Board of Directors Meeting - February 19, 2015

Agenda

1. Chair’s Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

2. Approval of Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Agenda

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

3. Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Action: Declaration

Pre-read: Agenda and Conflict of Interest Policy

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

4. Interim President and Chief Executive Officer’s Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Interim President and Chief Executive Officer

5. Confirmation of Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of December 16, 2014

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Minutes

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

6. Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update

Action: Discussion

Pre-read: Action Item List

Presenter: Chair, Board of Directors

Presentations:

Presentation from Mr. Phil Gillies on the Mayor’s Task Force (Revised)

Action: Information

Pre-read:Verbal Report

Presenter: Senator Art Eggleton

Presentation from Mr. Sean Gadon Affordable Housing Office- Closing the Housing Gap Campaign and 2015 Activities

Action: Information

Pre-read:Verbal Report

Presenter: Mr. Sean Gadon, Director, Affordable Housing Office, City of Toronto

Presentation from Management on Tenant Representative Election

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Director, Resident Engagement & Community Development

Reports from Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (GCHRCC):

7. GCHRCC Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Chair, GCHRCC

8. Amendments to GCHRCC Charter

Action: Approval

Pre-read:TCHC:2015-01

Presenter: Chair, GCHRCC

Reports from Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee (BIFAC):

9. BIFAC Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read:

Verbal Report

Presenter: Chair, BIFAC

10. Allenbury Gardens: Transfer of Development Blocks to Partnership

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC: 2015-02

Presenter: Chair, BIFAC

Report from Management:

11. Q3 2014 Quarterly Performance Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2014-68 (Carried forward from December 16, 2014 meeting)

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

12. Vulnerability Policy- Implementation (Revised)

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2015-03R

Presenter: Vice President, Resident and Community Services, and Vice President, Asset Management

Report from Office of the Commissioner of Housing Equity:

13. LTB Pilot Project (Action Item List)

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2015-05

Presenter: Commissioner of Housing Equity

14. Terms of Reference - Status

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Update

Presenter: Commissioner of Housing Equity, Vice President, Asset Management

TERMINATION

Minutes

The Board of Directors of Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) held a public meeting on February 19, 2015 at 12:12 p.m. in in the Main Floor Conference Room at 931 Yonge Street, Toronto.

Directors in Attendance:

Bud Purves (Chair)

Councillor Ana Bailão

Christian Buhagiar (left at 1:21 p.m.)

Councillor Raymond Cho

Councillor Joe Cressy (left at 1:58 p.m.)

Councillor Frank Di Giorgio

Brian Kwan

Karen Newman

Catherine Wilkinson

Jennifer Wood (left at 1:29 p.m.)

Audrey Wubbenhorst (left at 1:29 p.m.)

Directors Absent:

Munira Abukar

Zahir Bhaidani

Management Present: 

Marta Asturi, Legal Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary

Lenna Bradburn, Vice President, Resident and Community Services

Leslie Gash, Development Director

Jason Gorel, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer

Ismail Ibrahim, Director, Compliance and Legal Counsel

Hugh Lawson, Director, Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Relations

Graham Leah, Vice President, Asset Management

Laurie Payne, Development Director

Sheila Penny, Vice President, Facilities Management

Liz Reid, Vice President, Information and Technology Services

Ken Scott, Senior Director, Strategic Procurement

Greg Spearn, Interim President & Chief Executive Officer/ Chief Development Officer

Pamela Spencer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary/Interim Vice President, Human Resources

Cynthia Summers, Commissioner of Housing Equity, TCHC

Presenters: 

Ms. Simone Atungo, Director, Resident Engagement and Community Development

Mr. Sean Gadon, Director, Affordable Housing Office, City of Toronto

Mr. Phil Gillies, Secretary to the Task Force

Guests:

Ms. Muna Mohamed, Member of Task Force (Resident)

Ms. Beth Goodger, General Manager Waste Management with the City

A quorum being present, the Chair called the meeting to order and Ms. Charmaine Zina served as recording secretary.

Item 1 - Chair's Remarks

The Chair welcomed everyone to today’s Board meeting and acknowledged the following guests: Mr. Phil Gillies, the Secretary to the Mayor’s Task Force on TCHC; Ms. Beth Goodger, General Manager of Solid Waste Services with the City of Toronto; and Mr. Sean Gadon from the City’s Affordable Housing Office.

The Chair announced TCHC’s hiring of Ms. Cathy Barker, the new Vice President, Human Resources who will also serve on the Executive Leadership Team as an Officer of the Corporation. The Chair thanked Ms. Spencer for the contribution that she has made over the last 10 months as Interim Vice President, Human Resources, in addition to her duties as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary.

