BOARD MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 3 – 4 2008
LOCATION:
Holiday Inn Select, Toronto Airport
970 Dixon Road
Toronto, ON M9W 1J9
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2008
Holiday Inn Select ? MacDonald Room
Board Meeting
4:00 -7:00 pm
PRESENT:
Brian Young, President
Gerald Sutton, Past President
Judy Reid, Vice President Volunteer
Sherry Kerr, Secretary
John Bedell, Treasurer
Jane Joris, Director
Bonnie Dinning, Director at Large
Molly Croke, Director
Brian Dunne, Director
Denis McClelland, Director
Michael Humes, Director
David Ferguson, Supporting E.D.
Tom McCallum, Supporting E.D.
Don Seymour, Supporting E.D.
Andy Rotsma, Supporting E.D.
Bruce Rivers, Supporting E.D.
Mary van Delft, Administrative Support
REGRETS:
Ann Kenney, Vice President Executive Director
Janis Fraser, Supporting E.D.
Andrew Lewis, Supporting E.D.
Michael Doto, Supporting E.D
GUESTS:
Jocelyne Paul, Executive Director ? Ottawa-Carleton Life Skills
1. CALL TO ORDER
Brian Young, President, called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm.
Brian announced that Bruce Rivers would be attending for Michael Doto on a temporary basis.
Brian Young, Judy Reid and Ann Kenney have been invited to a meeting with the Assistant Deputy Ministers on Monday, December 8th. The invitation was received after the most recent issue of the Focus Newsletter went out where the Message from the President tied the Community Capacity Initiative to the labour disputes of last summer. Brian will send out a summary of the discussion after the meeting.
2. AGENDA ADDITIONS/APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The agenda was approved with the following additions:
? Presentation
? January Meeting Invitation
? Update to Dedicated Supportive Housing Survey
? Update on Salary Survey
Moved by: Brian Dunne
Seconded by: Jane Joris
?that the agenda be accepted with additions.?
Carried
a) Presentation:
Don Seymour presented a cheque for $245.62 to John Bedell. The money is part of the settlement from CanSpeak, the company keynote speaker Stuart McLean was booked through by Lambton County Developmental Services for the 2006 OASIS Conference. When the company went bankrupt, Mr. McLean absorbed his $5,000 fee.
Moved by: John Bedell
Seconded by: Judy Reid
?that a cheque for $245.62 be sent to Stuart McLean with a letter from Lambton County Developmental Services that if he was interested in donating the money, it would be gratefully accepted by a developmental service agency.?
Carried
b) January Meeting Invitation
A letter was sent by OASIS to the Minister or Labour expressing concern about the proposed changes to the WSIB Prevention System, particularly the reduction of the number of safety associations in the province from 12 to 4 and OSACH being absorbed into one of these new entities. A representative from the Ministry attended the OSACH meeting and provided information about government funding that can be applied for to deal with health and safety for the sector. Action: Dave will invite the OSACH representative to present the information to the OASIS Board at the January 14th, 2009 meeting.
3. Clawback of Funding – Brian D.
Regional meetings are taking place to develop plans to meet targets for the Increased Community Capacity Initiative (ICCI). In addition to the efficiencies agencies must find to address this initiative, agencies in the southwest have been informed by the regional office that a strategy must be implemented to address the $2.2M deficit that resulted from the facilities initiative. Funding negotiated for people with high needs that exceed the InterRai assessment applied to the person will be clawed back when the person passes away. The Ministry’s chart attached to the letter shows the average cost to support a person with moderate needs is higher than a person with high or complex needs. Other areas of the province are not hearing about facility deficits.
Agencies are encouraged to ask for copies of the InterRai assessment for the people that transitioned to their agencies when the facilities closed as they were never provided. At the time, agencies were given letters indicating that people were appropriately placed and funded (or under-funded). It was suggested that the provincial auditor could be contacted and asked to conduct a formal review of the southwest, or perhaps the Ombudsman could look into it.
Developmental Services has never cut services, but agencies may be forced to because of the reduction in funding, similar to cuts that have taken place in hospitals.
Brian, Judy and Ann will raise the concern about these claw backs as well as ICCI and the RDSP’s when they meet with the Assistant Deputy Ministers on Monday.
There is concern about the information being provided to families about ICCI and since it is a Ministry initiative they should let families know how they will be impacted. In speaking with families, many believe it is a good idea because they think people will be coming off waiting lists; however, they are not being provided with all of the information. There is concern among agencies that people on the waiting list with high needs may never receive services.
There is still concern about the disparity in information being provided in different regions. Both Assistant Deputy Ministers have said they will work on consistency across the province.
4. Legal Opinion on TPA Service Agreements – Dave/John
Several years ago, OASIS received a legal opinion about the service contracts with the Ministry and was told that from a legal perspective there was not much hope for negotiation.
