Commissioner's Office
Community &
Neighbourhood
Services
55 John St., Stn. 1111
Toronto, ON M5V 3C6
Tel. (416) 392-8302
Fax (416) 392-8492
November 6, 1998
To:Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee
From:Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services
Subject:Extending the Termite Control Program Across the City of Toronto
Purpose:
To respond to Council's request of July 29, 30 and 31, 1998 to report to the Strategic Policies
and Priorities Committee on extending former City of Toronto Termite Grants to all of the
former municipalities in 1998.
Financial Implications:
The former City's termite control grants are only a small component (total budget of $24,000
in 1998; $500 maximum per property) of a broader program that includes monitoring of
termite activity, promotion, inspections and advice for homeowners on how to control
termites, and support for advanced termite research. Extending the grant program across the
entire City area would involve significant staff costs and new funding, and is not being
recommended at this time. Staff will report in 1999 on future delivery of this program as part
of a service review of existing City housing rehabilitation programs, now underway. In the
short term, to the extent that existing resources allow, the promotion, inspection and advisory
services of the current termite program are already being made available to all parts of the
City on a targeted basis.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Council Reference/Background:
On July 29, 20 and 31, Council approved the process for approving grants to homeowners for
termite control in the former City of Toronto area. At that meeting, staff were asked to report
back on extending termite control grants to other parts of the City of Toronto in 1998. Staff of
Urban Planning and Development Services have been consulted in the preparation of this
report.
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
Termite Control in the Former Municipalities
All of the former municipalities had taken some steps in the past to protect property from
termite infestation and reduce the spread of termites. These included termite control by-laws
and in some cases grants to property owners to encourage them to chemically treat their
properties if there was evidence of termite infestation. It is estimated that 18% of former City
blocks have had properties treated for termites, and termite activity is known to exist in other
parts of the new City. Staff are now currently working on a harmonized Termite Control
By-Law. The plan is to eliminate as many differences as possible among the existing by-laws
and bring forward a unified by-law for the City of Toronto within the next three months.
The former municipalities generally offered termite control grants to property owners through
a provincially-funded program that was active from 1978 to 1990. When this program was
cancelled, municipalities continued to enforce their by-laws but only a few continued to offer
grants, until such time as the provincial funds ran out or using municipal funds on a limited
basis.
At the time of amalgamation, the former City of Toronto had a municipally-funded termite
control program. As noted below, the City of York also provided some funds annually to
support termite research at the University of Toronto. The mandate of the former City's
program was to actively promote termite control as part of a broader housing rehabilitation
function within the Housing Department. As termites have been concentrated in older and
more affordable neighbourhoods, termite control was considered a significant housing
conservation issue for low and moderate income homeowners. The enforcement of termite
by-laws was, and continues to be the responsibility of Municipal Standards staff.
Components of the former City of Toronto Program
The following are the components of the former City of Toronto termite program, including
municipally-funded grants.
- Monitoring and Promotion - documenting the spread of subterranean termites across the
City, and informing property owners, the general public, and the real estate industry of the
need to control this threat to the building stock. The "Termite Monitor" report which
mapped the distribution of termites was published semi-annually until 1993 when the
Province stopped requiring pest control operators to report treatment activity. The results
of this monitoring is used in routine replies to solicitors who inquire on behalf of their
future purchasers regarding the status of termites or treatments at a particular address.
- Termite Inspection/Advisory Service - Housing Improvement Program staff have
developed an expertise in termite inspections and provide "third-party" advice to property
owners on the presence of termites and proper control methods. This advice tends to be
more effective because it is not affiliated with a commercial pest control service or by-law
enforcement. However, housing staff and property standards officers work collaboratively
to encourage and, where necessary, require owners to control active termite infestations.
Housing staff are pro-active in providing advice to property owners; property standards
staff are responsible for enforcing termite by-laws to require treatment when voluntary
co-operation is not forthcoming.
- Termite Control Grants - traditional termite control methods involve the chemical
treatment of soil and elimination of wood-soil contact around a property. The current
technology for termite control focuses on the use of a termiticide in conjunction with
wood-soil separation to protect individual properties from underground termite colonies.
Housing Improvement Program staff can recommend grants of up to $500, as an incentive
primarily for reluctant property owners to undertake the treatment and wood-soil
separation, which can cost $2,000 or more. In 1998, these grants are available only in the
former City of Toronto. Grant recipients must also meet the criteria cited in my report of
June 3, 1998 to the Municipal Grants Review Committee.
- Trap-Treat-Release Trials - Since 1987, the former City of Toronto has supported research
at the University of Toronto into termite biology as well as more pro-active,
environmentally friendly methods of termite control. For several years, with funding
support from some of the former municipalities and others, the Urban Entomology
Program of U. of T. has been pioneering a new method of termite control. Traditional
control methods use significant amounts of chemical to protect properties, but do not
address the source of infestation. The new method, called "Trap-Treat-Release" utilizes
only small amounts of chemicals and relies on the social behaviour of termites to disperse
the chemical throughout the termite colony, thereby suppressing or eliminating the colony.
Under funding agreements with some of the former municipalities, the U. of T. has been
testing this new method across areas of the new City. While the results to date are very
encouraging, the method must still undergo regulatory review, approval and then product
development before it can become commercially available. In 1998, the
Trap-Treat-Release trials received funding of $75,000 from the City, representing the
commitments made in multi-year agreements with the former Cities of Toronto and York.
Extending the Former City of Toronto Program to Other Parts of the new City
As noted, termite control grants are only one small component of a broader termite control
program. They are used as an incentive to encourage treatment of properties as part of a
pro-active strategy of termite control. Extending the overall program, including grants, to all
parts of the new City would therefore involve significant staffing increases and new funding.
As part of the process of creating an organizational design for the City's Shelter, Housing and
Support Division, a review is currently underway of the City's role in housing rehabilitation.
As the pro-active elements of termite control are part of this function, the future of the termite
control program is part of this overall review. This will also include an examination of the
relationship between the Division's role and that of the Municipal Standards group of Urban
Planning and Development Services vis a vis program delivery. This review will be complete
by early 1999, at which time staff will report back on future delivery of the termite control
program.
In the short term, staff are taking steps to make the former City's termite program available
across all parts of the City on a targeted basis. For example, in consultation with a local
councillor, staff have participated in a public meeting and have developed a strategy to
provide information, advice and inspections to an area in North York where termite
infestation has been recently discovered. This is a model that will be followed in the interim
period, pending the result of the program review.
Conclusion:
Staff will report back on delivery of the Termite Control Program for the City of Toronto in
1999 following the service review of housing rehabilitation programs of the former City of
Toronto, now underway. At this time, the promotion/education and inspection/advisory
components of the program are being made available across the City on a targeted basis.
Contact Name:
Joanne Campbell
Phone: 392-7885
Fax: 392-0548
Shirley Hoy
Commissioner of Community and
Neighbourhood Services
