ontario is the lowest of all provinces in Canada.

Dufferin County Council approved a motion to urge the Province of Ontario to recognize the physician shortage in Dufferin and to fund health care appropriately and ensure every Ontarian has access to physician care.

The Dufferin County Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) was conducted in three phases to amend the County’s Official Plan Policy. The phased approach was approved in the spring of 2022.

By April 4, 2024, the final phase (OPA No. 4) was deemed complete by the Province. On July 18, 2024, staff received a draft decision on both OPA No. 2 and OPA No. 3 with some minor language related modifications and an increase from 100,600 to 100,700 in Population Distribution for 2051.

This change was due to Mono’s growth allocation being changed from (-100) to (0) by 2051.

Phase III – OPA No. 4 approval is expected to follow in the coming months.

Staff will communicate the new growth forecast, allocations and schedules and maps and make it available to the public. Updated allocations and land designations will be implemented for all new development proposals throughout the County.

Local municipalities can initiate the conformity exercise and carry out all necessary studies and reports and work to implement the allocated growth within their municipalities.

Dufferin County’s Electrifying Back Roads project, valued at $100,700, was approved for funding through Natural Resources Canada’s Zero-Emissions Vehicles Awareness Initiative. The public outreach and education project aims to increase awareness and knowledge of electric vehicle options, benefits, performance, costs, charging options/infrastructure and incentives among rural and small-town residents in Dufferin County.

The adoption of zero-emissions vehicles is critical to achieving Dufferin County’s greenhouse gas reduction target of net-zero by 2050, as transportation accounts for 49% of community greenhouse gas emissions. To support this transition, in the Dufferin Climate Action Plan, the County commits to “educate and raise awareness of the benefits of electric vehicles”.

The County has launched two surveys to support the project: one for EV owners and one for non-EV owners. The surveys can be found here.

Dufferin County’s Chief Administrative Officer presented an update on the Edelbrock Centre Design Proposal. Council received the report and adopted the following key principles for the project:

• Service Delivery: A space that supports better service delivery to the community
• Inclusive: Spaces that are barrier-free access for all (public and employees) and incorporate inclusive design elements from the City of London Facility Accessibility Design Standards
• Technology: Technology enhancements to support a hybrid Council meeting and working model Collaborative: a space that encourages collaboration and meeting space both in-person and remote
• Flexible: an adaptable multipurpose space that supports a hybrid working model, group work, and individual work
• Progressive: A space that speaks to the future of work
• Healthy: a space that promotes employee health and comfort using an intermediate approach
• Sustainable: An energy efficient space that reduces energy demand, leverages smart technology, and prioritizes materials with low embodied carbon, considering environmental impact throughout their life cycle.

A thorough Council directed review and analysis of the existing fire prevention and protection services in Dufferin County has determined that modernization of fire services is required.

The Multi-Jurisdictional Fire Prevention and Protection Modernization Plan details four options for fire prevention and protection services ranging from uploading the responsibilities to the County to maintaining status quo. Lacking the authority to implement any of the recommended changes, staff recommended that the attached report be provided to the eight lower-tier Councils for their consideration.

Dufferin County Council consists of 15 members representing each of the eight municipalities in Dufferin. Council meeting processes are set out in the County’s Procedural By-Law.

Dufferin County Council and Committee meetings can be watched live on the County’s YouTube channel.