Tenant Services Committee (TSC) Meeting - September 3, 2020

Public Agenda

9:00 - Chair’s Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report

Presenter: Chair

9:05 - Consent agenda

Approval of Public Meeting Agenda

Action: TSC Approval

Pre-read: Agenda

Presenter: Chair

Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Action: Declaration

Pre-read: Agenda and Conflict of Interest Policy

Presenter: Chair

Confirmation of the Public Meeting Minutes of February 3, 2020

Action: TSC Approval

Pre-read: Minutes

Presenter: Chair

Use of the Space Policies – Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-23

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Relations

Tenants First Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-25

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Relations

9:10 - Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: Action Item List

Presenter: Chair

9:15 - Update: Tenant Complaints Process

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-34

Presenter: Chief Operating Officer

9:45 - OCHE Quarterly Update (Q2 2020)

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-20

Presenter: Commissioner of Housing Equity 

9:55 - Referral Agreement Policy

Action: TSC & Board Approval

Pre-read: TSC:2020-22

Presenter: Director, Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Relations

10:05 - Q1 & Q2 2020 – Seniors Quarterly Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-26

Presenter: General Manager, Seniors Housing Unit

10:20 - Chief Operating Officer’s Reports

TCHC’s Operational Performance Measures

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-27

Presenter: Chief Operating Officer

Update: COVID-19 Response & Recovery

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-28

Presenter: Chief Operating Officer

Update on Actions Taken to Address AirBnB Units

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-29

Presenter: Chief Operating Officer

Pest Control Program Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-30

Presenter: Chief Operating Officer

Tenant Engagement Refresh Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: TSC:2020-24

Presenter: Chief Operating Officer

TERMINATION

Public Meeting Minutes

The Tenant Services Committee (“TSC”) of Toronto Community Housing Corporation (“TCHC”) held a public meeting on September 3, 2020, via WebEx, commencing at 9:06 a.m.

TSC Directors Present:

Linda Jackson, Chair

John Campbell

Amanda Coombs

Debbie Douglas 

Ubah Farah

Councillor Paula Fletcher

Councillor Frances Nunziata

Management Present:

Kevin Marshman, President and Chief Executive Officer 

Sheila Penny, Chief Operating Officer

Darragh Meagher, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Paula Knight, Vice President, Strategic Planning & Communications

Allen Murray, Vice President, Facilities Management

Vincent Tong, Chief Development Officer

Grant Coffey, Interim General Manager, Seniors Housing Unit

John Angkaw, Senior Director, Business Operations

Richard Grotsch, Tenant Resolutions Officer

Bill Anderson, Senior Director, Community Safety Unit 

Scott Kirkham, Manager, Stakeholder Relations

Ceilidh Wilson, Assistant Corporate Secretary 

Also Present:

Melanie Martin, Senior Advisor, Office of the Commissioner of Housing Equity

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

Item 1 - Chair's Remarks

The Chair welcomed everyone to the Committee meeting, noted the Acknowledgement of the Land and notified everyone that due to the need for social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19, TCHC’s holding this meeting virtually.

The Chair noted, further, the special procedures applicable to the meeting, given its virtual nature, related to deputations requests to speak and voting on agenda items. 

The Chair reiterated the Board’s support for TCHC’s frontline staff working under challenging conditions to provide essential services and needed supports to tenants, as well as employees who continue to work from home.

Item 2 - Consent Agenda

The following items were not held:

• Item 2A – Approval of Public Meeting Agenda
• Item 2C – Confirmation of Public Meeting Minutes of December 5, 2019 
• Item 2D – Use of Space Policies – Update
• Item 2E – Tenants First Update

Item 2A - Approval of Public Meeting Agenda

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

It was noted that, because City staff would be in attendance for Item 7 – Q1 & Q2 2020 – Seniors Quarterly Update, it would be discussed at 10:00 a.m.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Douglas, seconded by Mr. Campbell and carried, the TSC approved the public meeting agenda, as amended.

Item 2B - Declaration of Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the TSC to indicate any agenda item in which they had a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the conflict. None were declared.

Item 2C - Confirmation of the Public Meeting Minutes of February 3, 2020

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Douglas, seconded by Mr. Campbell and carried, the TSC confirmed the above-captioned minutes without amendment.

Item 2D - Use of the Space Policies – Update, TSC:2020-23

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting.

This item was reopened 11:20 a.m. Highlights of the discussion include:

• The Committee recommended Management establish a checklist for tenants and contractors so both parties know what to expect when repairs take place in-suite.
• Action item: Management to provide a report at the next TSC meeting re: establishing a process to ensure both tenants and contractors have a clear understanding of what to be expected when in-suite repairs are carried out.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Douglas, seconded by Mr. Campbell and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the report for information.

Item 2E - Tenants First Update, TSC:2020-25

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.
The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting.

