Ottawa Board of Health

Minutes

Meeting #:

7

Date:

Monday, November 06, 2023

Time:

5:00 P.m. - 6:00 P.m.

Location:

Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West, and by electronic participation

Present:

• Chair Catherine Kitts, 
• Vice-Chair Tammy DeGiovanni, 
• Member Elyse Banham, 
• Member Danielle Brown-Shreves, 
• Member Marty Carr, 
• Member Sabrina Chung, 
• Member Laura Dudas, 
• Member Glen Gower, 
• Member Theresa Kavanagh, 
• and Member Rawlson King 

Absent:

• Member Brent Bauer 

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1.

Notices and meeting information for meeting participants and the public

Please see the attached document for public notices and meeting information, including: availability of simultaneous interpretation and accessibility accommodations; in camera meeting procedures; processes and timelines for written and oral submissions; personal information disclaimer for correspondents and public speakers; notices regarding minutes; and remote participation details.

2.

Roll Call

Member Bauer was absent during roll call. 

3.

Regrets

Member Bauer sent regrets. 

4.

Declarations of Interest

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

5.

Confirmation of Minutes

• Confirmation of minutes of the meeting of September 18, 2023.

  Carried

6.

Communications 

Seven communication items have been received (held on file with the Board of Health Secretary).

7.

Motion to Introduce Reports

• Motion No. BOH 07/01
  Moved by Member G. Gower

  BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports titled: Ottawa Public Health Update on Ottawa’s Overdose Response Strategy; Update on Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Ottawa Public Health; Nutritious Food Basket 2023 and Food Insecurity Report; Ontario Public Health Standards - 2023 Risk Management Report; and Attendance at the Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) Fall Symposium, be received and considered; 

  AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rules of Procedure be suspended to receive and table the report titled “2024 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health”.

  Carried

7.1

Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report

File ACS2023-OPH-BOH-0012 – City-wide

In her verbal report, Chair Kitts talked about Fall Prevention Month, Radon Action Month, International Inuit Day (November 7), and the provincial review of Ontario’s public health system. 

The Board then voted to receive the Chair's Verbal Report. Discussions on this item lasted approximately 10 minutes.

• That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this verbal report for information.

  Received

7.2

Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report

File ACS2023-OPH-MOH-0008 – City-wide

As part of her verbal report, Dr. Etches talked about and acknowledged the deep sorrow, anger, hopelessness, numbness and fear that many residents of Ottawa are feeling due to the tragic loss of life in the Middle East and Ottawa Public Health’s concerns about the physical and psychosocial impacts of these developments on faith communities, on the broader community, as well as on OPH staff. She then provided updates on fall respiratory illnesses, measles, and a recently announced provincial tax on vaping products. In closing, she introduced Casey Whiticar, our incoming Coordinator of Legislative Services.

The Board then voted to receive the Medical Officer of Health's Verbal Report. Discussions on this item lasted approximately 20 minutes.

• That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this verbal report for information.

  Received

7.3

2024 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health

File ACS2023-OPH-PCS-0007 – City-wide

Dr. Etches providing opening remarks, after which Mohammad Kibria, Manager, Business and Development Support Services, spoke to a PowerPoint presentation which served to provide Board Members with an overview of the 2024 Draft Operating Budget. A copy of his presentation is held on file with the Board Secretary.

Following the presentation, staff responded to questions from Board Members. 

The discussion on this item lasted approximately 25 minutes. The Board then voted to carry the report recommendations.

• ​​That, at its meeting of November 06, 2023, the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:

  1. ​Receive and table the 2024 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health; and 
  2. ​Direct staff to forward the 2024 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health to Ottawa City Council on November 08,2023 as part of the City Council’s tabling of the City of Ottawa 2024 Draft Operating and Capital budget.
  Carried

7.4

Ottawa Public Health Update on Ottawa’s Overdose Response Strategy

File ACS2023-OPH-HPP-0005 – City-wide

The Board received a presentation from Benjamin Leikin, Manager of Wellness and Harm Reduction, Kira Mandryk, Program Manager of Sexual Health and Harm Reduction, Eric Leclair, Program Manager of Health Information and Public Engagement, Kristina Smith, Nursing Project Officer, and Cameron McDermaid, Senior Epidemiologist, which served to provide an overview of the report. A copy of their presentation is held on file with the Board of Health Secretary.

