City of Kingston
Council Meeting
Agenda

That Council approve the request of the Royal Canadian Navy Public Affairs team to use and display the Coat of Arms for the City of Kingston on the HMCS Kingston Brow Banner; and

That Council authorize staff to update the 2017 Visual Identity Guidelines to include that an acceptable use approval of the Coat of Arms be extended to higher levels of government for formal protocol as considered appropriate by the Commissioner of Corporate Services or their delegate.

That Council authorize the Mayor and the Clerk to extend the license agreement with the International Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum Inc., to occupy 1,450 square feet of space at the INVISTA Centre for the annual rate of $1.00 for a term of three years from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027, with the option to extend the agreement for two additional one-year terms, in a form satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services.

That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute a renewal of the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for another five-year term to supply Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 services, effective December 1, 2024, between The Corporation of the City of Kingston and Microsoft Canada, subject to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services and City Solicitor.

That Council approve capital budget changes, as well as financing of capital projects or (return of funds), as detailed in Exhibit A to Council Report Number 25-016; and

That Council approve a budget amendment of $940,000 to support the reconstruction of the Isabel Turner Library capital project to be funded from the Municipal Capital Reserve Fund; and

That the City Treasurer be authorized to reallocate unspent Library capital works in progress in the amount of $300K to the Isabel Turner Library capital project; and

That Council approve the transfer of $2,000,000 from the Fire Sick Leave Reserve Fund to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Stabilization Reserve Fund.

That the applications for zoning By-Law amendments and draft plan of subdivision (File Number D35-005-2018) submitted by Arcadis Professional Services (Canada) Inc., on behalf of GCL Developments Ltd., for the property municipally known as 327, 333, and 339 Select Drive, be approved; and

That Kingston Zoning By-Law Number 2022-62, as amended, be further amended, as per Exhibit A (Draft By-Law and Schedule A to Amend Zoning By-Law Number 2022-62) to Report Number PC-25-003; and

That the draft plan of subdivision be subject to the conditions as per Exhibit B (Draft Plan of Subdivision Conditions) to Report Number PC-25-003; and

That Council determines that in accordance with Section 34(17) of the Planning Act, no further notice is required prior to the passage of the By-Law; and

That the amending By-Law be presented to Council for all three readings. 

That in accordance with Section 3.3.2 d. of the Public Appointment Policy, Pierre Klein be appointed from the reserve pool to the Housing & Homelessness Advisory Committee for a term ending November 14, 2026.

Whereas the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Board of Health has been pursuing a voluntary merger with the Boards of Health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health and Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit; and

Whereas a business case in support of the merger was submitted to the Ministry of Health on April 2, 2024; and

Whereas the KFL&A Board of Health has unanimously agreed to pursue provisional appointments to the new South East Board of Health, which will include two Kingston City Council representatives instead of the current three representatives on the KFL&A Board of Health;

Therefore Be It Resolved That pending Ministry of Health approval of the South East Board of Health, Councillor _____ and Councillor ______ be appointed to the South East Board of Health for a term beginning on January 1, 2025 and ending November 14, 2026.

That the resignation of Tina McHale from the Housing & Homelessness Advisory Committee be received with regret; and 

That in accordance with Section 3.3.2 d. of the Public Appointment Policy, Spencer Lanthier be appointed from the reserve pool to the Housing & Homelessness Advisory Committee for a term ending November 14, 2026.

Whereas the City of Kingston has standings committees, advisory committees, subcommittees (committees), and working groups tasked with providing Council and staff with feedback on a variety of topics; and

Whereas these committees and working groups are established under By-Law Number 2023-204, the Committee By-Law, which was approved by Council in 2023; and

Whereas the 2023 review of the Committee By-Law focused on eliminating defunct committees that were no longer meeting; and

Whereas many committees and working groups have undergone individual reviews during the past two terms of Council or have been established in recent years, but a holistic review has not been undertaken since 2015; and

Whereas it is important that committees and working groups are efficient and effective and respect the time and resource commitments of their members as well as City staff;

Therefore Be It Resolved That staff be directed to undertake a review of the mandates of all committees and working groups included in the Committee By-Law through a lens of ensuring these groups are undertaking meaningful, results focused work and are conducting business in a manner that respects the time commitment of all participants; and

That staff report back to Council with recommendations based on review of the mandates of all committees and working groups, including any amendments to the Committee By-Law and a proposed timeline for standard future reviews of the By-Law, no later than the end of 2025.

Whereas women represent over 50% of the population across the country, but according to 2023 research conducted by the Canadian Municipal Barometer at the University of Calgary on behalf of Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Canadian Women in Local Leadership (CanWILL) program only 31% of municipal elected representatives; and

Whereas Dr. Tracey Raney reports via her Social Sciences and Humanity Research Council (SSHRC) funded research that  women (and especially racialized women) are disproportionately targeted by violence and harassment and what’s more, that the problem is ubiquitous throughout Canadian politics; and

Whereas Kingston City Council voted to support Private Member’s Bill 5, Stopping Harassment and Abuse by Local Leaders Act in 2022; and

Whereas Kingston City Council voted on May 2, 2023 to support the call of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for the Government of Ontario to introduce legislation to strengthen municipal Codes of Conduct and compliance with them in consultation with municipalities; and

Whereas violence against women and gender inequities exist locally to the extent that Kingston City Council passed a motion on October 17, 2023 declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic of which women disproportionately experience; and

Whereas gender equality is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifically Section 15 and Section 28, which is part of the Constitution of Canada, along with federal legislation of Canadian Labour Code Part II, Gender Budgeting Act, and the Employment Equity; and

Whereas gender equality means that diverse groups of women, men and gender diverse people are able to participate fully in all spheres of Canadian life, contributing to an inclusive and democratic society; and

Whereas Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) is an analytical process that provides a rigorous method for the assessment of systemic inequalities, as well as a means to assess how diverse groups of women, men, and gender diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives; and

Whereas the Canadian Government has recently renewed its commitment in 2015, to GBA+, which first began in 1995, and is working to strengthen its implementation across all federal departments; and

Whereas the cities of Edmonton (2017), Halifax (2021) and Brampton (2023) have passed motions to support gender equity such as implementing mandatory GBA+ e-learning training for senior leaders in the Administration and/or for City Councillors utilizing the federal government’s e-learning tool, and creating Women’s Advocacy/Advisory Committees; and

Whereas the need for concrete action is critical to lessening gender inequity and eliminating violence against women;

Therefore Be It Resolved That Kingston City Council direct staff to:

1. Implement mandatory Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) e-learning training for senior leaders in the administration and for City Council by the end of Q2 2025 that this training utilize the federal government’s e-learning tool;
2. Develop within the IIDEA Division a plan to address gender equity in Kingston that considers the possible establishment of a Women’s Advisory Committee by no later than the end of Q4 2025.