Item - 2016.CD13.8

The Community Development and Recreation Committee received the report (June 3, 2016) from the Chief, Toronto Paramedic Services for information.

This report responds to a request from the Community Development and Recreation Committee that the Chief, Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS), in consultation with the City Solicitor, investigate an open data format for the daily incident responses and associated data on the City of Toronto website and report to the June 23, 2016, Community Development and Recreation Committee meeting.

As requested, TPS has examined five Open Data options that specifically pertain to: publishing incident response data, adopting and enforcing an "Open by Default" standard, including Open Data deliverables in RFPs for software and services, making Open Data part of 911 standards, and annual publication of new TPS datasets as Open Data.  In consultation with the City Solicitor's office, the City Clerk's Office, the office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Toronto Fire Services and with Toronto Police Service, TPS has examined these options and provided its responses in this report.

In keeping with the City's Information Management Framework, TPS is committed to accountable management of the information it collects and generates.  By making information more accessible, TPS also supports the City's Open Government strategy to build public trust and confidence in government, and to improve the delivery of City services.  Presently, the City's Open Data portal posts TPS datasets showing the locations of ambulance stations and automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) within the city.

By Fourth Quarter 2016, TPS expects it would also be able to provide incident data for publication on the Open Data web portal while, at the same time, protecting personal and health information to ensure compliance with applicable privacy legislation and with the City's Open Data Policy.  This would also align with TPS' role as a Health Information Custodian under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) of Ontario.