Attendance

Members of the Board of Health were present for some or all of the time periods indicated under the section “Meeting Sessions”, which appears at the end of the Minutes.

Confirmation of Minutes

On motion by Fiona Nelson, the Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Health held on April 20, 2009, were confirmed.

The Board of Health:

1.         accepted Wangari Muriuki’s resignation from the Board of Health, with regret, and thanked her for her service as a member of the Board of Health and of the Local Health Committee;

2.         directed that the vacancy on the Board of Health be filled;

3.         referred the vacancy on the Board of Health to the Nominating Sub-Committee to develop a process for filling the vacancy and to report to the Board of Health on the process;

4.         appointed Alejandra Bravo to the Nominating Sub-Committee, so that the membership of the Sub-Committee is now the following:

Councillor John Filion;

Councillor Janet Davis;

Councillor Gord Perks; and

Alejandra Bravo;

5.         appointed Valerie Sterling to the Public Health Champion Awards Selection Committee to replace Wangari Muriuki; and

6.         deferred filling the vacancies on the Sub-Committee to Conduct the Performance Appraisal for the Medical Officer of Health and the Drug Prevention Community Investment Program Review Panel until a new citizen member has been appointed to the Board of Health.

Wangari Muriuki submitting her resignation from the Board of Health effective April 23, 2009.

The Board of Health forwarded this report for information to the Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services, the Ontario Minister of Health Promotion, the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

City Council enacted Toronto’s Pesticide Bylaw (Municipal Code 612) in 2003 and it came into effect on April 1, 2004.  Toronto Public Health led the implementation of the bylaw, frequently collaborating with Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Toronto Water.

Toronto’s bylaw succeeded in reducing pesticide use and encouraging residents and companies to adopt more sustainable lawn and garden care approaches.  In 2007, almost 60 per cent fewer Toronto households reported any use of pesticides on their lawns, as compared with 2003.  Furthermore, about two-thirds of homeowners report that they or their lawn care companies are using lower-risk pesticides and/or more natural alternatives, which is a higher proportion than before the bylaw was in place. 

An estimated 154 municipalities in seven provinces – including 35 in Ontario – have passed bylaws to restrict pesticide use to protect health and the environment.  This municipal leadership has prompted province-wide restrictions on the use and sale of pesticides, first in Quebec and now in Ontario.  On April 22, 2009, Ontario Regulation 63/09 came into effect, restricting the use and sale of cosmetic pesticides across the province.  The new regulation replaces municipal bylaws in Ontario, therefore Toronto’s Pesticide Bylaw is no longer in effect.

The Ontario regulation is more restrictive than Toronto’s bylaw, banning the sale of many common pesticides, limiting exemptions, and tightly restricting remaining uses.  It should further decrease the use of pesticides, and therefore human exposure to these substances, in Toronto and across Ontario.  TPH anticipates a smooth transition for the City and its residents in meeting the new provincial requirements.

The Board of Health recommended to the Executive Committee that:

1.         City Council make the following adjustments to Toronto Public Health’s 2009 Approved Operating Budget:

a.         an increase of $353.7 thousand gross and $0.0 net, and an increase of ten temporary positions, to reflect confirmed one time funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) for the Nursing Graduate Guarantee Program (NGG) Phase 3; and

b.         an increase of  $61.3 thousand gross and $0.0 net, and an increase of one temporary position, to reflect confirmed one time funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) for the Enhanced Hepatitis Strain Surveillance System (EHSSS).

2.         City Council delegate authority to the Medical Officer of Health to receive grants from various levels of government and agencies for Toronto Public Health programs covering 100 percent of the program cost.

3.         City Council delegate authority to the Medical Officer of Health to execute agreements when necessary with other governments and agencies for the purpose of accepting grants for Toronto Public Health programs.

4.         The grant agreements referred to in Recommendation 3 be in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

5.         The Medical Officer of Health report to City Council, for information, on the details of grants received, including the organization name, amount and the purpose of the grant as part of the quarterly operating budget variance report.

The purpose of this report is to request budget adjustments to Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) 2009 Approved Operating Budget due to confirmation of funding from the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care (MOHLTC), and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), received after the approval of the Operating Budget in March 2009.

This report also seeks City Council authority for the Medical Officer of Health to accept grants with no maximum limit, and to enter into contractual agreements with organizations for the purposes of accepting grants covering 100 percent of the program costs.

The Auditor General’s Office conducts an annual follow-up review on the implementation of recommendations contained in audit reports issued since January 1, 1999.  This report contains the follow-up results on the status of recommendations included in reports issued to the Board of Health.

The results of our review indicate that a majority of the audit recommendations have been implemented by staff.  Audit recommendations fully implemented since our last follow-up review are listed in Attachment 1.  Audit recommendations not fully implemented, as well as management’s comments and action plan, are included in Attachment 2 and will be carried forward to our next annual follow-up review.

•           Minutes of the North York Local Health Committee meeting held on January 13, 2009.

•           Minutes of the North York Local Health Committee meeting held on March 3, 2009.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care released the new Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) in November 2008.  The OPHS and related Protocols are published pursuant to Section 7 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, and establish the minimum level of public health services that Boards of Health in Ontario are required to provide.  The new standards replace previous guidelines and establish an enhanced accountability and performance management framework within which programs and services are to be delivered by local public health units.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) recently undertook a preliminary compliance assessment to assess the compliance of current programs and services with the OPHS.  The new standards represent a minimum benchmark while providing substantial scope for tailoring public health services to meet local population health needs.  The purpose of this report is to inform the Board of Health of the preliminary results of the TPH compliance assessment.

The Toronto Public Library Board on April 20, 2009, was advised of the Minister of Health Promotion’s sudden decision not to extend funding for the Consumer Health Information Service (CHIS) beyond March 31, 2009, and at that meeting, adopted the following motion:

“It is recommended that the Toronto Public Library Board communicates the Board’s concern and disappointment regarding the loss of operating funding for the Consumer Health Information Service to the Minister of Health Promotion.”