Item - 2021.IE20.18

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the General Manager Parks, Forestry, and Recreation to report back to the April 28, 2021 Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting with a presentation outlining the immediate workplace health and safety plan, including any request for resources, to ensure the safety and wellbeing for frontline Parks, Forestry, and Recreation workers.

Over the past year, the pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for us as a City, but one of the biggest challenges that have presented themselves is the health, safety, and wellbeing of our public servants and those who are working on the frontlines.

Even prior to the pandemic, Parks, Forestry and Recreation had trouble filling vacancies because of the chronic issues in the Downtown East.

Frontline Parks, Forestry, and Recreation staff have expressed that on a daily basis, they experience workplace violence, witness drug overdoses, and are exposed to a significant amount of used needles, condoms, masks, and other biohazards and debris as they carry out their duties to clean city parks. As a result of these traumatic experiences on the job, their stress levels, mental health, and overall health, safety and wellbeing are greatly affected.

When staff apply for a career with the City they are expected to perform work duties that bring them pride and fulfillment by utilizing their specialized skills to beautify public parks and green spaces. They are arborists, horticulturalists and turf maintenance specialists. However, due to the conditions present in parks across the City, exacerbated by the mental health, affordable housing, and addiction crises that the City of Toronto faces and is actively working to address, frontline Parks, Forestry and Recreation  workers are in need of more support and new specialized training to address the crises.

As an employer, the City of Toronto is responsible for preventing workplace illness and injury, both physically and mentally. We need to ensure we are providing all frontline staff with the training, protective equipment, and mental health supports they need to work safely to ensure their personal health and wellbeing.