Agenda

This meeting of the Board of Health will be held by electronic means and the proceedings of the Board of Health will be conducted publicly. 

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

Speakers/Presentations - The speakers list will be posted online at 8:30 a.m. on December 9, 2024

Communications/Reports

Over the past several months, the Medical Officer of Health Hiring Committee has been working alongside Phelps Group to find Toronto’s next Medical Officer of Health in preparation for Dr. Eileen de Villa’s departure at the end of this year. After an extensive search and interview process, we are bringing forward a recommendation to appoint the new Medical Officer of Health.

A report on the appointment of the recommended Medical Officer of Health will be submitted for consideration to the November 18th meeting of the Board of Health.

The Medical Officer of Health Hiring Committee recommends to the Board of Health that:

1. City Council appoint the candidate identified in the Confidential Attachment 1 to the position of Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto Health Unit effective on January 1, 2025 or on the date the appointment is approved by the Minister of Health, whichever is later.

2. City Council transmit the appointment of the Medical Officer of Health to the provincial Minister of Health for approval.

3. In the event that the Minister of Health has not approved the appointment of the Medical Officer of Health by January 1, 2025, City Council appoint the candidate identified in the Confidential Attachment 1 to the position of Acting Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto Health Unit effective January 1, 2025, until such time that the Medical Officer of Health appointment is approved by the Minister of Health.

4. City Council authorize the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto, including the introduction in Council of the necessary bills to appoint the approved candidate as the Medical Officer of Health and to appoint the Acting Medical Officer of Health under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, c H.7 (“HPPA”).

5. City Council authorize the public release of the name and Curriculum Vitae summary of the Medical Officer of Health contained in Confidential Attachment 1 upon City Council's approval of the appointment.

The purpose of this report is to recommend to the Board of Health an appointment to the position of Medical Officer of Health (MOH).

There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of the recommendations in this report beyond what has already been included in the 2025 operating budget. 

Councillor Chris Moise recommends that:

1. That the Board of Health direct the Medical Officer of Health, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to submit comments on Bill 223 before December 18th, 2024.

On November 18th, the Provincial government tabled Bill 223, which includes the Community Care and Recovery Act. This act is the result of the government’s commitment to ban supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and child care centres from earlier this year. It stipulates that no person shall establish or operate a supervised consumption site at a location that is less than 200 metres from a designated premises. This legislation will force the closure of at least five supervised consumption facilities in Toronto, putting countless lives at risk and burdening our first response services.

As this board has previously shared its support for safe consumption sites, I recommend that we direct the Medical Officer of Health to provide comments on Bill 223 on our behalf.

The Medical Officer of Health Hiring Committee recommends to the Board of Health that

1. City Council appoint the Associate Medical Officer of Health identified in the Confidential Attachment 1 to the position of Acting Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto Health Unit effective on January 1, 2025. 

2. City Council authorize the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto, including the introduction in Council of the necessary bill to appoint the candidate as the Acting Medical Officer of Health under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, c H.7 (“HPPA”).

3. City Council authorize the public release of the name and Curriculum Vitae summary of the Acting Medical Officer of Health contained in Confidential Attachment 1 upon City Council's approval of the appointment.

The purpose of this report is to recommend to the Board of Health an appointment of an Acting Medical Officer of Health (MOH).

There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of the recommendations in this report beyond what has already been included in the 2025 operating budget.