Item - 2020.HL23.1

That:

1. City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to implement targeted COVID-19 Community Education and Engagement Equity Measures in vulnerable communities with high infection rates (i.e. hotspots) and communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, including entering into agreements or other suitable arrangements to provide funding up to $5M to community agencies, to partner with the City on the provision of targeted outreach, case management for residents, food access supports, mental health supports and the provision of masks for the next five months.

2. City Council request the Government of Canada to provide funding for the City's Enhanced COVID-19 Supports for Targeted Neighbourhoods as described in Part 1 above, starting with up to $5 million for the two hotspot areas of northwest and northeast Toronto and for scaling up as necessary.

3. City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to apply for and receive funding from other governments for Enhanced COVID-19 Supports for Targeted Neighbourhoods.

4. City Council authorize the Mayor and the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to negotiate and execute funding agreements, and any amendments, with other governments for Enhanced COVID-19 Supports for Targeted Neighbourhoods, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

5. City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to make the necessary budget adjustments to the 2020 Operating Budget for Social Development, Finance and Administration (net $0) to utilize and spend funding for Enhanced COVID-19 Supports for Targeted Neighbourhoods, and to include necessary funds in the 2021 Budget submission (net $0) for Social Development, Finance and Administration.

6. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to report to the Executive Committee in the first quarter of 2021 on the success of the program and money received from the other governments for its delivery.

That:

1.  City Council request the City of Toronto's COVID-19 Immunization Task Force, in coordination with counterparts at the Federal and Provincial Governments, to promote the safety and efficacy of vaccination against COVID-19 and to address vaccine hesitancy in multiple languages and with targeted outreach to vulnerable populations.

That City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services and the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to report to the Economic and Community Development Committee in 2021 on:

a. access to suicide prevention support services by Torontonians;

b. an opportunities to strengthen recognition, referral and coordination with support and response services by front line City services; and

c. the potential for a 9-88 service as adopted in the United States.

That:

1.  City Council request the Provincial Government to reinstate the moratorium on residential and commercial evictions applicable at a minimum for the lockdown period initiated on November 23, 2020 and lasting until the lockdown is lifted.

That:

1.  City Council request the City Manager to report to the December 16 and 17, 2020 meeting of City Council on the Provincial response to Council's requests to the Provincial Government to implement enhanced income supports, a moratorium on evictions of residential tenants and paid sick days.

That:

1.  City Council request the Provincial Government to establish a coordinated and seamless COVID-19 pandemic response for the Greater Toronto Area to clearly deal with issues like lockdowns, colour coding designations for COVID-19 restrictions, and all Public Health Measures Table initiatives affecting the more than 6 million people in the Greater Toronto Area.

That:

1. City Council request the Provincial Government to clarify, under the COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open:

a. when indoor leisure skating is permitted; and

b. capacity limits specifically pertaining to indoor ice rinks.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to:

a. open indoor leisure skating as soon as public health guidance permits and as is operationally feasible; and

b. expand the availability of indoor leisure skate, to include, wherever possible and where there are no conflicts with existing permits, all of the hours Monday to Friday 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at all City operated indoor arenas, when the Provincial Orders, public health guidance and operational feasibility allow such activities to resume.

That:

1.  City Council request the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to ensure that the financial burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is shared equitably across Canadian society.

Councillor Holyday, on a Point of Order, stated that he wished to know if Council was considering just Item HL23.1, or if the Item was being considered with another Item.

That:

1.  The Board of Health express its full support to the Medical Officer of Health for continuing to use her powers under the Health Protection and Promotion Act and to recommend any additional measures required over and above the Provincial Framework to control the resurgence of COVID-19.

2.  The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to report in December 2020 on staffing levels and resources required to achieve provincially-established targets of reaching 90 percent of newly-identified COVID-19 cases and reaching 90 percent of close contacts for these cases within 24 hours for rates of transmission in the City of Toronto that are above and below the current peak of more than 500 new cases per day.

3.  The Board of Health call on the Provincial Government to immediately implement a fully transparent process of receiving public health advice, including making public the advice provided to the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Ontario Cabinet by the various advisory tables, including the Public Health Measures Table.

4.  City Council and the Board of Health call on the Provincial Government to urgently take all necessary steps, in coordination with the Government of Canada where appropriate, to ensure that supplies of the influenza vaccine are readily available, especially for vulnerable and priority populations.

5.  City Council and the Board of Health urge the Federal and Provincial Governments to immediately accelerate the distribution, expand the reach, and make completely accessible and transparent all financial supports directed toward people, including populations that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 such as women, racialized individuals, low-income individuals, and those living with disabilities.

6.  City Council and the Board of Health call on the Provincial Government to provide adequate paid sick days and income supports for those who need to isolate but cannot afford to do and for workers and businesses affected by public health restrictions. 

7.  City Council and the Board of Health call on the Federal and Provincial Governments to provide financial resources to support increased community outreach in high transmission neighbourhoods to support access to COVID-19 testing, the promotion of voluntary self-isolation facilities, and access to health and social services.

That the Board of Health adopt the following recommendations in the supplementary report (November 8, 2020) from the Medical Officer of Health [HL23.1a]:

1.  City Council and the Board of Health urge the Ontario Ministry of Health to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the pandemic on mental health and well-being to inform the need for additional supports or programs required to mitigate the associated harms.

2.  City Council and the Board of Health urge the Ontario Ministry of Health to ensure that flu vaccine promotion and distribution is targeted across Toronto, with a particular focus on those at higher risk such as racialized and low-income populations.

3.  The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to continue to widely promote the availability of flu vaccines, in partnership with City divisions and community partners.

4.  City Council and the Board of Health urge the Federal and Provincial Governments and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to consider the following when promoting and distributing future approved COVID-19 vaccines:

a.  prioritizing populations so that vaccination has the greatest impact on disease burden and transmission at the time of the availability of the vaccine;

b.  this prioritization should include patient care staff to ensure that the health system remains available to respond to the needs of the population and those at highest risk of more serious complications of COVID-19 once infected; and

c.  early distribution based on the geographic burden of disease, including disadvantaged populations.

5.  The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to continue to prepare as quickly as possible, in partnership with other City divisions and provincial partners, Toronto Public Health's mass immunization plan for the distribution of potential future COVID-19 vaccines to promote wide-scale access and protection through immunization.

6.  The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to support Toronto hospitals, with community partners, to explore and pilot rapid testing options, including point-of-care tests, especially for those populations who are at higher risk.

7.  The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to include the use of equity indicators incorporated into routine reporting to monitor any disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 across the City of Toronto and guide action.

8.  The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to report to an upcoming Board of Health meeting regarding the general population survey on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the residents of Toronto.