This item was interrupted to permit the discussion regarding Item 7 and reopened at 11:22 a.m. Highlights of the discussion include:

• Action item: Management to include in their next report on Tenants First to TSC how many houses are going through the Committee of Adjustment process.
• It was recommended that moving forward, the Tenants First report should shift its focus to more positively represent the transfer of assets to other non-profit housing providers rather than focusing on the loss in value of assets.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Douglas, seconded by Mr. Campbell and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the report for information.

Item 3 - Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update

The above-captioned action item list was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Mr. Meagher was available to answer questions of the Committee.

Highlights of the discussion include:

• Today’s agenda has multiple reports in response to the action item list and for the outstanding action items, target dates have been established. 
• A briefing note has been included in the materials in response to public action item #12.

Action items:

• Management to present a report outlining the broader corporate goals and objectives that the revitalization program aims to achieve, outside of leveraging land value and replacing buildings.
• Management to report back with how we are addressing violence in non-VRP communities from a tenancy management perspective. 
• Management to report back on the impact of CCTV cameras in helping to reduce crime in TCHC communities. 
• Management to provide the TSC with the demographic breakdown of CSU Special Constables in terms of race and gender. 

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Douglas and carried, the TSC received the action item list for information.

Item 4 - Update: Tenant Complaints Process, TSC:2020-34

Cathy Birch deputed on this item. Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. 

Ms. Penny took the Committee through a presentation. Topics discussed included:

• Background on the establishment of the Solutions team;
• Details of the three-step complaints resolution process; and
• Details of the tenant and staff communications campaigns.

Ms. Penny was available to answer questions of the Committee. Highlights of the discussion include:

• Moving forward, Management will report at every TSC meeting on tenant complaints data.
• Language interpretation is available to tenants who wish to submit a complaint and the brochure has been translated into multiple languages.
• Action item: The next report on the tenant complaints process to include the list of languages the brochure is available in.
• From 2017-2019, 7% of tenants submitted 86% of all complaints. 
• With the development of service quality indicators (“SQI”), management will be able to better understand issues of concern and be able to respond and rectify. 
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a higher volume of calls to the Client Care Centre from tenants seeking information, but they have not been complaints. 
• Community spaces in buildings will stay closed until mid-October. Management are monitoring the situation as kids go back to school to identify how and when to open those spaces.
• The development of the tenant communications campaign did not involve tenant consultations due to the short timeline to get the materials out. TCHC did use communications best practices and used the same icons as used by the City. 
• The Committee recommended updating the Client Care Centre answering machine with the message read slower to increase accessibility.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Campbell, seconded by Ms. Coombs and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-34 for its information.

Item 5 - OCHE Quarterly Update (Q2 2020), TSC:2020-34

Cathy Birch deputed on this item. Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Ms. Martin was available to answer questions of the Committee. 

Highlights of the discussion include:

• OCHE and TCHC have collaboratively been doing a comprehensive review of the arrears collection process to be more tenant-focused and fair, which will be in place at the end of Q4 2020.
• Resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, a short-term referral process was developed to allow TCHC staff to refer files to OCHE before an N4 is issued.
• A new process has been developed for OCHE to work with RGI tenants with ‘hardened arrears’ that are more than one year old. 
• The sizeable drop in referrals in Q2 2020 is a result of COVID-19 because TCHC was not able to issue N4s to trigger the referral to OCHE. This has been addressed through the new process.
• Action item: Management to report back to the TSC re: the plan to make the OCHE office space fully accessible for tenants and staff. 

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Douglas and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-20 for its information.

Item 6 - Referral Agreement Policy, TSC:2020-22

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Mr. Kirkham and Mr. Grotsch were available to answer questions of the Committee. 

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Douglas and carried, the TSC resolved to approve the Referral Agreement Policy, in the form set out in Attachment 1 to report TSC:2020-22 and forward it to the Board of Directors (the “Board”) for its approval.

Item 7 - Q1 & Q2 2020 – Seniors Quarterly Update, TSC:2020-26

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

This item was discussed at 10:00 a.m. Deputy City Manager  Giuliana Carbone, Jenn St. Louis, Manager, Tenants First Project, and Andrea Austen, Manager, Seniors Services from the City of Toronto were available to answer questions of the Committee. 

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Mr. Coffey presented the report to the Committee. 

