Agenda

This meeting of the Board of Health will be conducted with members participating in person and remotely.

Directors of the Board and participating City Officials will be provided with the video conference details closer to the meeting date.

To provide comments or make a presentation to the Board of Health:

The public may submit written comments or register to speak to the Board on any item on the agenda.

Written comments may be submitted by writing to boh@toronto.ca.

To speak to the Board, please register by e-mail to boh@toronto.ca or by phone at 416-397-4592. Registered speakers will be provided with instructions on how to participate in the meeting.

Special Assistance for Members of the Public: City staff can arrange for special assistance with some advance notice. If you need special assistance, please call 416-397-4592, TTY 416-338-0889 or e-mail boh@toronto.ca.

Closed Meeting Requirements: If the Board of Health wants to meet in closed session (privately), a director of the Board must make a motion to do so and give the reason why the Board has to meet privately (City of Toronto Act, 2006).

Notice to People Writing or Making Presentations to the Board of Health: The City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the City of Toronto Municipal Code authorize the City of Toronto to collect any personal information in your communication or presentation to City Council or its Committees and Boards. The City collects this information to enable it to make informed decisions on the relevant issue(s). If you are submitting letters, faxes, e-mails, presentations or other communications to the City, you should be aware that your name and the fact that you communicated with the City will become part of the public record and will appear on the City's website. The City will also make your communication and any personal information in it - such as your postal address, telephone number or e-mail address - available to the public, unless you expressly request the City to remove it.

Many Committee, Board, and Advisory Body meetings are broadcast live over the internet for the public to view. If you speak at the meeting you will appear in the video broadcast. Video broadcasts are archived and continue to be publicly available.

If you want to learn more about why and how the City collects your information, write to the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto ON M5H 2N2 or call 416-397-4592.

toronto.ca/council

This agenda and any supplementary materials submitted to the City Clerk can be found online at toronto.ca/council. Visit the website for access to all agendas, reports, decisions, and minutes of City Council and its Committees and Boards.

Declarations of Interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act

Confirmation of Minutes - April 17, 2023

Speakers/Presentations - The speakers list will be posted online at 8:30 a.m. on May 29, 2023

Communications/Reports

The Medical Officer of Health recommends that:  

1. City Council authorize the Medical Officer of Health to enter into agreements, on an ongoing basis, with Community Health Centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, hospitals, and/or health care agencies, and academic institutions in Toronto for the purpose of delivering mandated dental and oral health services that are fully funded by the Province of Ontario and within the approved Toronto Public Health budget, in accordance with applicable program and funding guidelines, on such terms and conditions that are satisfactory to the Medical Officer of Health and in a form approved by the City Solicitor.

Toronto Public Health's (TPH) Dental and Oral Health portfolio implements a range of initiatives that improve the health status of Torontonians, with a particular focus on the city's most vulnerable residents. This report provides an overview of TPH's historical and current efforts in this area, and outlines current work to expand service through 1) constructing new TPH-operated dental clinics and renovating existing ones and 2) expanding partnerships with community organizations, hospitals and academic institutions that allow TPH to extend its reach, address community-specific needs, and enhance referral pathways to other health and social services. The report recommends that the Medical Officer of Health be authorized to enter into agreements for the delivery of these services.

There is no net financial impact associated with the adoption of the recommendation in this report.

The Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the Medical Officer of Health to enter into agreements and other suitable arrangements, on behalf of the City of Toronto, for the transfer of funds to the Angel Foundation for Learning ($4,543.5 thousands) and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success ($13,094.9 thousands) for the purpose of administering the 2023 approved municipal funding (totalling $17,638.4 thousands) to eligible student nutrition programs across the City of Toronto on terms satisfactory to the Medical Officer of Health and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

2. The Board of Health and City Council reiterate their requests to the Province of Ontario to increase its grant funding investment proportionally to match the increased City of Toronto investment and further request the Province of Ontario provide increased funding to address the inflationary cost of food.

