Item - 2018.HL25.3

The Board of Health:

1.  Requested the Medical Officer of Health to continue to work with the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the City Librarian, Toronto Public Library, and the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, to:

a.  Conduct a trial of a Heat Relief Network that would maximize access to cool spaces within neighbourhoods and in locations that people already visit;

b.  Continue to review the Cooling Centre program during the summer of 2018 to determine their role as part of a Heat Relief Network; and

c.  Report back in early 2019 on the results from the trial Heat Relief Network.

2.  Requested the Medical Officer of Health to continue to work with the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to determine how best to integrate into the Heat Relief Network locations and facilities that serve those experiencing homelessness, and to assess how best to increase access to cooling for people who are experiencing homelessness or are underhoused.

The Medical Officer of Health and the Acting Associate Director, Healthy Public Policy, Toronto Public Health, gave a presentation on Increasing Access to Cooling in the Community.

Extreme heat is associated with health impacts ranging from heat stress to heat stroke and death. Toronto Public Health (TPH) was requested to assess the access to cooling for people at risk for heat-related illness and death and to conduct a review of the City of Toronto's Cooling Centre program.

While Cooling Centres are one of the most prominent components of Toronto’s Hot Weather Response Plan, their manner of operation is different than in other major North American jurisdictions where public air conditioned spaces, in general, are promoted to provide relief from hot weather through a Heat Relief Network.

Based on a review of literature on the implementation of Cooling Centres in other jurisdictions, access to cooling for those most vulnerable in Toronto could be best achieved by phasing in a trial Heat Relief Network similar to networks that are effectively employed in large American cities. Collaboration with Shelter, Support, and Housing Administration and other divisions whose facilities would be considered viable for this use will also help ensure that the Heat Relief Network includes heat relief facilities that meet the needs of people who are experiencing homelessness or are underhoused.

An effort to review the use of Toronto's official Cooling Centres was limited in the summer of 2017 because the cooler summer temperatures meant that there were few hot days from which to collect data. Maintaining the existing Cooling Centre approach within the trial Heat Relief Network for 2018 will allow for more time to assess how best to meet the cooling needs of Toronto’s most vulnerable people.