Highlights of the discussion include:

• The Seniors Advisory Committee (“SAC”) was paused due to COVID-19, but the application process has reopened and will stay open until October 2, 2020.
• To recruit for the SAC, the application window was extended to six weeks, additional posters were put up in buildings, the TCHC website and social media channels are promoting the opportunity, information was included in the Seniors Speaks newsletter, and Engagement Community Services Coordinators (“CSC”) have been doing outreach. SHU staff are also working with Seniors Services and Long-Term Care (“SSLTC”) at the City to post information on the City’s website and to host an information session mid-way through the process to answer questions. The goal is to have at least 45 applicants for the SAC. 31 applicants have applied thus far. The Committee recommended reaching out to buildings where English is not the first language to get a more diverse applicant pool.
• Seniors buildings are included in the Tenant Engagement Refresh process.
• The City is working through due diligence on the transition of the SHU to a corporation, which will be reported back to the Executive Committee this fall. 
• The City is looking at options for how the OCHE will be integrated or will interact with the SHU once separated from TCHC.
• City Council has asked City staff to report back on the establishment of a Housing Commissioner. City staff are looking at how OCHE and the Housing Commissioner are aligned so they do not overlap and can leverage each other. 
• Management are focused on training for SHU staff including being effective in connecting tenants to supports and working with seniors (e.g. elder abuse and falls prevention). 
• SAC applications will go through the City’s public appointments process. The intention is to have 12-15 SAC members who are representative of TCHC tenant data or Toronto more broadly based on recommendations from the City’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion office. The 29 applications initially submitted did not have adequate diversity.
• The Terms of Reference for the SAC is in development. The role of the Committee will be advisory in nature.
• Action item: Management to provide an update on the SHU at all TSC meetings.

Giuliana Carbone, Jenn St. Louis and Andrea Austen left the meeting at 10:30 a.m.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Douglas and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-26 for its information.

Item 8A - TCHC’s Operational Performance Measures, TSC:2020-27

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Ms. Penny was available to answer questions of the Committee.

Highlights of the discussion include:

• Special Constables are allocated geographically and have been aligned with the new hub model.

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Coombs and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-27 for its information.

Item 8B - Update: COVID-19 Response & Recovery, TSC:2020-28

Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Ms. Penny was available to answer questions of the Committee. 

Highlights of the discussion include:

• Management are monitoring COVID-19 closely and will open community spaces and gyms as soon as is possible. Staff will take a measured approach based on the impact of schools reopening.
• Management are working closely with Toronto Public Health (“TPH”) and have implemented some targeted programs in seniors buildings related to COVID-19.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Coombs and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-28 for its information.

Item 8C - Update on Actions Taken to Address AirBnB Units, TSC:2020-29

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting.

Highlights of the discussion include:

• The City has established new regulations that require anyone who wants to use their home for Airbnb to register through Municipal, Licensing & Standards (“MLS”). Management are working with MLS to have all TCHC buildings excluded from that licensing. 
• The intent is that market and RGI buildings and units would be excluded.
• There are five ongoing cases related to short-term rentals in TCHC units that will be brought to the Landlord and Tenant Board (“LTB”) when it opens again.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Coombs and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-29 for its information.

Item 8D - Pest Control Program Update, TSC:2020-30

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. Ms. Penny and Mr. Grotsch were available to answer questions of the Committee.

Highlights of the discussion include:

• Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have maintained service levels for common spaces, such as laundry and recreation rooms, to be compliant with the City’s Rent Safe Bylaw.
• For in-suite treatments, service levels have been maintained where the tenant does not need to leave their unit for a period of time. Where possible, required and safe to do so, staff did relocate tenants to move treatment forward.
• Management are looking at interim solutions that do not require tenants to vacate their units for treatment.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Coombs and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-30 for its information.

Item 8E - Tenant Engagement Refresh Update, TSC:2020-24

Janet McLeod and Susan Gapka deputed on this item. Cheryl Duggan provided a written deputation on this item. Copies of the written deputation from Ms. Duggan were distributed to members of TSC prior to the meeting.

The above-captioned report was circulated to TSC members prior to the meeting. 

Ms. Penny took the Committee through a presentation. Topics discussed included:

• Recent decisions of the Board and GCHRC on this matter in June and July 2020;
• The multi-phase approach to tenant elections;
• The Phase 1 implementation model and regional model breakdown;
• The five stage implementation plan;
• Milestones for Phase 1 based on the model selected; and
• Next steps.

Ms. Penny was available to answer questions of the Committee. Highlights of the discussion include:

• It will be important to communicate with communities soon which phase they are in and who their CSC is that will be working with them through the process.
• Some communities have already formed and are meeting today, whereas others are not that far along in the process. CSCs are available to support both groups based on each community’s needs.
• Meetings with tenants will take place in person as much as possible, while adhering to social distancing requirements and using personal protective equipment (“PPE”).
• For groups who want to meet outside, the local front-line staff can assist in providing tables and chairs from the recreational rooms. 
• Action item: In the next iteration of the report to TSC, Management to include the list of all buildings and how many people participated in the various aspects of the engagement outreach process, the communities included in the first phase of implementation, and the criteria for a tenancy in good standing.

Motion Carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Douglas, seconded by Ms. Coombs and carried, the TSC resolved to receive the information in report TSC:2020-24 for its information. 

TERMINATION

TSC resolved to terminate the public meeting at 11:26 a.m.