Item - 2017.HL19.5

The Board of Health:  

1. Commended the Prime Minister of Canada for committing in the 2017 federal budget, to establish a National Housing Fund as part of the National Housing Strategy, and to develop and implement new national building codes to retrofit existing buildings and build new net-zero energy consumption buildings across Canada.

2. Urged the federal government to allocate funds as part of these initiatives, and provide guidance, to encourage owners of multi-unit residential buildings to undertake retrofits that achieve the following health-related goals and do not place a burden on financially vulnerable tenants:

a. reduce summertime indoor temperatures to prevent heat-related illness; and

b. improve energy efficiency, decrease the need for air conditioning and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Commended the Premier of Ontario and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change for committing to greenhouse gas emission-reduction actions through the Climate Change Action Plan, including investing in deep energy-efficiency retrofits of high-rise social housing towers.

4. Requested the provincial government to expand financial incentives including low-cost loans, and provide guidance to encourage public and private owners of multi-unit residential buildings to undertake retrofits that achieve the following health-related goals and do not place a burden on financially vulnerable tenants:

a. reduce summertime indoor temperatures to prevent heat-related illness; and

b. improve energy efficiency, decrease the need for air conditioning and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Requested the Minister of Municipal Affairs to consider changes to the Ontario Building Code to protect the health of building occupants from extreme heat and support the Climate Change Action Plan, including:

a. update the Code to help mitigate climate change, improve adaptation and increase the resilience of buildings;

b. periodically update the climatic data in the Code to incorporate and plan for anticipated future climate, including heat waves of greater frequency, intensity and duration;

c. update the Code to incorporate the use of effective passive cooling measures in buildings to protect against heat-related illness and minimize energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from air conditioning; and

d. examine opportunities to increase the use in multi-unit residential buildings of open windows that provide cooling while still addressing public safety.

6. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to:

a. encourage owners of rental multi-unit residential buildings without air conditioning to provide tenants with access to an indoor cool room and/or outdoor shaded space during hot summer weather;

b. collaborate with building owners and associations including the Greater Toronto Apartment Association and Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario to support access to indoor and outdoor cool spaces; and

c. encourage condominium boards of multi-unit residential buildings without air conditioning to provide tenants with access to an indoor cool room and/or outdoor shaded space during hot summer weather.

7. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to work with the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, and the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Community Housing, the Director, Environment and Energy Division and the forthcoming Chief Resilience Officer to work with existing community networks to build resilience to extreme heat in the community, particularly for those most at risk including people who are homeless or underhoused, by:

a. increasing awareness in the community that cool spaces are available during extreme heat;

b. connecting neighbours to create community-level supports for vulnerable people experiencing extreme heat; and

c. report back to the Board of Health on the implementation of effective strategies identified to achieve cooling effects.

Extreme heat is associated with health impacts ranging from heat stress to heat stroke and death. Those most vulnerable to heat include isolated seniors, people with chronic and pre-existing illnesses, children, and people who are marginally housed or homeless. In Toronto, in addition to those who are homeless or underhoused, people who live in older apartment buildings may be at particular risk from heat. The majority of these buildings are not air conditioned, many are home to low income families and newcomers, and more than half of residents surveyed say that they experience symptoms of heat-related illness. Consultations with a broad range of stakeholders identified many actions underway that help reduce vulnerability to heat in apartment towers. Work has also been done with Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) and community service providers to begin to review the City's hot weather response.

Access to cooling has repeatedly been identified as an effective way to prevent heat-related illness. Toronto residents can access about 500 cool community spaces including libraries and community centres. On Heat Warning and Extended Heat Warning Days, Toronto offers additional services at seven cooling centres across the city. Formal and informal networks that already exist at the building and neighbourhood level offer opportunities for identifying and reaching vulnerable people on hot days. Further opportunities include creating shared indoor and outdoor cool spaces at or near apartment towers, and exploring funding opportunities for incentives that encourage property owners to retrofit existing apartment buildings with the goal of achieving cooling in combination with energy efficiency without passing costs on to vulnerable tenants