The Decision Document is for preliminary reference purposes only.  Please refer to the Committee’s Report to City Council or to the Minutes for the official record.

The Board of Health elected Councillor John Filion as Chair of the Board of Health for a term
of office starting January 18, 2010 to December 31, 2010, and until a successor is elected.

The Board of Health to elect its Chair for 2010.

The Board of Health elected Councillor Janet Davis as Vice-Chair of the Board of Health for a
term of office starting January 18, 2010 to December 31, 2010, and until a successor is elected.

The Board of Health to elect its Vice-Chair for 2010.

Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Director and Associate Medical Officer of Health, gave a verbal update on pandemic influenza preparedness.

The Board of Health recommends that:

1.         City Council increase the Toronto Public Health 2009 Operating Budget for one-time funding of $135.0 thousand gross and $0.0 net, provided by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to reimburse the cost for implementation of flu assessment centres during the fall of 2009 as part of the City’s H1N1 pandemic response.

Many activities at airports have potential environmental health impacts, including contributing to local air pollution.  Some of these impacts can be reduced by implementing environmental plans and programs.  Although airports are not required by any authority to report on environmental initiatives they may be undertaking, they may choose to make this information available to the public.

The two main airports in Toronto are Toronto Pearson International Airport and the Toronto City Centre Airport. The Medical Officer of Health previously reported on air quality at these airports in June 2008.  Where possible, this report updates information about voluntary actions by the airports to reduce emissions.

The Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) has a comprehensive environmental program for Toronto Pearson International Airport.  To reduce emissions, they are working to decrease energy use, reduce emissions from aircraft and vehicles, and support environmental activities in the local business community.

The Medical Officer of Health previously reported that there is not enough information on activities at the Toronto City Centre Airport to describe specific air pollution sources or mitigation measures. The Toronto City Centre Airport did not provide Toronto Public Health with any new information for this report.   

The purpose of this report is to inform the Board of Health about additional funding to be allocated to Toronto Public Health (TPH) for participation in a partnership with a pan-Canadian group of agencies on the Built Environment and Health initiative.  This report also seeks City Council approval for a one-time budget adjustment to the TPH 2010 Operating Budget for the 100 percent funding provided by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

The initiative is funded through Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP), overseen by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC).  In November 2009, CLASP, through the lead agency, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada awarded funding of $199.0 to TPH to hire a Project Co-ordinator. Since then, the Heart and Stroke Foundation has committed to provide TPH with additional one-time funding of $415.0 thousand, covering the period February 2010 to March 2012. The purpose of the additional funding is to enable TPH to enter into Purchase of Service contracts with external experts to implement surveys, and to develop and pilot test a decision-support software tool for use in the land use and transportation planning process.

This report recommends the appointment of members of the Review Panels for the 2010 AIDS Prevention and Drug Prevention Community Investment Programs by the Board of Health.  The individuals proposed for panel membership are listed in confidential Attachment 3.

The purpose of this report is to request that the Board of Health approve the payment of expenses for the participation of Board of Health members at the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) meetings/conferences for 2010.

The purpose of this report is to inform the Board of Health about funding to be allocated to Toronto Public Health (TPH) for participation in an Ontario-wide initiative to help communities adapt to climate change.  This report also seeks City Council approval for a one-time budget adjustment to the TPH 2010 Operating Budget for the 100 percent funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

TPH is a member of the Ontario Regional Adaptation Collaborative (ORAC), which was recently awarded funding by Natural Resources Canada.  The Ontario Ministry of the Environment will be administering the funding and has committed to provide TPH with one-time funding of $135.0 thousand, covering the period February 2010 to March 2012. The purpose of the funding is to enable TPH to enter into Purchase of Service contracts with external experts to implement, test, and refine a map-based decision support approach for hot weather response.  The products will improve the ability of public health staff and other community partners to effectively deliver health-protective services to the most vulnerable populations during extreme heat events.

The Board of Health received, for information, the report (December 21, 2009) from the Medical Officer of Health and directed that a copy of the report be forwarded to the Children's Services Advisory Committee, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest, the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, the Early Childhood Education Departments at Seneca, Humber and George Brown Colleges, and the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario.

This report provides a summary of the key findings and exposure reduction practices identified in the attached report, Childproofing for Environmental Health: An Examination of Food Related Exposures.  The focus in this report is on reducing children’s food-related exposures in the child care setting where feasible and considering other factors such as hygiene, safety, nutrition and cost effectiveness. Chemical exposures related to water, food or food containers for children in child care centres may include lead, mercury, pesticides, dioxin-like compounds, bisphenol A, phthalates and perfluorinated compounds, although the degree of risk from several of these substances is not fully understood. 

The review identifies several recognized best practices that can minimize food related exposures in a child care setting including: choosing fresh or frozen foods more often, reducing high fat meat and dairy (recognizing the nutritional need for full fat dairy for children under two years of age) and avoiding heating children’s food or drinks in plastic containers. Eating low mercury fish and flushing drinking water to reduce lead are also important for reducing exposure. Toronto Children’s Services has already implemented all of the recommended practices in the 57 child care centres that it directly operates.

TPH will work with Children’s Services and other community partners to develop and implement an action plan focused on increasing awareness among the more than 900 other child care centres in Toronto licensed by the province.  The key elements of the action plan include: recommending that all child care centres in Toronto fully implement the food-related best practices; developing a best practices toolkit; and dissemination of resources to increase awareness of children’s environmental health issues at child-related service agencies and centres operated in Toronto and, by extension, to the families that they serve.

The Board of Health received Item 27.11 for information.

City Council on November 30, December 1, 2, 4 and 7, 2009, adopted Item PW28.5 entitled "Biosolids Master Plan Update", as amended, and in so doing, has forwarded a copy to the Board of Health for information.

City Council on December 2, 2009, approved an amended Schedule of Meetings for 2010.