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 1, 2025

Speakers/Presentations - The speakers list will be posted online at 8:30 a.m. on May 5, 2025

Communications/Reports

Indigenous Cultural Safety training - provided by Dr. John Waaseyaabin Hupfield (Anishinaabe, Wasauksing First Nation) - provides an overview of colonization and power dynamics of community building today and offers a model for rebuilding relationships with Indigenous communities and urban organizations. The training works to foster an understanding of how colonization is an ongoing process that continues to undermine Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. As a direct outcome of colonization, the relationship between Indigenous peoples and municipal institutions remain fraught with tension and mistrust. The training presents models used in academia and research that work to re-balance power dynamics and honour the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous peoples. 

Learning Objectives:

- Understand colonization as an ongoing process - not one rooted in the past

- Demonstrate how relationships remain strained at the governance, community, and individual levels

- Learn from Indigenous Research Methodologies, which can re-frame working relationships with Indigenous communities today 

The Board of Health will meet in closed session on this item in accordance with the provisions of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 which permits the closing of a meeting for the education or training of the Directors.

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the Acting 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 ($5,508,378) and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success ($25,512,201) for the purpose of administering the 2025 approved municipal funding (totalling $31,020,579) to eligible Toronto student nutrition programs on terms satisfactory to the Acting Medical Officer of Health and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

2. The Board of Health forward this report to 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, and the Angel Foundation for Learning.

This report makes recommendations for the 2025 Student Nutrition Program service subsidy allocations. The proposed combined allocations to the Angel Foundation for Learning and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success are for the purpose of administering the 2025 approved municipal funding to eligible student nutrition programs across the City of Toronto. These allocations total $31,020,579, which includes $1,448,575 held in reserve for fall applications and appeals, including equipment and start-up supplies for new programs submitting fall applications.

Funding of $26,020,579 is included in the 2025 Approved Operating Budget of Toronto Public Health for student nutrition programs. Additional one-time funding of $5.0 million is currently included in the 2025 Approved Operating Budget of the City Manager's Office to support program expansion and to enhance existing municipally funded student nutrition programs. Toronto Public Health will request to receive the funds from the City Manager's Office through the Operating Variance Report at Four Months End for program implementation.

This report recommends an allocation of $31,020,579[1]: $5,508,378 to the Angel Foundation for Learning (AFL) and $25,512,201 to the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS), which includes all funds held in reserve as outlined in Tables 1, 2, and 3. The proposed combined allocations are for the purpose of administering the 2025 approved municipal funding to eligible student nutrition programs in Toronto.

The agreement with Angel Foundation for Learning and Toronto Foundation for Student Success will include requirements that each foundation provide the City with consolidated financial reports detailing their administration of municipal funds to student nutrition programs, with associated performance measures, and annual audited financial statements. All student nutrition programs approved for funding will receive municipal funding in three instalments from their respective foundation. They must meet program requirements, including financial reporting to their respective foundation, to receive subsequent instalment cheques. Both foundations consistently meet all their contractual requirements.

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

[1] Excludes $30,000 administered by Toronto Public Health to support the eligibility assessment process for the Independent Schools Stream.

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1. City Council receive this report for information.

Toronto Public Health currently has service contracts with partner agencies that support service delivery in the community for the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program, Food Security initiatives, Sexual Health program, Dental Care to Street Involved Youth and Low-Income Adults program, and the Ontario Seniors Dental Care program.

Purchasing services from community agencies can be an effective and efficient way to provide essential public health services. This approach builds on existing service infrastructure in the community, facilitates community partnerships, supports continuity of service to clients, and can increase service efficiencies.

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the purchase of service contracts awarded and executed by the Acting Medical Officer of Health for 2025, according to the delegation of authority by City Council.

This report has no financial impact beyond what has already been approved by the City in the 2025 Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health. Attachment 1 outlines $7.065 million in service contracts awarded and executed by program for delivery in 2025.

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

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:  

1. The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health collaborate with Municipal Licensing and Standards to assess changes made through the Implementation Review of the Noise By-law in Item EC9.5 that is intended to minimise the health impacts of noise.

Noise is raised by Toronto residents as an issue of concern. To address this concern, the City of Toronto has many initiatives guided by the 2019 Noise Action Plan and the updated City of Toronto Noise By-law. Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) mandate is determined by the Ontario Public Health Standards. Noise is not described as an environmental health hazard in the Ontario Public Health Standards. Toronto Public Health consults and provides advice to other City divisions in their work to mitigate the impacts of excessive noise. 

The 2019 Noise Action Plan contains recommended actions within the authority of each City division to reduce excessive noise in Toronto. Although the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in pauses to some City operations, Toronto Public Health and other City divisions have since made substantial progress in the Noise Action Plan. For example, Municipal Licensing and Standards completed the Noise By-law Review in 2024 in consultation with Toronto Public Health, other City divisions, and stakeholders. The review identified new efforts to mitigate noise in Toronto.  

This report, as requested by City Council through Item 2024.EC9.5, Implementation Review of the Noise By-law, provides an updated review of the health impacts of noise. The latest research continues to describe excessive noise exposure impacts on cardiovascular, cognitive, sleep, and mental health outcomes. These are smaller relative impacts than other environmental and social determinant of health factors on these outcomes. This means that while there is evidence to support links between excessive noise and adverse health impacts on individuals, the population-level impact of noise is limited relative to other factors that cause population morbidity and mortality.

There are no financial impacts associated with the recommendations of this report. The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the information as presented in the Financial Impact Section. 

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1. The Board of Health receive this report for information.

This report provides the Board of Health with an update on the risk management reporting that is part of the Ontario Public Health Standards Accountability Framework. It outlines risks and challenges facing Toronto Public Health in 2025, which include talent availability, resource capacity to address evolving and emerging public health issues, challenges in public confidence in public health advice, and changes to the Ontario Public Health Standards.

There is no financial impact resulting from the adoption of the recommendation in this report.

The Board of Health - Performance Appraisal of the Medical Officer of Health Committee recommends that:

1. The Board of Health direct that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 25, 2025) from the Acting Medical Officer of Health remain confidential in its entirety, as it relates to personal matters about an identifiable individual, including a municipal or local board employee.

At its meeting on March 25, 2025, the Board of Health - Performance Appraisal of the Medical Officer of Health Committee considered Item HP3.1 and made recommendations to the Board of Health.

Summary from the report (March 25, 2025) from the Acting Medical Officer of Health:

This report provides information respecting performance planning and objective setting for the Acting Medical Officer of Health for 2025.