Assemblée législative de l'Ontario

The committee met at 0901 in committee room 1.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the Standing Committee on Government Agencies.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): First order of the day is the subcommittee report. Mr. McDonell, I understand you are going to read that into the record for us?

Mr. Jim McDonell: Yes. I move that the standing committee—report of the subcommittee, Thursday, April 19, 2012, be submitted.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Okay. Any debate? Any questions or comments?

All in favour? Okay, thank you very much.

INTENDED APPOINTMENTS

MS. JOAN ANDREW

Review of intended appointment, selected by official opposition party: Joan Andrew, intended appointee as member, Niagara Parks Commission.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Our first intended appointee this morning is Joan Andrew. Joan is nominated as a member of the Niagara Parks Commission. Ms. Andrew, please come forward.

You may begin with a brief statement if you wish. Any time used for your statement will be deducted from the government’s time for questions. Each party will then have 10 minutes to ask you a question. Questioning will start with the government. We’ll open the floor and ask you to make your presentation. We thank you very much for being here this morning.

Ms. Joan Andrew: Thank you for having me. I do have a very brief introduction.

I’m Joan Andrew. I started my public service career with the federal government in 1973, and joined the Ontario public service in 1988. I retired in 2009. At that time I was the Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and women’s issues.

Currently, I work part-time at Ryerson University as the public servant in residence in the department of politics and public administration. In that capacity I do some lecturing, some student mentoring, and I have established a relationship with the Ontario public service that allows the students doing their master’s in public policy at Ryerson similar access to summer internships as that that exists with the University of Toronto. Last fall, I co-taught a course on public sector leadership.

I’m also on the board of directors of the YWCA of Greater Toronto, and I’m on a subcommittee of the board of the United Way and of the Learning Partnership. I’m also on the selection committee for the Amethyst Awards for Ontario public servants.

I’ve served as an assistant deputy minister and deputy minister in a number of ministries and under governments of all three political parties. As an assistant deputy minister, I worked at the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Ministry of the Environment, and in Cabinet Office.

I believe I have a number of skills and attributes that will allow me to be a contributing member of the Niagara Parks Commission. I have over 36 years of public service. In that time, I’ve had experience leading large operational organizations and in leading the development of policy, legislation, regulations and programs.

I believe I have good analytic skills. I think I’m quite good at synthesizing complex issues. I understand the importance of protecting the public interest in government operations and the importance of developing and maintaining appropriate procedures and policies to ensure strong accountability, good governance and transparency for the public.

I have experience leading organizations through significant change, a variety of experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and working across different levels of government.

I’ve maintained my interest in public administration and believe that I can contribute to the governance and operation of the Niagara Parks Commission. Thank you.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Okay, thank you very much. We’ll start with the government side. Are there any questions?

Ms. Helena Jaczek: Yes. You’ve alluded a little bit to some of the attributes you would bring to this position. I’m sure you’re aware there has been some history of issues at the Niagara Parks Commission. Can you elaborate a little bit more on what particular attributes you bring to this commission?

Ms. Joan Andrew: I believe I have a balance of attributes that I think lead to an ability for judging good governance. I’ve had oversight of a number of government agencies in my capacity as assistant deputy minister and deputy minister. I have led organizations through new controllership procedures. I’ve had responsibility for large-budget operational matters. I’ve had responsibility for growing organizations; I’ve had responsibility for shrinking organizations.

I think I also have an ability to step outside current operations and think about how things could be done better for a number of organizations that I’ve worked with.

I’ve had responsibility with a wide variety of stakeholders over my career: working with women’s organizations, working with community organizations, municipalities, professional and regulatory bodies—a wide variety of organizations.

Ms. Helena Jaczek: We really have no further questions. I just want to say that, given your very broad experience, I think you’re ideally suited for this position. Thank you.

The Acting Chair (Mr. Peter Tabuns): Thank you. Official opposition, Mr. McDonell.

Mr. Jim McDonell: Thank you for coming out today. I’m sure you’re aware of some of the controversial issues that have come up over at the parks commission. We were just wondering, how would you see yourself working with the board of directors to make sure it doesn’t happen again, or that these issues are put into the past?