With all of the things that have been imposed on agencies in recent months, is it time to look at the legal agreement again? Clarification is needed on whether the Ministry has the right to dictate to agencies and unilaterally change service agreements. This came up during the labour strikes last summer when the Ministry acted as the employer. With the changes in contracts as a result of Bill 77, agencies should have a thorough understanding of current contracts to ensure they are aware of any changes that happen. If a legal opinion is pursued, OASIS must be specific on the information we are seeking answers to. Some agencies are already having lawyers look at their service agreements, so getting a legal opinion may be something OASIS can do for the membership.
A committee consisting of David Ferguson, John Bedell, Tom McCallum and Jocelyn Paul will put together questions that need clarification. These can be sent out to the membership for further input. Some questions being considered include:
? Who is the employer?
? Who has the power to unilaterally change the contract?
? How much control does the Ministry want?
Moved by: John Bedell
Seconded by: Michael Humes
?that OASIS request a legal opinion around services agreements from a law firm to be determined up to a cost of $10,000, with whatever background information can be gathered to assist the lawyer.?
Carried.
5. Labour Relations Committee:
Revisions to the Terms of Reference for the Labour Relations Committee were approved at the October meeting, increasing the membership from four to six members. Marion Peck joined this committee a few weeks ago. Also, Dave announced that Don Seymour has resigned ? a replacement will be found over the next few months. On behalf of the OASIS Board of Directors and the LR Committee, Dave expressed appreciation to Don for his participation on the Committee.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4TH, 2008
Holiday Inn Select ? MacDonald Room
Board Meeting
8:30 a.m. ? 2:00 p.m.
PRESENT:
Brian Young, President
Gerald Sutton, Past President
Ann Kenney, Vice President Executive Director
Judy Reid, Vice President Volunteer
Sherry Kerr, Secretary
John Bedell, Treasurer
Jane Joris, Director
Bonnie Dinning, Director at Large
Molly Croke, Director
Brian Dunne, Director
Denis McClelland, Director
Michael Humes, Director
Tom McCallum, Supporting E.D.
Don Seymour, Supporting E.D.
Andy Rotsma, Supporting E.D.
Andrew Lewis, Supporting E.D.
Mary van Delft, Administrative Support
REGRETS:
Janis Fraser, Supporting E.D.
David Ferguson, Supporting E.D.
Bruce Rivers, Supporting E.D.
GUESTS:
Jocelyne Paul, Executive Director ? Ottawa-Carleton Life Skills
1. CALL TO ORDER
Brian Young, President, called the meeting to order at 8:30 am.
2. STRATEGIC PLANNING
Copies of the draft OASIS Strategic Plan, prepared by Don Seymour, were sent out electronically prior to the meeting.
Don explained that the plan was created using information gathered at the Board Planning Day in February 2008, an environmental analysis, stakeholder interviews and current and ongoing OASIS activities. A brief overview of the plan was presented. Board members will reflect on the plan and discuss it again at the January meeting.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING, October 22nd and 23rd, 2008 IN BRANTFORD
Moved by: Brian Dunn
Seconded by: Denis McLelland
?that the minutes of the Board of Directors? meeting held October 22nd and 23rd, 2008 in Brantford be accepted as written.?
Carried
4. MEMBERS SERVICES
a. Update from Membership Contact – Molly
Molly presented her report on Calls to Agencies for December 2008 ? 133 contacts were made. Molly indicated that the major concern expressed was regarding funding and whether funding increases promised by the Ministry would indeed happen in April 2009. Some agencies expressed appreciation about the communications they are receiving from OASIS.
Molly asked that any changes in agency contact information be forwarded to her; and people making contacts should also let Molly know if they are going to be away.
b. Membership Update – John
John gave an update on current OASIS membership ?
? Community Living Access Support Services ? Halton Region have decided not to renew their membership due to the increase in membership fee
? CMHA Peterborough have also withdrawn from OASIS
? Five agencies that had outstanding membership dues have been contacted ? one has paid; the other four have asked John to resend the invoice.
? An application for membership was received Community Living Espanola
? As a result, OASIS membership is at 140 agencies
Moved by: John Bedell
Seconded by: Judy Reid
?that the request for membership to OASIS from Community Living Espanola be accepted.?
Carried.
A welcome will be posted on the OASIS website.
c. MPP Bulletin – Michael
The MPP Bulletin was sent out ? thank you Michael.
d. Focus ? Don
Good feedback has been received about the Focus Newsletter that went out last week. Because of all that is happening, there may be a need to send the newsletter out monthly for a while or perhaps a one page ?President’s Bulletin?.
Member agencies are encouraged to submit articles for the newsletter that may be of interest to OASIS members to