Minutes Confirmed on June 1, 2026

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

The Board of Health:  

1. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to continue ongoing efforts to support Toronto Public Health nurses in their delivery of programs and services mandated by the Ontario Public Health Standards.

2. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to report to the Board of Health with an update on the Toronto Public Health nursing workforce in Q2 2027 and to include to include measurable indicators related to nursing recruitment, retention, vacancies, turnover, and staff engagement.

3. Requested the Medical Officer of Health include the following information in future staff retention updates:

a. Public Health Nurses to population ratio comparison;

b. analysis over last 10 years employed at beginning of comparison period and today;

c. number of Public Health Nurses in specialist roles;

d. population size of Toronto to Public Health Nurse ratio;

e. ratio of Public Health Nurse to population over time;

f. Public Health Nurse vacancies over time; and

g. number of Public Health Nurses over time.

4. Requested the Ontario Ministry of Health to increase support of Toronto Public Health with population and negotiated wage increases.

5. Directed that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (May 15, 2026) from the Medical Officer of Health remain confidential in its entirety, as it contains information about labour relations or employee negotiations.

Joanne Figliano-Scott, Director and Chief Nursing Officer, Community Health and Well-being and Myuran Palasandiran, Director Operations and Business Services gave a presentation on Toronto Public Health's Nursing Recruitment and Retention Strategy.

Nurses represent the largest regulated health professional workforce at Toronto Public Health. They work to advance the organization's mandate to improve the health and well-being of Torontonians and advance population health outcomes. Toronto Public Health employs Public Health Nurses (PHNs) and Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) who are integral to the successful delivery of programs and services within communities across the city. In addition to designated nursing classifications, nurses are employed in a range of roles and positions throughout the division, working collaboratively with multidisciplinary colleagues across the organization to deliver a range of public health interventions.

This report provides an overview of the nursing workforce at Toronto Public Health, the current trends that inform workforce planning, as well as a summary of Toronto Public Health's Nursing Recruitment and Retention Strategy. Toronto Public Health continues to monitor and act on public health workforce trends, including nurse recruitment and retention, and remains focused on staff engagement efforts and nurturing a positive workplace culture.

The Board of Health recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the 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 ($7.106 million) and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success ($24.063 million) for the purpose of administering the 2026 approved operating municipal funding (totalling $31.170 million) to eligible Toronto student nutrition programs on terms satisfactory to the Medical Officer of Health and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

The Board of Health:

1. Requested the Medical Officer of Health, in consultation with Social Development, to work with Toronto Foundation for Student Success, Angel Foundation for Learning and school board partners to gather feedback on the municipal expansion of student nutrition programs and where possible overlay with socioeconomic data and report findings to the Board of Health in Q4 2027.

Student nutrition programs are community-based meal and snack programs offered primarily in school settings and run locally by volunteers, parents, and students. These programs provide children and youth access to nutritious food during the school day, including those at risk for poor nutritional intake.

In collaboration with partners, Toronto Public Health is executing on Council's vision and strategy to achieve a universal student nutrition program.

This report makes recommendations for the 2026 Student Nutrition Program service subsidy allocations that once implemented, would achieve the City's goal of having a universal morning meal program across all public school communities by the 2026-2027 school year.

The proposed combined allocations to the Angel Foundation for Learning and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success are for the purposes of administering the 2026 approved municipal funding to eligible student nutrition programs across the City of Toronto. These allocations total $31.170 million, which includes $0.518 million held in reserve for remaining Phase 4 applications not submitted to date, fall applications, and appeals

The Board of Health:  

1. Authorized the Medical Officer of Health to allocate $2.157 million in 2026 and $1.051 million in 2027 out of its Operating Budget to the Toronto Urban Health Fund for grants to the twenty-one projects already deemed eligible.

2. Authorized the Medical Officer of Health to negotiate, enter into and execute agreements with Ontario HIV Treatment Network for up to $0.900 million in 2026 and up to $0.900 million in 2027 of the Toronto Urban Health Fund for a pilot project to advance the Toronto to Zero initiative on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Medical Officer of Health and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

3. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to report back in 2027 on the outcomes and lessons learned from the Toronto Urban Health Fund interim renewal approach and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network pilot, including impacts on community-based organizations, administrative burden, and program effectiveness.

The Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) provides grant funding to community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver HIV and substance use prevention programs.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) has adopted initial findings from a review of the Toronto Urban Health Fund grant program to reduce administrative burden for community-based organizations, including streamlining the reporting process and project requirements. Toronto Public Health will be returning to the Board of Health in 2027 with additional proposed changes to the Toronto Urban Health Fund for the 2028 funding cycle. To facilitate service continuity, Toronto Public Health has implemented an interim approach, approved by the Board of Health. The approach streamlined the approval process to renew funding for twenty-one previously approved projects for the 2026 and 2027 funding period.

This report provides an overview of the Toronto Urban Health Fund and the interim process for funding renewal and outlines recommendations for 2026 and 2027 project grants. The report also recommends allocating funds to the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) for a pilot project to align the Toronto Urban Health Fund grant program with the Toronto to Zero (TtZ) initiative.

The Board of Health:  

1. Directed the Medical Officer of Health to engage other relevant City divisions to incorporate the Food Safety Management Plan into special event permitting processes.

2. Directed the Medical Officer of Health to report back to the Board of Health in Q4 2028 on the progress and outcomes of the implementation of the Food Safety Management Plan.

Toronto hosts thousands of special events each year, including street festivals, farmers’ markets, community celebrations, sports competitions, concerts, and large-scale gatherings that take place across public streets, parks, civic squares, and city facilities. Food is central to many of these special events and is often provided through temporary food premises that operate with limited infrastructure, increasing food safety risks. The continued growth in both the number and size of special events—many of which are concentrated on summer weekends—creates operational challenges for Toronto Public Health (TPH) in conducting timely food safety inspections while also maintaining routine inspection activities across the city.

Toronto Public Health developed the Food Safety Management Plan (FSMP), an online planning tool that equips special event organizers (SEOs) with guidance on safe food handling practices, risk assessment, vendor oversight, and food safety emergency planning. The Food Safety Management Plan moves food safety considerations earlier in the special event planning process to enable special event organizer's to understand their food safety responsibilities and how to best structure their event to minimize food safety risks and support food vendors. As directed by the Board of Health, the Food Safety Management Plan was launched in January 2025 as a voluntary tool to gather industry input. Feedback from early users who chose to use the tool indicates strong support: organizers reported that completing the Food Safety Management Plan increased their knowledge of food safety, improved vendor setup and oversight, and was used during special events to both prevent and respond to food safety issues.

Consultation with City divisions involved in special event permitting, including Parks and Recreation, Transportation Services, Corporate Real Estate Management, and Economic Development and Culture, identified opportunities to promote or integrate the Food Safety Management Plan within existing permitting processes.

This report outlines the development and early impact of the Food Safety Management Plan and recommends next steps for advancing its integration into the City’s special event permitting processes thereby making its completion a requirement for special event organizers.

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 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.

The Chair acknowledged that today was the start of Pride Month, which would be marked at City Hall today with a flag raising.

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.