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 - January 20, 2025

Speakers/Presentations - The speakers list will be posted online at 8:30 a.m. on February 10, 2025

Communications/Reports

Councillor Chris Moise recommends that:

1.  The Board of Health re-open Item HL21.3, headed "2025 Board of Health Committees and Appointments".

2.  The Board of Health replace Part 4 with the following revised Part 4:

4. Appoint Charles Ozzoude to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies' (alPHa) Board of Directors and Board of Health Section for a term of office ending December 31, 2025, and until a successor is appointed and pay expenses for attending Association of Local Public Health Agencies' 2025 meetings and semi-annual meetings/conferences within Toronto Public Health's 2025 Approved Operating Budget.

At its last meeting on January 20, 2025, the Board of Health appointed Charles Ozzoude to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies' (alPHa) Board of Directors and Board of Health Section for a term of office ending December 31, 2025, and until a successor is appointed. Staff recommended that the expenses for attending alPHa's 2025 meetings and semi-annual meetings/conferences be paid within Toronto Public Health's 2025 Approved Operating Budget. It has come to my attention that this recommendation was inadvertently omitted from this motion. By re-opening this item, I am requesting that the Board of Health make a technical amendment in order to adopt this recommendation.

Councillor Chris Moise Recommends that:

1. The Board of Health endorse the establishment of the City of Toronto’s Downtown HART Hub as developed with partners.

Last year, as part of their announcement that new legislation would force the closure of safe consumption sites across the province, the Provincial government introduced funding for the creation of new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. Supervised Consumption Service sites impacted by the legislation, including the site operated by Toronto Public Health, were invited to apply to transition their services into Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs. Toronto Public Health, in partnership with multiple City Divisions, hospital, health, and community partners, applied to the Ministry of Health to establish the Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub and received approval on January 2nd.

While the Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub model does not replace the need for supervised consumption services, the treatment, mental health, social and primary care services that will be offered through the Hub are valuable and much-needed in the downtown core.

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:  

1. The Board of Health endorse the establishment of the City of Toronto’s Downtown HART Hub as developed with partners.

The Government of Ontario legislated new requirements for operating supervised consumption services that will lead to the closure of five sites in Toronto by March 31, 2025. This includes the closure of the supervised consumption service operated by Toronto Public Health (The Works), currently located at 277 Victoria Street.  

Supervised Consumption Service sites impacted by the legislation, including the site operated by Toronto Public Health, were invited to apply to transition their services into Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. Toronto Public Health, in partnership with multiple City Divisions, hospital, health, and community partners, applied to the Ministry of Health to establish the Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub.

The Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub will aim to improve health of City residents by facilitating access to health care services for people who use drugs, including improved access to treatment and recovery services, and integrated pathways to wrap-around supports such as mental health care and housing. Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub services can include some interventions that can help prevent the spread of bloodborne infections in the community.

On January 2, 2025, Toronto Public Health received confirmation from the Ministry of Health that the City of Toronto's Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub has been approved 'in principle.' This report provides an overview of plans to establish the City of Toronto's Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub.

Toronto Public Health is currently waiting for official confirmation of the funding allocation from the Province and working on determining the appropriate site and suite of services for the Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub, in consultation with City Divisions and Hub partners. Once confirmation is received and costs and services for the Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub are finalized, Toronto Public Health will report back to the Board of Health including funding requirements, and request the necessary budget adjustments for the 2025 Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health.

Funding for a permanent future location of a Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub has been included in the 2025 Capital Budget and 2026-2034 Capital Plan for Toronto Public Health and Corporate Real Estate Management.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the information as presented in the Financial Impact Section.