Following the staff presentation, Board Members heard from twelve (12) public delegations on this item:

• Dr. Alexander Caudarella, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction
• Pierre Poirier, Chief, Ottawa Paramedic Service
• Dr. Kim Corace, Vice-President, Innovation & Transformation, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
• Dr. Ian Colman, University of Ottawa School of Epidemiology
• Josée Blackburn, Kids Come First Health Team
• Jérôme & Carol Doutriaux, Residents
• Stéphanie Plante, Councillor, Ward 12
• Calla Barnett, Action Sandy Hill 
• Derek Finkle, member of the Leslieville Neighbours for Community Safety
• Wendy Muckle, Block Leaders’ Program
• Stephen Willcock, Representing the residents of Kingsview Park in Vanier
• Dr. Dirk Huyer, Chief Coroner of Ontario

At 7:00 p.m., during discussions on this item, the Board approved a motion to extend the time of the meeting beyond 7:00 p.m.

The Board also considered and approved a technical amendment motion to replace supporting documents 3 (English) and 4 (French). 

The Board then approved the report, as amended by Motion 07/03. Discussions on this item lasted approximately two hours. 

• That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit: 

  1. Receive, for information:
     1. An update on the strategic work by community partners and Ottawa Public Health on overdose prevention and response across the lifespan and next steps; and
     2. Ottawa Public Health’s collaborative efforts to inform system and service planning through the Ottawa Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health (MHASUH) community dashboard and improve timely surveillance of the drug toxicity crisis through the overdose reporting tool; and
  2. Request that the Chair of the Board of Health write a letter to the Ontario Minister of Health and the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) recommending that they: 
     1. Increase sustainable funding for the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program to support perinatal mental health, substance use health and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECHMH), including the prevention of adverse childhood events;
     2. Advance the Regional Coroner’s report recommendations that align with Public Health Ontario’s Evidence Brief to expand drug checking services in Ontario towards safer drug supply;
     3. Explore innovative options to expand availability and access to health, mental health, addictions and substance use health services, including harm reduction services, such as supervised consumption services, across geographical areas to ensure that urban, suburban and rural residents have access to these services;
     4. Increase sustainable funding for harm reduction service providers to scale up community outreach services to address concerns of neighbouring communities, including peer-based programs, to support both resident and client engagement, connection to services, and harm reduction supply retrieval programming;
     5. Advance the Regional Coroner’s report recommendations to update Provincial regulations and sustainable funding for safer inhalation services available throughout the year, to work towards reducing deaths caused by inhalation of substances;
     6. Implement the Canadian Centre on Substance use and Addiction (CCSA) call to action for grief and trauma support for people who use drugs, their family members and loved ones, harm reduction workers, and community members affected by substance use, to support people negatively impacted by the drug toxicity crisis through increased sustainable funding;
     7. Support Ontario Health to prioritize the collection and use of sociodemographic data (SDD) to better inform equitable system and service planning; and
     8. Increase sustainable funding for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Mental Health Teams, Inuit Family Health Teams, and the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition Indigenous Mental Well-Being Strategy to enhance mental health and substance use health supports and services for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, including the development of new Indigenous Family Healing Lodge(s); and
  3. Direct the Medical Officer of Health to share this report and data with the City’s Community and Social Services Department to inform their Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, which includes the following priority areas identified through consultation: Mental Well-Being; Housing; Financial Security and Poverty Reduction; Gender-Based Violence and Violence Against Women; Discrimination, Marginalization and Racism; and Integrated and Simpler Systems.
  Carried as amended
• Amendment:
  Motion No. BOH 07/03
  Moved by Member G. Gower

  WHEREAS the Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard infographics distributed to Members of the Board of Health and posted on Ottawa.ca and OttawaPublicHealth.ca with the report titled Ottawa Public Health Update on Ottawa’s Overdose Response Strategy as supporting document 3 (English) and 4 (French) inadvertently contained the following errors:

