The Parks and Environment Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council direct all corporate agencies, boards, commissions, corporations and divisions to track their green initiatives, activities, programs, policies and actions which result in environmental benefits and specifically reductions in air emissions, including greenhouse gases and air pollutants, according to standards and protocols established by the Toronto Environment Office.

2.         City Council direct the Director of the Toronto Environment Office to report bi-annually on both the quantifiable and other environmental benefits of the Corporation’s green initiatives and activities from all City of Toronto agencies, boards, commissions, corporations and divisions.

3.         City Council forward a copy of this report to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for their information.

Lawson Oates, Director, Toronto Environment Office provided a Powerpoint presentation to the Parks and Environment Committee and filed a copy of his submission.

In response to a request by the Parks and Environment Committee, all City of Toronto Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Corporations and Divisions (ABCCDs) engaged in environmental activities gave a presentation on their ‘green initiatives and activities’ (programs, policies and actions which resulted in benefits to the environment) to the Parks and Environment Committee between October 2007 and April 2009.  These presentations have been compiled and are available on the City’s website at: http://www.toronto.ca/environment/initiatives/presentations_pe_committee.htm

The ABCCDs giving presentations were also requested to report via the Toronto Environment Office on the quantifiable environmental benefits, specifically the air emissions reductions, as a result of their green initiatives and activities to which they presented.  Highlights from the presentations as well as the quantifiable environmental benefits and emission reduction/emission savings data they submitted to the Toronto Environment Office are included in this report.

The quantifiable environmental benefits provided in this report are based only on the green initiatives and activities that the ABCCDs presented on and is not a reflection of the total environmentally beneficial activities being conducted across the corporation.  That information will be presented through an update of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory previously published in June 2007 (http://www.toronto.ca/teo/pdf/ghg-aq-inventory-june2007.pdf).

This report makes recommendations to build on the information received by the Parks and Environment Committee to develop a more comprehensive protocol for the monitoring and reporting of green initiatives and activities throughout the corporation

The Parks and Environment Committee deferred consideration of this item until the Chair and Vice-Chair - Environment, Parks and Environment Committee has met with Dr. Ingrid Stefanovic, Professor and Director, Centre for the Environment, University of Toronto and the following information is collected and presented to the members of the Parks and Environment Committee, namely:

a.         location of other Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) located in North America and worldwide.

b.         how many other members have actually withdrawn their memberships from the UN RCE.

c.         a report tabling the achievements of other RCEs in other countries. 

The United Nations General Assembly designated 2005-2014 as the International Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. As part of this initiative the United Nations University (UNU) established an international network of Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development. Toronto was selected as a Regional Centre of Expertise in 2005.

To facilitate Toronto’s participation various organizations, including the City of Toronto, came together and formed the Toronto RCE. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was developed and, in July 2007, City Council endorsed the City’s involvement for a two-year period.

Over the last two years, the Toronto RCE initiated work to identify gaps in areas of action on education for sustainable development and identify best practices for sharing within Toronto and the larger international RCE network. One of the outcomes of this work was a conclusion that there is a lot of valuable and innovative work already occurring in Toronto. Much of that work being done collaboratively by the organizations engaged in the Toronto RCE.

In May 2009, the signatories to the MOU identified that the value of maintaining the Toronto RCE as a stand alone formal organization is limited and voted to suspend all further activities and formally withdraw from the UNU’s RCE program. It was felt that the goal of the Toronto RCE had been achieved and existing relationships and partnerships had been strengthened and would continue to evolve and develop without the need of a formal organization.

The Parks and Environment Committee recommends to City Council that:

1.         The City Solicitor be directed, in consultation with the General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Medical Officer of Health, to amend the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 608, Parks to:

a.         except as set out in Recommendation No. 2 below, allow dogs under the control of non-commercial and commercial dog walkers to use all City swimming beaches from November 1 to March 31 while on-leash and prohibit use at all other times, and

b.         allow working dogs providing a service to the City to use all City swimming beaches and other parklands on-or off-leash at any time

as outlined in Attachment 1 of the report, subject to any necessary minor substantive or stylistic refinements as may be identified by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor.

2.         During the period November 1 to March 31, dogs be allowed off-leash below the snow fence line for Kew-Balmy and Woodbine Beaches only and that the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation be requested to prepare a report outlining the success of this approach by November, 2010 for consideration by the Parks and Environment Committee. 

3.         The General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation be requested to present the Beaches Action Plan when available to the Parks and Environment Committee for review and recommendations.

Councillor Sandra Bussin, Ward 32 Beaches-East York addressed the Parks and Environment Committee.

Leslie Coates, Manager, Special Projects, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; Dr. Howard Shapiro; Assistant Medical Officer of Health, Toronto Public Health and Wayne Reeves, Project Officer, Waterfront, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, provided a Powerpoint presentation to the Committee and filed a copy of their submission.

City Council, in considering the report, “Toronto Beaches Plan” at its meeting of February, 2009, approved an action plan to improve Toronto’s swimming beaches in 2009-10.  Council, among other things, requested that staff address the impacts of “Blue Flag” status on dogs, on- and off-leash, on Blue Flag designated beaches, and specifically Kew-Balmy Beach, as this became the City’s seventh such swimming beach in 2009.

The Municipal Code Chapter 608, Parks prohibits all dogs, year-round, on Blue Flag beaches.  Staff have considered various options to balance the issues of providing safe, clean beaches for all user groups and the interests of these various constituencies, including dog owners.

Following from our review of various options arising from the Kew-Balmy situation specifically, this report advances a broader management approach that would apply consistently to all 11 of the City’s swimming beaches.  This would allow dogs to use all City swimming beaches from November 1 to March 31 while on-leash and prohibit use at all other times.  Allowing access to the beaches and other parklands year-round for working dogs in service to the City is also proposed.

It is noted that a companion report, “People, Dogs and Parks Strategy - Off-Leash Policy Review,” is being submitted concurrently to the Parks and Environment Committee.

The Parks and Environment Committee referred this item to the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation with requests to:

a.         review the Humber and Don River Valleys for possible Ontario Greenbelt designation.

b.         consult with the Toronto Region and Conservation Authority, and

c.         report back to the Parks and Environment Committee further on this matter. 

To request a report from the General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation on the feasibility and implication of having the Humber and Don River Valley designated as part of Ontario’s Greenbelt.

The Parks and Environment Committee requested the Chair, Board of Health to:

a.         schedule the update report of the Medical Officer of Health on Metrolinx Georgetown South Service Expansion and Union Pearson Rail Link, to the Board of Health meeting on October 19, 2009 as a timed item and that public deputations be heard.

b.         invite members of the Parks and Environment Committee to the Board at this time, and

c.         invite representatives of Metrolinx and the Minister of the Environment when this issue is addressed.

The Parks and Environment Committee referred the following member motion by Councillor Ron Moeser to the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Chair, Parks and Environment Committee, for consideration:

'Whereas the Toronto District School Board is presently considering the closing of a number of school sites, and

Whereas the City of Toronto partners with the Toronto District School Board on a number of recreational opportunities, that

1.         the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation be requested to report back to the Parks and Environment Committee on the current parkland acquisition process and the implications for surplus school sites and to specifically review the time the City has to respond to school closings, and

2.         the Chair of the Parks and Environment Committee invite Ms. Amy Schnurr, Director of Communications, General Brock Park Committee, to address the Committee at its next meeting.'