A public forum All aboard? Diesel, electric and clean air: which way forward? was held on Monday, March 22, 2010, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm in the Council Chambers, Toronto City Hall. The Public Forum was hosted by City Councillor John Filion, Chair of the Toronto Board of Health, and Councillor Paula Fletcher, Chair of the Parks & Environment Committee. The purpose of the Forum was to increase dialogue between Metrolinx and the community on measures being taken to address health and environmental concerns about proposed expansions and to enable Metrolinx to consider additional input from the public.

Many issues and concerns were raised by participants in the Public Forum, the most common of which were: a) diesel exhaust will add to the health burden on local and vulnerable populations; b) the diesel train expansion does not benefit the local community; c) diesel locomotives are old, polluting technology; and d) electrification has not been sufficiently considered to date.

This report discusses and comments on the key issues and questions that arose during the Public Forum and recommends that it be forwarded to Metrolinx for their consideration and to address the comments and concerns that are identified in this report.

A second public forum will be organized to discuss the draft results of the GO System Electrification Study once they are available. The Medical Officer of Health and Metrolinx have agreed to participate in this second forum.

Toronto Public Health led a review of Toronto’s idling control bylaw to determine how it could be improved. The review considered the benefits of reducing idling of vehicles, idling control bylaws in other jurisdictions, reasons why people idle, and information gathered during stakeholder consultations.

Consultation with stakeholders indicated that the bylaw could be more effective if it was easier to understand and easier for the City to enforce. Suggestions for improvement included decreasing the allowed idling time, clarifying the language in the bylaw, removing some of the exemptions, and strengthening enforcement.

Reducing permitted idling time from three minutes to one minute would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, and make the bylaw easier to enforce. A revised bylaw would also offer the opportunity to renew efforts to reduce idling in Toronto. Education and outreach could increase public knowledge about the impact of idling on greenhouse gas emissions and target specific areas or sectors which are a consistent source of complaints.

This report updates a report that was on the November 2009 Board of Health agenda by responding to the Board of Health’s request for additional information about enforcing the bylaw.

Changes to the idling control bylaw will require amendments to educational materials currently distributed by Transportation Services and Toronto Public Health. This includes pamphlets, web-based information, and signs. The total cost of updating the educational material is estimated at $14,700.

Transportation Services will provide $4,700 in their 2010 Operating Budget to cover sign revisions. The cost of updating other educational materials, estimated at $10,000 will be equally split between Transportation Services and Toronto Public Health, and will be absorbed within their respective 2010 Operating Budgets.

The Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

This report recommends allocations of the Toronto Partners for Student Nutrition (TPSN) Steering Committee regarding the 2010/2011 Student Nutrition Program service subsidy allocations.  The proposed combined allocations to the Angel Foundation for Learning and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success total $3,796,576.  An amount of $298,538.60 will be held for appeals/late applications.  This includes an enhancement of $541,249 from 2009 as part of a five year plan to strengthen student nutrition programs in Toronto.

This report recommends that the 2010 approved Operating Budget of $3,796,576 for the Student Nutrition Program to be allocated to the Angel Foundation for Learning ($712,863.97) and the Toronto Foundation for Student Success ($3,083,712.03), with $298,538.60 in reserve for appeals/late applications.

The Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

There are no financial implications arising from this report.

The Medical Officer of Health recommends that:

1.        City Council authorize the Medical Officer of Health to award, amend and execute, on an ongoing annual basis, purchase of service contracts for the Diabetes Prevention Strategy Program (Appendix B), and the Dental Care to Street Youth and Low Income Adults program (Appendix C), within the approved budget and in accordance with established provincial criteria and fee structures.

2.        The Board of Health include these service contracts in its annual report to the Executive Committee on the purchase of service contracts that have been awarded under the delegation of authority.

The purpose of this report is to seek delegated authority to conclude service agreements for the Diabetes Prevention Strategy program and the Dental Care to Street Youth and Low Income Adults program.

This report has no financial impact beyond what has already been approved by Council in the 2010 Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health (TPH). Appendix A attached summarizes the service contracts by program for 2010.

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the purchase of service contracts awarded and executed by the Medical Officer of Health for 2010, according to the delegation of authority by City Council.

This report has no financial impact beyond what has already been approved by Council in the 2010 Operating Budget for Toronto Public Health (TPH). Appendix A attached summarizes the service contracts by program for 2010.

This report seeks approval for budget adjustments to the Toronto Public Health (TPH) 2010 Approved Operating Budget due to confirmation of funding from various Provincial ministries and external sources received after the submission of the 2010 Operating Budget request in November 2009.

This report provides the Board of Health (BOH) with an update on the Toronto Public

Health (TPH) 2010 Operating Budget approved at the City Council meeting of April 15 and 16, 2010.

City Council approved a TPH 2010 Operating Budget of $219,539.0 thousand gross /

$44,161.9 thousand net, including a base budget of $217,306.9 thousand gross /

$44,402.5 thousand net and an adjustment of $2,232.1 thousand gross / -$240.6 thousand net relating to base budget reductions and service enhancements. This budget represents a decrease of $3,337.1 thousand or -0.9 per cent in gross expenditures and an increase of $342.7 thousand or 0.8 per cent in net expenditures from the 2009 Operating Budget.

This report provides information to the Board of Health on the Toronto Public Health (TPH) Capital Budget variance for the three-month period ended March 26, 2010 (Appendix 1).

TPH spent $0.523 million or 9.6 per cent of the 2010 approved cash flow of $5.420 million as of March 26, 2010.  The year-end capital expenditure is projected to be $4.731 million or 87.3 per cent of the approved cash flow. The projected year-end under expenditure of $0.689 million will be carried forward to 2011.

The Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

The Medical Officer of Health will give an updatee on pandemic influenza preparedness in Toronto.