  • The data point with respect to hate crimes stated “Hate crimes based on race or ethnicity were amongst the most reported crimes between 2020 and 2022” when it should have stated “Between 2020 and 2022, the number one reported hate crime was because of race or ethnicity”, affecting the meaning of the statement; 
  • The data point on the percentage of racialized people in Ottawa who don’t have a primary care provider has been updated for accuracy (from ~23% to ~ 21%); and 
  • The data point on the percentage of people who are either neutral or would not hire someone with a substance use disorder has also been updated for accuracy (from ~48% to ~50%); 

  AND WHEREAS updated Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard infographics infographics – in English and French – have been circulated to Members of the Board of Health ahead of tonight’s meeting, with an explanation of these corrections; 

  THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit approve the report, as amended by the revised and updated Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard infographics infographics, and authorize the Board of Health Secretary to post the revised and updated Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard infographics infographics – in English and French - on Ottawa.ca and OttawaPublicHealth.ca as supplementary supporting documents to the report.

  Carried
• Motion No. BOH 07/02
  Moved by Member G. Gower

  BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health approve that the meeting time be extended past 7:00 p.m. pursuant to Subsection 8(1)(c) of the Procedural By-law.

  Carried

7.5

Update on Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Ottawa Public Health

File ACS2023-OPH-EDI-0001 – City-wide

• ​That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive, for information, an update on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Ottawa Public Health and an overview of the health unit’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy, as outlined in this report.

  Received

7.6

Nutritious Food Basket 2023 and Food Insecurity Report

File ACS2023-OPH-HPP-0003 – City-wide

• That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive, for information:

  1. The 2023 Nutritious Food Basket survey results and income scenarios; and 
  2. An overview of the work being done to address food insecurity and poverty in Ottawa. 
  Received

7.7

Ontario Public Health Standards - 2023 Risk Management Report

File ACS2023-OPH-KPQ-0005 – City-wide

• That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.

  Received

7.8

Attendance at the Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) Fall Symposium

File ACS2023-OPH-BOH-0013 – City-wide

• That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit approve the participation of Chair Kitts, Vice-Chair DeGiovanni and Member Bauer at the Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) Fall Symposium, to be held November 24, 2023.

  Carried

8.

Information Previously Distributed

8.1

Strengthening Bridges between Health and Housing Systems

File ACS2023-OPH-HPP-0004 – City-wide

8.2

Update on Ottawa Public Health’s Work on the Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Assessment for Extreme Heat to Improve Community Resilience

File ACS2023-OPH-HPS-0003 – City-wide

8.3

Ottawa Public Health Research Projects: 2018 to 2022

File ACS2023-OPH-PHM-0001 – City-wide

9.

Motion to Adopt Reports

• Motion No. BOH 07/04
  Moved by Member G. Gower

  BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports titled: Ottawa Public Health Update on Ottawa’s Overdose Response Strategy; Update on Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Ottawa Public Health; Nutritious Food Basket 2023 and Food Insecurity Report; Ontario Public Health Standards - 2023 Risk Management Report; and Attendance at the Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) Fall Symposium, be received and adopted; 

  AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report titled “2024 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health” be tabled, for consideration at the Board of Health meeting of 4 December, 2023.

  Carried

10.

Motions Requiring Suspension of the Rules of Procedure

There were no motions requiring suspension of the rules.

11.

Notices of Motions (For Consideration at Subsequent Meeting)

There were no Notices of Motion.

12.

Confirmation By-law

• Motion No. BOH 07/05
  Moved by Member G. Gower

  BE IT RESOLVED THAT Confirmation By-law no. 2023-6, a by-law of the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit to confirm the proceedings of the Ottawa Board of Health at its meeting of November 6, 2023, be read and passed.

  Carried

13.

Inquiries

There were no inquiries.

14.

Adjournment

The Board adjourned the meeting at 8:11 p.m.

15.

Next Meeting

Monday, December 4, 2023 - 5:00 PM