Item - 2022.HL39.4

The Board of Health recommends that:

1. City Council request the Civic Appointments Committee to make every effort to bring forward appointment recommendations for the Board of Health that reflect the full diversity and range of voices in our City, with particular attention to candidates from Black and Indigenous communities.

2. City Council request the City Manager to review options for designating certain seats on the Board of Health for the appointment of candidates from under-represented communities, with regard for City Council's commitments to reconciliation, equity and inclusion, and countering anti-Black racism.

3. City Council request the City Clerk to undertake enhanced outreach seeking applicants to the Board of Health from Black and Indigenous communities, in consultation with the Director, Indigenous Affairs Office, and the Manager, Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit.

Dear colleagues,

Our institutions, including the Board of Health, should reflect the full diversity and range of voices in our City. We have to work hard to ensure that Toronto's Black, Indigenous, and equity-deserving communities have a seat at the table in everything we do.

The Board of Health has affirmed this perspective in the past and has an opportunity in this moment to emphasize the importance to City Council in the lead-up to new public appointments to the Board of Health for the 2022-2026 term. A commitment to reconciliation, equity, and justice must be a fundamental element of each step along the way in this process: from recruitment, through the Civic Appointments Committee, and finally to City Council.