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 - May 5, 2025

Speakers/Presentations - The speakers list will be posted online at 8:30 a.m. on June 3, 2025

Communications/Reports

The Associate Medical Officers of Health will give a presentation on Toronto Public Health response to the Ontario Measles Outbreak.

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1. City Council approve the creation of the Downtown Homelessness Addiction Recovery and Treatment (HART) Hub.

2. City Council authorize the Medical Officer of Health to enter into agreements and other arrangements, on an ongoing basis, with other entities, including City divisions, hospitals, health care organizations, physicians and other health care providers, and community organizations for the purpose of delivering programs and services through the Downtown Homelessness Addiction Recovery and Treatment (HART) Hub in Toronto that are fully funded by the Government 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.

In 2024, the City of Toronto, in collaboration with health care 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 aims to improve the health of Toronto 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 wraparound supports such as mental health care and housing.

On January 2, 2025, the Ministry of Health confirmed that the City of Toronto had been approved ‘in principle’ to implement a Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub. This report provides an overview of plans to establish the City of Toronto’s Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub and seeks authority for the Medical Officer of Health to enter into agreements with external parties to implement the Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub.

This report also provides an overview of the client case management, aggregate reporting, and outreach coordination plan for the Downtown Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub as directed by the Board of Health on April 1, 2025.

There are no financial impacts associated with the adoption of the recommendations in this report. The Downtown Homelessness Addiction Recovery and Treatment Hub’s (HART) operations will be fully funded by the Government of Ontario.

On January 2, 2025, the Ministry of Health confirmed that the City of Toronto had been approved ‘in principle’ to implement a Downtown Homelessness Addiction Recovery and Treatment Hub. As of May 16, 2025, the City has not received a funding allocation letter from the Government of Ontario. Once confirmation is received, Toronto Public Health will request the necessary budget adjustments for the 2025 Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health for both the interim and permanent Downtown Homelessness Addiction Recovery and Treatment Hub Programming through the next available Operating Variance  Report.

Required operating funding to advance both the interim and permanent Downtown Homelessness    Addiction Recovery and Treatment Hub will be included in 2026 and future budget processes. Funding for a permanent location of a Downtown Homelessness Addiction Recovery and 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.

The Acting Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1. The Board of Health authorize the Acting Medical Officer of Health to allocate $645.4 thousand in 2025 for seven (7) one-year projects.

2. The Board of Health authorize the Acting Medical Officer of Health to allocate $1,679.2 thousand to fifteen (15) three-year projects to implement year three services in 2025 as recommended by the 2023 Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) Review Panels and as outlined in Table 3 and Attachment 2 to this report.

3. The Board of Health authorize the Acting Medical Officer of Health to execute Grant Agreements with the applicants identified in Attachment 2 to this report.

The Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) provides grants to community-based HIV prevention and substance use initiatives. This report outlines the Toronto Urban Health Fund’s program criteria and priorities, application review process, and 2025 grant recommendations for Board of Health approval.

The 2025 Toronto Urban Health Fund Review Panel recommends granting $645.4 thousand for seven (7) one-year projects and $1,679.2 thousand for fifteen (15) three-year projects that were approved in 2023. The grants total $2,324.6 thousand for the twenty-two (22) projects and are to be used between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.  The 2025 recommended projects for Toronto Urban Health Fund grant funding focus on HIV prevention through sexual transmission, harm reduction, and child and youth resiliency.

This report recommends an allocation of $2,324.6 thousand for seven (7) one-year projects totaling $645.4 thousand and fifteen (15) three-year projects totaling $1,679.2 thousand from Toronto Public Health’s 2025 Operating Budget for projects outlined in Table 3 and Attachment 2 to this report.

The Toronto Urban Health Fund is funded by the Ministry of Health and the City of Toronto.

Funding of $2,324.6 thousand gross, $627.8 thousand net is available in Toronto Public Health's 2025 Approved Operating Budget.

Table 1: 2025 Estimated Financial Impacts ($ in thousands)

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

City Council on April 23 and 24, 2025, adopted Item GG20.14 as amended and, in so doing, has:

1. Directed the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture and the Chief Technology Officer to establish the annual Mayor’s Data and Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge to recognize, celebrate, and inspire non-City individuals and organizations as well as City divisions, agencies and corporations that leverage data and AI to showcase research, projects, or solutions that address opportunities to foster civic engagement and public service delivery in Toronto.

2. Requested the boards of City Agencies and Corporations to participate in the Mayor’s Data and Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge.

Councillor Chris Moise recommends that:

1.  Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health review the feasibility of creating an independent website for Toronto Public Health, separate from the City of Toronto’s corporate website, and report back to the September Board of Health through the 2026 budget process.

As the largest public health unit in the country, Toronto Public Health should be a leader in all areas, including health communication. Currently, Toronto Public Health communicates with residents through a number of digital and print channels, but does not have a website independent from the City of Toronto’s corporate website whereas other large public health units in Ontario, such as Ottawa Public Health, already utilize independent websites.

I believe that to eff ectively communicate with the public about how they can protect their health – a key objective in the Toronto Public Health Strategic Plan – Toronto Public Health should consider developing their own website. This would help residents better navigate public health resources and learn about Toronto Public Health initiatives.