The Chair advised that the Board approved Management’s recommendation to allow FRAM, TCHC’s developer partner the go-ahead to proceed with the launching of pre- construction sales of a second market condo building in the Allenbury revitalization.

The Chair further advised that the Board approved a Policy and Guideline for a definition of vulnerability at its December 16, 2014 meeting. The Policy and Guideline will help TCHC better serve the needs of vulnerable residents at today’s meeting. Management will present on the Implementation Plan for the vulnerability Policy.

The Chair notified everyone on upcoming important meetings over the next couple of months which include:

1. March 23rd – Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee will discuss a number of key human resources and compensation items;
2. March 30th – Board Meeting will receive an overview of the economic impact study, which Mr. Spearn will present to at the Toronto Region Board of Trade; and
3. April 16th – Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee will receive a presentation on the proposed capital delivery strategy (known as “ReSet”) and the Quality Homes advocacy strategy to urge the federal and provincial governments to support TCHC’s 10-year capital financing plan.

Item 2 - Approval of Revised Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

The agenda was approved with the following changes:

• Item 5 – Deferred to April Board meeting.
• Item 12 – Moved Item 12 up on agenda list to after presentations.

The following agenda items were not held for discussion:

• Items 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Wilkinson, seconded by Councillor Cressy and carried, the Board of Directors approved the revised agenda.

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Councillor Cho and carried, the Board of Directors approved the agenda items not held for discussion (Items 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10).

Item 3 - Chair's Poll re: Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the Board of Directors to indicate any agenda item in which they have a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the interest. No conflicts were declared.

Deputations

The Chair polled for any deputations to be heard at the meeting. The following deputations were presented:

Item 8 – Amendments to GCHRCC Charter (Deputed by Clive Williams and Miguel Abila)

Item 11 – Q3 2014 Quarterly Performance report (Deputed by Alan Duddin)

Item 12 – Vulnerability Policy – Implementation (Deputed by Cathy Birch & Bonnie Booth)

Item 14 – Terms of Reference – Status (Deputed by Alan Duddin)

Item 4 - Interim President and Chief Executive Officer's Remarks

Mr. Spearn thanked the Board Chair and advised everyone that the tenant representative election process is well underway. Information meetings commenced on Monday February 16th and Resident and Community Services staff will facilitate more than 300 meetings at sites across TCHC’s portfolio over 12 days.

Mr. Spearn notified the Board that the Resident Survey is in progress and so far interest is good, based on early numbers of translation requests and completed online surveys. The Survey will generate solid, reliable information which will be shared with staff, the Board, the City and the Mayor’s Task Force. The results will inform TCHC’s continuous benchmarking of performance, enabling us to track TCHC’s progress in future surveys.

Mr. Spearn advised the Board that a year ago there were 18 outstanding Auditor General recommendations and, as of January 30, 2015, TCHC has addressed all 18 remaining recommendations.

Mr. Spearn concluded by informing the Board that the Toronto Region Board of Trade invited him to deliver a presentation on March 31st on the results of TCHC’s economic impact study in support of TCHC’s case for the federal and provincial investment in repairs to TCHC. Mr. Spearn encouraged all Board members to attend this important event, if possible.

Item 5 - Confirmation of Board of Directors' Public Meeting Minutes of December 16, 2014

The Board resolved to defer this item to the following Board meeting.

Item 6 - Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Councillor Cho and carried, the Board of Directors received the report for information.

Presentations

Presentation from Mr. Phil Gillies on the Mayor's Task Force

Mr. Gillies presented his report to the Board on the above-noted matter. The members of the Mayor’s Task Force (Task Force) include: Senator Art Eggleton (the Chair), Edmund Clark, Blake Hutcheson, Janet Mason, Muna Mohamed and Brian Smith.

There are 4 areas of the mandate: (1) TCHC’s current operations and service delivery; (2) Partnerships and innovation; (3) Capital revitalization and new development; and (4) Governance. The Task Force will bring forward recommendations to assist with the $2.6 billion funding shortfall for capital repairs.

Due to the importance of this issue, the Task Force will provide an interim report with recommendations by July, 2015 and a final report by year end to be delivered to the Mayor. The Task Force has a 12 month life span which expires in January 2016. It’s important to recognize that the Task Force’s role is not to fix individual issues but, to fix issues that impact many people within the TCHC community.

Mr. Gillies informed the Board that there is ongoing information sharing between the Task Force and TCHC staff. The Task Force will consult with TCHC residents, through site visits (which will be set up through Tenant Representatives), the public, the city, TCHC staff and outside housing professionals.

The Task Force will be hosting 4 public meetings throughout areas in Toronto in May to meet with stakeholders and hear their input in a public forum.

