Sudbury Soils Study

Public Advisory Committee – Meeting #35

September 16, 2008 – 7:00 p.m.

Room C11, Tom Davies Square

 

 

Attendees:                Ersin Abdullah         Nicole Breau            Adam Cecchetto

Dick Cowan              John Hogenbirk       Bob Somek  

Paula Takats                        Carol Zippel                         

 

Regrets:                    Darrell Alston           Gary Hrytsak             Aino Laamanen

                                    Whitefish Lake First Nations Representative

                                   

TC Working Group: Max Kasper   Stephen Monet         Ido Vettoretti

           

Independent Process Observer:            Franco Mariotti

 

Chair:                         John Hogenbirk

 

Recorder:                 Julie Sabourin

 

Public (4)

______________________________________________________________________

 

JOHN HOGENBIRK PRESIDING

 

1.0      CALL TO ORDER

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. following dinner. 

 

2.0      INTRODUCTIONS

 

Members of the PAC and TC Working Group introduced themselves to the public in attendance.

 

3.0      DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

 

None.

 

4.0      OPEN FORUM (30 min.)

 

There were no public presentations or questions arising at this time.

 

5.0      ADDITIONS TO/APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

 

The following items were added to add to the agenda:

 

            1.         PAC Comments on Website

            2.         PAC Comments on HHRA

            3.         PAC Feedback on Update Newsletters

4.         Plain Language Summary on ERA

6.0      REPORT ON QUESTIONS/ISSUES RAISED AT LAST PAC MEETING

 

There were none tabled.

 

7.0      APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

7.1       Minutes of Meeting #33 – September 25, 2007

 

1-2008          Moved by Breau - Cecchetto: That the minutes of meeting #33 dated September 25, 2007 be approved.                                   CARRIED

 

7.2       Minutes of Meeting #34 – July 15, 2008

 

2-2008          Moved by Takats - Cecchetto: That the minutes of meeting #34 dated July 15, 2008 be approved.                                                           CARRIED

 

8.0      BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES

 

A concern was expressed with the press coverage and their interpretation of happenings that transpired at the previous meeting.  The Chair indicated he was misquoted several times and felt the article was not as balanced as it could be.  As well, there were no explanations given as to why there have been no meetings since September 2007 even though an explanation was provided.  It was agreed that it would be futile to follow up at this time and should it occur again, an immediate response would be appropriate although members of the committee felt somewhat sceptical at providing interviews in the future. The discussion concluded by the agreement that each media issue be addressed “case by case” and that PAC will keep on top of the media reports to avoid any delayed response.  

           

9.0      NEW BUSINESS

 

9.1      Membership Renewals

 

            Ersin Abdullah, Bob Somek and Carol Zippel were all up for membership renewals.  All agreed to stay on and the committee were all in favour of their continuing their roles as member of the PAC.

 

3-2008          Moved by Cecchetto - Breau: That the membership of the following participants be renewed for another two year period:

 

                       Ersin Abdullah         Bob Somek              Carol Zippel                                                                                                                                                              CARRIED

 

FRANCO MARIOTTI PRESIDING

 

 

 

 

9.2      Election of Chair and Vice Chair

 

 

 

Both John Hogenbirk and Gary Hrytsak indicated they would stand for their positions at the pleasure of the committee.

 

4-2008          Moved by Cecchetto - Somek: That John Hogenbirk and Gary Hrytsak be appointed Chair and Vice-Chair respectively for the next term.   CARRIED

 

JOHN HOGENBIRK PRESIDING

 

9.3      PAC Annual Report

 

This document required review and approval.  It was requested that explicit identification of the TC be noted in the Acronyms section of the document as well as a list of the TC participants.  With this change, the document was approved for posting on the website.

 

5-2008          Moved by Takats - Somek: That the 2007 version of the PAC Annual Report be approved for publication with amendment.                         CARRIED

 

9.4      PAC Terms of Reference Review

           

This document required review and approval as well.  The most notable change was to amend the names of the partners to reflect their current status.  It was also indicated that the TC was not explicitly defined in this document as well and it was requested that this be included in the second paragraph.

 

6-2008          Moved by Cowan - Takats: That the 2007 version of the PAC Terms of Reference be approved with amendment.                             CARRIED

 

10.0    TC MEETINGS

 

10.1    Meeting #60 Key Progress & Decision Summary June 19, 2008

 

The above document was tabled for information.

 

11.0    PRESENTATION

 

11.1    SARA Group Update on the SSS – Update on the ERA

 

Stephen Monet responded to specific questions to his presentation regarding methodology and procedures in the ERA study, from members of the PAC and the public.

 

12.0    ADDENDUM

 

12.1 PAC Comments on Website

 

The Communications Sub-committee and TC approached PAC through John Hogenbirk to review the SSS web site. A short discussion followed. John pointed out that this will not be a formal critical review of the content, but to determine the materials the site may be missing i.e. Annual Reports, meeting minutes, etc., and whether the existing material is up-to-date and accurate. Paula and Dick volunteered to carry out the review.

 

Action: PAC members send suggestions on PAC material on SSS website to Paula and Dick

for the end of September.

 

12.2 PAC Comments on HHRA

 

John Hogenbirk presented Gary Hrytsak’s suggestion that PAC provide a written commentary on the Sudbury Soils Study process from the perspective of the PAC. All PAC members agreed and the discussion that followed revealed several options that may or may not include a submission to the Public Comment Period May 18-Nov 1 2008 for inclusion into the final HHRA report.

 

Max Kasper said that formally commenting on the HHRA is a good way to tell the public officially/formally that members of the public were present throughout the study. One public member also noted that it may clarify the role of PAC in the study. Ido, Franco and other members provided valuable comments. The issue is to be resolved within the next few weeks.

 

Action: PAC members send suggestions and ideas to John .on how and

when to comment on our role in the SSS process.

 

12.3 Status of the UPDATE newsletter

 

The UPDATE newsletter will be coming out in approximately two weeks.

 

12.4 Status of the PLS of the ERA

 

The Plain Language Summary of the ERA is in draft form and Chris Wren is currently reviewing and revising it. The summary will be distributed to PAC for review.  PAC discussion included a request for two weeks for this review with at least one weekend to review the summary.

 

13.0    NEXT PAC MEETING

 

Tuesday November 25, 2008. Room C-11 Tom Davies Square.

 

14.0    FOLLOW UP TO PUBLIC SESSION

 

There was no additional comment or question from the public.

 

15.0    ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

 

 

            _________________________              ________________________

            Chair, John Hogenbirk                               Recorder, Julie Sabourin/Paula Takats