Ms. Joan Andrew: I think, being on the commission or the board of directors, you’re part of a team. I know I have an ex-boss colleague, Virginia West, who’s also on the Niagara Parks Commission, who actually is the person who initially interested me in this position. She has a long background in public administration as well. So I think I’ll be part of a team that has a fair amount of experience of balance. She has training as a lawyer; she was also chief administrative officer of a municipality in Ontario. I think we bring a variety of different perspectives that allow us to be a good team. We’re schooled in controllership, accountability, governance issues, managing large ministries and agencies.

I think, as previous deputy ministers, we have a certain political acuity, understanding what decisions might be appropriate or might not be appropriate for public agencies. I think we can bring that to the senior management team at the Niagara Parks Commission as well.

The Acting Chair (Mr. Peter Tabuns): Further questions? Ms. Thompson.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Thank you for coming here today. As was alluded to earlier, there have been issues with this commission. I’m sure you’ve done your homework and I’m curious to know: In your perspective, what has been one of the main issues, and how would you address it in terms of bringing accountability to the commission in working with the directors and staff? What’s one of the main issues that you would tackle, and how would you work with staff and the directors in terms of accountability?

Ms. Joan Andrew: I have done some homework, but I don’t think I know exactly what has—I mean, I know they finished a new procurement process and things, but I don’t know exactly, internally, where they’re at, what they’ve already dealt with, perhaps, and what needs to be dealt with.

But I think in any public agency procurement, customer service is important. Making staff feel valued so that they can deliver a better service or product is important. There’s a wide variety of issues that I think are important, and in an agency that has as wide-ranging a mandate as the Niagara Parks Commission, keeping all of that in balance is important as well, so you don’t just focus on, for lack of a better word, procurement policies in the absence of worrying also about the welfare of the staff and whether they’re—you know, for a major tourist attraction, customer service orientation is very important too.

0910

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Thank you very much.

Now over to the third party questions.

Miss Monique Taylor: Thank you for being here. You definitely seem to have a very full plate already of the things that you’re involved in with the Y and with other agencies that you belong to at this time. How much time do you think that you would be able to bring to this, and do you think that you would have enough time to do adequate work with the commission?

Ms. Joan Andrew: My current position at Ryerson is only part-time, so it’s only two days a week. I do my other volunteer work in the remaining time. I think compared to being a deputy minister, I’m not that busy. So I think I have the time. I explored the amount of time that would be expected in terms of board meetings, committee meetings and preparation for board meetings. I think it’s probably two to two and a half days a month at the moment, so that’s not an extraordinary amount of time in terms of how to balance that. It’s not 75 or 80 hours a week, like it used to be.

Miss Monique Taylor: Right, and any other interests regarding the Niagara region at all or just something that—

Ms. Joan Andrew: I was struck—recently, I had the opportunity to host a delegation of IT experts from the government of Vietnam who were here to meet with federal and provincial governments, but the one thing else they wanted to do was visit Niagara Falls. I think when you’re in Toronto, you forget how important Niagara Falls is to the tourism economy of southern Ontario; I’m not saying this is sort of a Toronto-centric view of the world, but every time I have a visitor come to stay with me from overseas, they want to go and see Niagara Falls. It’s an important part of that, so I’ve had the pleasure of going on the Maid of the Mist several times.

I think the importance of the whole Niagara region and the importance of broadening the tourism experience to include some of the wine industry and the cultural aspects of Niagara and creating that kind of maybe more modern tourist attraction in southern Ontario is really important, and I think the parks commission can play a role in that, too.

Miss Monique Taylor: That’s good, because I believe that we’ve definitely lost a lot of the seed of the Niagara when it comes to the peach trees and the farming land out there, so hopefully when you move forward in this position, you will hold that kind of sector tight, knowing that that’s a big part of Ontario. Thank you.

Ms. Joan Andrew: Thanks.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Okay. Thank you very much, Ms. Andrew. I appreciate your time this morning.

Ms. Joan Andrew: Thank you.