3. The Board of Health and City Council request the Government of Canada to provide details on progress toward their 2022 Federal Budget commitment "to develop a National School Food Policy and to explore how more Canadian children can receive nutritious food at school".

4. The Board of Health forward this report to the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, the federal Minister of Health, the provincial Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, the provincial Minister of Health, the provincial Minister of Education, the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, le Conseil scolaire Viamonde, le Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir, the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, the Angel Foundation for Learning, the Daily Bread Food Bank, and United Way Greater Toronto.

Student nutrition programs are meal and snack programs offered primarily in school settings. They help to ensure that children and youth at risk for poor nutritional intake have access to safe, adequate, and culturally appropriate nutritious food. Research shows that when students eat healthy meals at school they focus better, score higher marks in reading, math and science, and are more likely to graduate high school. Students also have the opportunity to develop healthier eating habits, which can lower rates of childhood obesity and overweight.

The Student Nutrition Program has two streams: the Public Schools Stream, which is for public schools and a few grandfathered independent schools and community sites, and the Independent Schools Stream. Student nutrition programs depend on funding from the City of Toronto (the City), the Province of Ontario (the Province), student and parent contributions, community fundraising, school board fundraising, and corporate donations. Additional funding and support from the federal and provincial governments is needed to meet the needs of students and ensure sustainable programs.

This report outlines recommendations for the 2023 Student Nutrition Program service subsidy allocations, which includes an approved 5.0 percent cost of food inflationary increase of $827.1 thousands from the 2022 approved budget for the Public Schools Stream. The funding envelope for the Independent School Stream has sufficient funding to support a 5.0 percent cost of food increase. The proposed combined allocations to the Angel Foundation for Learning (AFL) and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS) are for the purpose of administering the 2023 approved municipal funding to eligible student nutrition programs across the City of Toronto and total $17,638.4 thousands, which includes $245.9 thousands held in reserve for appeals/late applications.

The 2023 Approved Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health includes funding of $17,668.4 thousands gross and net for municipally-funded student nutrition programs, as follows:

- $17,368.4 thousands toward the cost of nutritious food for the Public Schools Stream which will reach 612 school communities across Toronto.

- $300.0 thousands toward the cost of nutritious food and capacity building for the Independent Schools Stream which will support seven (7) eligible independent schools and assessment for eligibility of three (3) independent schools in Toronto.

This report recommends an allocation of $17,638.4 thousands: $4,543.5 thousands to the Angel Foundation for Learning and $13,094.9 thousands to the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, which includes all funds held in reserve as outlined in Tables 1 and 2. The proposed combined allocations are for the purpose of administering the 2023 approved municipal funding to eligible student nutrition programs in Toronto.

There is no financial impact associated with this report beyond what has been approved in the 2023 Approved Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed the report and agrees with the financial impact information.

The Medical Officer of Health and the City Clerk recommend that the Board of Health:  

1. Repeal the Board of Health's current Procedures By-law, By-law 2-2019 as amended by By-law 1-2020 and By-law 2-2020, by adopting the draft bill, in the form or substantially in the form, attached as Appendix 1 to this report.

2. Adopt a new Board of Health Procedures By-law by adopting the draft bill, in the form or substantially in the form, attached as Appendix 2 to this report that includes provisions to:

a. provide that any member participating in the meeting electronically is deemed to be present for the purposes of determining whether a quorum is present, and for the purposes of voting on any matter put to a vote, and for all other purposes;

b. provide that any member participating in the meeting electronically be entitled to participate in any portion of the meeting closed to the public;

c. change the time required to achieve quorum from 15 minutes to 30 minutes;

d. permit members of the public to participate electronically at meetings where electronic participation occurs and in a manner as determined by the Clerk; and

e. amend the closed session requirements to ensure consistency with the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 27, Council Procedures.

The purpose of this report is to recommend the repeal of the existing Procedures By-law and the adoption of a new Procedures By-law for the Board of Health to make electronic participation a permanent option for meetings, to ensure consistency with the City of Toronto Act, 2006, and to report on the review of the Procedures By-law required under the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS).

There is no financial impact associated with the adoption of the recommendations in this report.