Presentation from Mr. Sean Gadon, Affordable Housing Office-Closing the Housing Gap Campaign and 2015 Activities

Mr. Gadon provided a verbal report to the Board on the above-noted subject matter. The goal of Closing the Housing Gap is to persuade the federal and provincial governments to continue funding social and co-op housing at existing levels, and provide new long-term funding for social housing repairs.

Mr. Gadon informed the Board that City Council approved and launched the campaign in June 2013 with TCHC and 50 endorser organizations. City Council’s campaign goals are as follows: (i) for the federal and provincial governments to each provide $864 million in funding for TCHC capital repairs over the next 10 years; (ii) for the federal government to stop withdrawing money from social and co-op housing and instead re-invest it back into social housing and capital repairs; (iii) for the provincial government to treat social housing providers equally when paying social assistance rent rates; and (iv) for the federal and provincial governments to provide a fully-funded, long-term housing program.

Mr. Gadon stated that 2015 is a pivotal year for the campaign, with it being a federal election year and having a Mayor and Councillors who understand the importance of making Toronto housing a priority.

Mr. Gadon concluded by expressing that with the federal and provincial governments partnering with TCHC on our 10 year plan, we can and will fix our homes to serve Toronto’s needs for 40 more years. But without it, thousands of homes will be lost as they become unsafe to live in, leaving residents nowhere to turn.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Bailão, seconded by Mr. Purves and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved its support for a tenant petition strategy.

Presentation from Management on Tenant Representative Elections

Ms. Atungo, Director, Resident Engagement and Community Development from the Resident Community Services Division informed the Board that the Tenant Representative Election process is underway and the Tenant Engagement System has increased resident engagement, resident input and opportunity for residents to participate in decision-making at TCHC.

Ms. Atungo elaborated on the importance of the roles of a Tenant Representative which are to: (i) represent the interests of their community; (ii) understand what issues are important to their community; (iii) participate actively on tenant councils; (iv) keep other tenants informed; (v) make connections; (vi) advocate for change; and (vii) follow TCHC policies.

Item 12 - Vulnerability Policy - Implementation, TCHC:2015-03

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2015-03) from the Vice President, Resident and Community Services and the Vice President, Asset Management.

The Board and Management discussed the report and how the implementation plan for the policy focuses on the following:

1. educating staff, residents and others,
2. removing barriers,
3. incorporating a “vulnerability lens” in TCHC’s work, and
4. making improvements to how TCHC consider the needs of vulnerable residents and support them to maintain stable housing.

Mr. Leah informed the Board that training sessions for TCHC management have been conducted, and will be conducted for Tenant Service Coordinators by the end of March 2015.

It was suggested that Management amend the wording on page 2 of the report to read as follows: An external advisory committee will also be convened made up of subject matter experts in the areas of mental health, community health, seniors, immigrants, equity and diversity and residents with physical disabilities.

Item 7 - Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (GCHRCC) Chair's Report

No report or comments from Mr. Buhagiar were received at this time.

Item 8 - Amendments to GCHRCC Charter, TCHC:2015-01

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC: 2015-01) from the GCHRCC Chair.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Councillor Cho and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report.

Item 9 - Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee (BIFAC) Chair's Report

No report or comments from Ms. Wood were received at this time.

Item 10 - Allenbury Gardens: Transfer of Development Blocks to Partnership, TCHC:2015-02

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2015-02) from the BIFAC Chair.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Newman, seconded by Councillor Cho and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report.

Item 11 - Q3 2014 Quarterly Performance Report, TCHC:2014-68

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2014-68) from the Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations.

The Board resolved to defer this item to the following Board meeting due to the loss of quorum at the public meeting.

Item 13 - Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) Pilot Project (Action Item List), TCHC:2015-05

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2015-05) from the Commissioner of Housing Equity.

Ms. Summers and Mr. Leah presented the report to the Board and  Management advising that it is now evident that the benefits that were being sought through the LTB Pilot are largely being achieved through a combination of TCHC’s new Arrears Collection Process (ACP) and the Office of the Commissioner of Housing Equity (OCHE)’s process when applied on top of the ACP. Therefore, it is recommended that the Pilot Project being developed by the OCHE, TCHC and the LTB be discontinued.

Item 14 - Terms of Reference - Status

The Commissioner of Housing Equity and Vice President, Asset Management gave a verbal update to the Board and Management.

Ms. Summers stated that she was in agreement with the Terms of Reference. Currently, the process will be that the OCHE will provide recommendations to TCHC and, in turn, TCHC will make the final decisions. However, if TCHC does not follow the OCHE’s recommendations they will be required to provide written explanation as to why they did not follow the OCHE’s recommendations.

Ms. Spencer clarified that the Terms of Reference will be reviewed again in August 2015.

TERMINATION

The Board resolved to terminate the closed meeting at 2:32 p.m.