MS. DOMINIQUE LEMIEUX

Review of intended appointment, selected by official opposition party: Ms. Dominique Lemieux, intended appointee as member, Grand River grant review team.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): Our next intended appointee is Dominique Lemieux. The bells are ringing, so we will begin—just to let Ms. Lemieux know, we will probably give this 17 minutes or so at the most, and we may end up having to run out to give members an opportunity to ensure they get to the House for the vote. So we will begin, but I apologize in advance that we may have to run and then come back to allow you to finish if we don’t get completed in about 17 minutes.

So our second intended appointee today is Dominique Lemieux, nominated as a member of the Grand River grant review team. Madam Lemieux is here today. Again, any time used for your statement will be taken away from the government’s time for questions. Each party will then have 10 minutes for questioning.

We’ll turn it over to you. Thank you for being here this morning.

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: Thank you for having me here. I’ve never been to Queen’s Park or any of your lovely buildings, so it has been nice walking around.

I guess I’ll start by telling you a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Hanmer, Ontario, which is a small city on the outskirts of Sudbury. There I did all my studies in French, from grade school to college. I graduated from Collège Boréal in 1996 from Techniques juridiques, which is a law clerk course. I was part of the first graduating class of Collège Boréal, which was the first fully French college in northern Ontario, so I’m very proud of that.

I worked in different law firms in Sudbury until moving to Brantford in 2003. Once in Brantford, I worked for the firm Reeves and Buck, for Douglas Reeves. There I worked mainly in family law, but I have experience in estate law, immigration law, personal injury, real estate and criminal law.

In 2010, I embarked on a different career path and was employed firstly as the administrative and cultural coordinator and now I’ve been promoted to mainly the cultural coordinator at the Centre français Hamilton. I coordinate various activities and festivals, as well as work the yearly programs, the budgets, prepare our grant applications, and investigate sponsorship opportunities. I am very proud to be able to have a career in promoting and assisting in the growth of the francophone culture in all its diversities.

I also teach interval box at the athletic club, which is an aerobic class. Being active is very important to me, and this is an easy way for me to exercise and influence others in being active as well.

I am a volunteer on the condo corporation in which I reside. My tasks include monthly meetings, reviewing financials, dealing with issues and making decisions on behalf of the condominium and all its residents.

I am a proud and active member of the Franco-Ontarian community. I am very organized and balance two jobs and a volunteer position and keep a home. I am hard-working and welcome new challenges, and my skills, experience and work ethics are the foundation for my success.

The Chair (Mr. Bill Mauro): All right, thank you very much. We’ll turn it over first to the official opposition. Mr. McDonell.

Mr. Jim McDonell: Thank you for coming out today, Ms. Lemieux. You’ve seen Trillium’s had, basically, a bad report card from the Auditor General highlighting some of the practices, if I can kind of quote from his report, and noting that “the underlying process and resulting documentation often did not demonstrate that the most worthy projects” were chosen. So what’s your feeling about that and how do you see you getting involved with the grant review team in a way that makes sure that, really, the most worthy projects are chosen? It is public money.

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: Everything—well, I hope to come with an open mind and have my community at heart. You know, I live in the Grand River area and I want to see projects that will influence my neighbours and the people I live with in a positive way and not be wasted on things that aren’t really important for my community.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Thank you for coming, Dominique. My question is around performance measures. Again, the Auditor General’s report clearly reflects on the poor follow-up and lack of success metrics at Trillium.

You alluded to your experience with planning events and being very involved in your community, so as you think ahead to a potential position with Trillium, what would be three—a couple, two or three—performance measures that you feel very strongly about that you would introduce to the foundation in terms of making sure there is follow-up and success metrics followed? Because in so many cases in my local area, you know, folks will come out, they cut the Trillium ribbon, and then that’s it.

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: I would definitely have more hands-on participating. If it’s an event, I’d love to be there. I’d love to see it go through, you know, for my own personal gain as well as for my community. I think it’s important to have more hands-on, to be more, um—sorry. I think in French and translate in English.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: That’s okay.

