Minutes Confirmed on April 29, 2024

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

The Board of Health:

1. Received the report (March 11, 2024) from the Medical Officer of Health for information.

This report provides an overview of Toronto Public Health's main accomplishments and programs provided to City of Toronto residents during 2023. This report also highlights some of the innovative strategies and program achievements, as well as Toronto Public Health's key priorities for Toronto in 2024 and beyond.

The full 2023 year-in-review summary is provided in Attachment 1 of this report.

The Board of Health:

1. In light of the re-emergence of measles as a public health concern, reiterated its request to the Ministry of Health in Item 2022.HL36.3 to establish a provincial electronic immunization registry for all vaccines, which would enhance efforts to prevent and respond to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases.

The Deputy Medical Officers of Health gave a presentation on Toronto Public Health Update on Measles Prevention and Management.

The Deputy Medical Officer of Health will give a presentation on Toronto Public Health Update on Measles Prevention and Management.

The Board of Health:

1. Approved the Terms of Reference attached as Attachment 1 to the report (March 11, 2024) from the Medical Officer of Health, for the Our Health, Our City Implementation Panel.

2. Appointed Director Ausma Malik to be the Chair of the Our Health, Our City Implementation Panel for the remainder of the 2022-2026 Toronto City Council term, and until a successor is appointed.

3. Directed the Medical Officer of Health to initiate a process to recruit candidates for the Our Health, Our City Implementation Panel in consultation with the Chair of the Our Health, Our City Implementation Panel, and to report back to the Board of Health in the third quarter of 2024 with the recommended candidates for appointment.

4. Concluded the Toronto Drug Strategy Implementation Panel and replaced it with the Our Health, Our City Implementation Panel. 

5. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to report to the Board of Health – Budget Committee as part of the development of the 2025 Operating and Capital Budget Submissions on the costs of expanded drug checking services in all parts of the city where evidence and community needs dictate.

The Medical Officer of Health, the Director, Toronto Public Health, the Associate Director, Strategy and Clinical Services, Toronto Public Health, and the Associate Medical Officer of Health gave a presentation on Our Health, Our City: Updates.

In November 2023, the Board of Health endorsed Our Health, Our City: A Mental Health, Substance Use, Harm Reduction and Treatment Strategy for Toronto. Our Health, Our City (OHOC) presents a city-wide, comprehensive, population-level approach to help address both mental health and substance use related issues in Toronto. It offers recommendations for all levels of government, City divisions, community partners, and health and social organizations across Toronto.

A key guiding principle in the development of OHOC and its implementation is the meaningful inclusion of people with lived and living experience. The participation of people who use drugs and people with lived/living experience of mental health challenges and illnesses, as well as frontline service providers who work with these communities, is integral to the success of OHOC. 

In support of OHOC, the Board of Health directed the Medical Officer of Health to establish an implementation panel and to report back to the Board of Health in the first quarter of 2024 with recommendations on the panel terms of reference and membership selection criteria.

This report outlines a process for establishing and convening the Our Health, Our City Implementation Panel that will ensure inclusion of people with lived and living experience and frontline service providers in guiding the implementation of the OHOC.

The Board of Health:

1. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to work in collaboration with the City Clerk and the Chair of the Board of Health to implement measures to address opportunities for improvement identified through the 2024 Board of Health self-evaluation.

2. Requested the Medical Officer of Health, in consultation with the City Clerk, to give a presentation to the Board of Health on the Ontario Public Health Organizational Standards and the powers, restrictions, and responsibilities of members of the Board of Health in the first quarter of 2025. 

3. Requested the City Clerk and the Medical Officer of Health to offer one-on-one training on the Ontario Public Health Organizational Standards, the powers, restrictions, and responsibilities of members of the Board of Health, and the Board of Health procedural by-law and rules of procedure to any newly appointed Directors in the remainder of the 2022-2026 term. 

This report contains the results of the self-evaluation of Toronto's Board of Health (the "Board"), conducted in 2024.

The Minister of Health publishes the Ontario Public Health Standards: Requirements for Programs, Services and Accountability (OPHS) as per Section 7 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act. The Standards identify the minimum expectations for public health programs and services to be delivered by Ontario's 34 boards of health. Boards of health are accountable for implementing the Standards, including the requirement to have a self-evaluation process of its governance practices and outcomes.

Overall, the Board's self-evaluation survey findings were positive, indicating that it has strong governance and understanding of roles and responsibilities, uses effective relationships and informed decision-making, and is responsive to the immediate and long-term public health needs of the community.

In addition to the positive findings, opportunities and next steps were identified, including encouraging collaboration between Board members, increasing knowledge of community partners, and exploring community engagement opportunities with community stakeholders.

Toronto Public Health ("TPH") will work with the City Clerk's Office and the Chair of the Board of Health to explore opportunities to address these findings over the course of the current and upcoming terms of the Board.

Announcements

The Chair acknowledged that the Board of Health was meeting on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The Chair also acknowledged that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

The Chair also acknowledged that today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and live on this land. As public health professionals, and members of the Board of Health, we recognize the historical and present-day traumas inflicted upon Indigenous peoples. We stand with communities and families as they mourn the loss of loved ones who were sent to residential schools and never returned. We also acknowledge our complicity in ongoing colonial violence. We commit to supporting the efforts of Indigenous groups toward reconciliation and action-oriented practices, including the equitable use of resources. We strive to learn Indigenous histories and collaborate with communities and families so we can create safe spaces that honour Indigenous cultures and ensure that Indigenous perspectives are present in our work and practices.

The Chair further acknowledged that not all people came to these lands as migrants and settlers and specifically acknowledged those who came here involuntarily, particularly those brought to these lands as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery.  In support of the City of Toronto's ongoing efforts to confront anti-Black racism, the Chair paid tribute to those ancestors of African, Caribbean, and Black origin and descent.

At 10:50 a.m. the Board of Health recessed its meeting until 11:15 a.m.

Where the Directors of the Board of Health listed in the attendance for this meeting participated remotely, they were counted for quorum as permitted by Section 189(4.2) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, and the Board's Procedures, as amended.