Meetings

2022 AGM – April 19, 2022

An Annual General Meeting of the Federation of North Residents’ Associations Incorporated (FoNTRA) was held on April 19, 2022. The Agenda included the traditional business meeting items (Approval of Minutes, Co-Chairs’ Report, Treasurer’s Report, and Election of Directors).

Co-Chairs’ Remarks

2021 was another busy year.

Attendance at our virtual meetings proved to be higher than ever about 25 compared with 15 pre-pandemic.

Our website was revised/updated and is now filled with useful information.  Thanks to Sheila and Al for their work and members for their financial support that made it possible.

Much of our attention was focussed on ensuring the EHON proposals were appropriate. This did not work out as well as hoped and some members supported an Appeal.

We submitted letters on various topics including Canada Square, Committee of Adjustment, Garden Suites etc.

Representatives continued to meet with Gregg Lintern and his Directors to learn about City Planning priorities and for him to hear ours. One was the need to make the CofA fairer to residents. A consultant study is now underway, and we will continue to push for needed changes.

Also responded to new provincial legislation. 

Geoff Kettel
Co-Chair, FoNTRA

Cathie Macdonald
Co-Chair, FoNTRA

2021 AGM – April 20, 2021

An Annual General Meeting of the Federation of North Residents’ Associations Incorporated (FoNTRA) was held on April 20, 2021. The Agenda included the traditional business meeting items (President’ s Report, Treasurer’s Report, Election of Directors) and was then followed by a presentation and discussion of the FoNTRA Survey Results.

Geoff Kettel presented  FoNTRA’s Co-Chair’s Report:

Co-Chairs’ Remarks

Thank you for participating in our first virtual AGM.

We all know that the past year did not work out the way anybody expected, and we have been forced to adjust and to do many things differently.  Some of this like having meetings by zoom have been relatively painless.  But for interactions with the City these have not worked so well. 

COVID has “taken all the oxygen” and it’s hard to get attention to planning concerns.

Our City leaders have for the most part been listening and responsive, introducing new programs such as ActiveTO with bike lanes and patios.

FoNTRA had another successful year with more RA Reps participating in our virtual meetings, and many letters sent and deputations made to the City’s virtual meetings on our issues.

Our activities may be broken in to five types:

  • Neighbourhoods and low rise – Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods, garden suites
  • Mid-rise – concern about creating Queen Mary liners or University Brutalist buildings
  • Hi-rise – concern about ground plane and services 
  • Areas like Canada Square 
  • Tribunals CofA , TLAB, LPAT

FoNTRA is continuing to work on meeting the needs of our members and continuing to ask for your assistance in making FoNTRA work better for you – in our operations as well as in developing ways to resolve planning and related issues. A heads up that:

  • we have undertaken a short survey of members on our services.
  • We are undertaken a review of our web site and communications strategies. And a workshop for RAs on April 27   Thanks Al Kivi and Rita Bilerman   
  • AGM  to review that last year and plan for the future. 

The Province not so much. They have continued to make changes “under cover of COVID” that “benefit speculators, not people”.

Geoff Kettel
Co-Chair, FoNTRA

Cathie Macdonald
Co-Chair, FoNTRA

Member Survey

A FoNTRA Member Survey was conducted in Winter 2021 to hear from the member residents’ association about how we are doing, how we are meeting your needs and how we can be more effective. This was the first formal Member Survey for FoNTRA. All active or recently active members were invited to participate with about 30 survey invitations. There were 15 responses.

The findings showed that:

  • the current priorities of each member association vary widely;
  • a common thread for all associations includes planning and development issues;
  • the smaller associations have a narrower focus;
  • some associations are suggesting room for improvement in FoNTRA’s objects of incorporation;
  • each association offered suggestions for FoNTRA that should be examined in more detail.
  • Two areas received good review – meeting agendas and opportunities for participation.
  • Suggested areas for improvement were the website, FoNTRA/City forums and access to advice and expertise form other members. If you are interested in more details on the survey responses, please contact Geoff Kettel.

2019 AGM – December 3, 2019

The previous Annual General Meeting was held on December 3, 2019. The Agenda included the traditional business meeting items (Election of Directors and Treasurer’s Report) but also attended to the Confirmation of By-law 1.