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: So my words are more applicable—to apply myself more, and to where the money goes. I want to see that what they say in their applications is actually what is being done. And then, you know, numbers speak volume. I know if the media is there, I’d love to see articles and feedback from people attending the festival—or I say festival because I’m working on a festival.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Yeah. No, no, that’s all right.

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: So yes, I think it would be important for me to be more hands-on, to participate at these events. Anything cultural, active—I love participating too. I think that’s where I’d be of assistance.

The Acting Chair (Miss Monique Taylor): Any further questions? A member of the third party? Mr. Tabuns.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Dominique, thanks for coming this morning. I’m assuming you’ve looked at the history of grants given by this agency?

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: Yes, a little bit. I have also applied for grants myself, so I understand the process and what it’s really intended for.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Would you bring an eye to this process that would shift the priorities for the grants?

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: I’d like to know that the monies being funded are actually for needs of Grand River, what they’re looking for, what they need. I know they have a growing senior population, and there’s lots of aboriginal issues. I always have a soft heart for activities for kids and families. I think that’s what Grand River is mainly about, is family. We’re not mainstream like Toronto. I’d love to see more of the funding being put towards what’s important for the Grand River area and keep an eye out for those things.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Do you fell that the arts have gotten the support from the granting body that they need?

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: I’d love to see more money going towards the arts. Because that’s what I do, I see how being actively in arts and culture and music is important in someone’s life. I find sometimes it gets lost, and when it’s something so simple that can bring everyone together—I mean everyone can appreciate music or art even if it’s not their preference. Even if you like piano, you can still appreciate fiddle. I think it’s an easy way to bring people together.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: I don’t have any further questions, Madam Chair.

The Acting Chair (Miss Monique Taylor): Thank you. Any questions from the government?

Ms. Helena Jaczek: No. I’d simply like to thank Ms. Lemieux for being here. I’m sure she’ll bring fresh eyes to the grant review team.

Ms. Dominique Lemieux: Thank you.

The Acting Chair (Miss Monique Taylor): Thank you, Ms. Jaczek.

Thank you for your presentation.

We will now consider the concurrence of the intended appointment of Joan Andrew, nominated as member of the Niagara Parks Commission.

Ms. Helena Jaczek: I move concurrence in the intended appointment of Joan Andrew, nominated as member of the Niagara Parks Commission.

The Acting Chair (Miss Monique Taylor): Ms. Jaczek has moved concurrence in the appointment. Any discussion?

All in favour? Opposed? Carried.

We will now consider the concurrence of the intended appointment of Dominique Lemieux, nominated as member of the Grand River grant review team.

Ms. Helena Jaczek: I move concurrence in the intended appointment of Dominique Lemieux, nominated as member of the Grand River grant review team.

The Acting Chair (Miss Monique Taylor): Ms. Jaczek has moved concurrence in the appointment. Any discussion?

All in favour? Opposed? This motion is carried.

Committee adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 0924.

CONTENTS

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Subcommittee report A-23

Intended appointments A-23

Ms. Joan Andrew A-23

Ms. Dominique Lemieux A-25

STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Chair / Président

Mr. Bill Mauro (Thunder Bay–Atikokan L)

Vice-Chair / Vice-Président

Mr. Phil McNeely (Ottawa–Orléans L)

Mrs. Donna H. Cansfield (Etobicoke Centre / Etobicoke-Centre L)

Ms. Helena Jaczek (Oak Ridges–Markham L)

Mr. Bill Mauro (Thunder Bay–Atikokan L)

Mr. Jim McDonell (Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry PC)

Mr. Phil McNeely (Ottawa–Orléans L)

Mr. Randy Pettapiece (Perth–Wellington PC)

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto–Danforth ND)

Miss Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain ND)

Ms. Lisa Thompson (Huron–Bruce PC)

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Ms. Tracy MacCharles (Pickering–Scarborough East / Pickering–Scarborough-Est L)

Mrs. Liz Sandals (Guelph L)

Clerk / Greffier

Mr. Trevor Day

Staff / Personnel

Ms. Carrie Hull, research officer,
Legislative Research Service

Ms. Susan Viets, research officer,
Legislative Research Service