Ottawa Board of Health

Agenda

Meeting #:
6
Date:
-
Location:
Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West, and by electronic participation
Members:
  • Chair Catherine Kitts, 
  • Vice-Chair Tammy DeGiovanni, 
  • Member Elyse Banham, 
  • Member Brent Bauer, 
  • Member Danielle Brown-Shreves, 
  • Member Marty Carr, 
  • Member Sabrina Chung, 
  • Member Laura Dudas, 
  • Member Glen Gower, 
  • Member Theresa Kavanagh, 
  • and Member Rawlson King 

Diane Blais, Board Secretary
(613) 580-2424, ext. 21544
Diane.Blais@ottawa.ca


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.

  • Confirmation of minutes of the meeting of June 19, 2023.

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

  • 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’s 2023-2024 Respiratory Season Preparedness Plan; 2022 Annual Report and Attestation to the Ministry of Health; 2023 Operating and Capital Budget Q2 – Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; Delegation of Authority – Contracts Awarded for the Period of January 1 to June 30, 2023; and 2024 Ottawa Board of Health Meeting Schedule, be received and considered.

File ACS2023-OPH-BOH-0009 – City-wide

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

  • WHEREAS drowning is preventable, yet there are still on average 152 preventable water-related deaths in Ontario each year; 

    AND WHEREAS prevention is the most important and effective way of reducing morbidity and mortality from injuries, including drowning; 

    AND WHEREAS at this time, the laws in Canada only require that there be one properly fitting lifejacket/personal floatation device for each person onboard a recreational boat and there are no laws making it mandatory that the lifejacket/personal flotation device be worn while on the water; 

    AND WHEREAS Bill 93, Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life) seeks to prevent drownings by ensuring that children 12 years of age or younger wear a lifejacket/personal floatation device while on the water rather than simply requiring that a lifejacket/personal floatation device be onboard;

    AND WHEREAS Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has reviewed Bill 93, Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life) and is supportive of it; 

    THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health unit express its support for Bill 93, Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life) and request that the Chair of the Board of Health write to the Provincial Government to convey its support and urge all parties to vote in support of this Private Members’ Bill.

File ACS2023-OPH-MOH-0006 – City-wide

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

  • 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.

  • WHEREAS the drug overdose crisis, made worse by the increasingly toxic and unpredictable unregulated drug supply, continues to have devastating impacts and cause significant harms on communities and families across Canada; 

    AND WHEREAS Ottawa, like many Canadian cities, has seen a significant increase in the harms of fatal and non-fatal overdoses since the start of the pandemic and these rates have remained elevated; 

    AND WHEREAS this complex issue is compounded by interrelated challenges of increased mental health concerns and an increase in the number of people needing homelessness services in the community, therefore requiring a broad multi-faceted response; 

    AND WHEREAS Ottawa Public Health, along with a large network of partners, including the City’s Community and Social Services Department, community health, social and housing services organizations, people with lived and living experience of substance use, hospitals, pharmacies, emergency services (police, paramedics and fire), mental health, substance use health and addictions service providers, and the regional coroner’s office, have been working together on multiple coordinated and interconnected strategies and action plans to help reduce harms from substance use and save lives, including but not limited to the Ottawa Community Action Plan, the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan and the 10 Year Housing and Homeless Plan 2020-2030; 

    AND WHEREAS the pandemic has further highlighted the need to address the inequitable access to community resources and reinforced the knowledge that to improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities, it is necessary to address root causes of ill health such as adverse events in early childhood development, poverty, lack of housing, racism, colonialism, and other factors that influence health; 

    AND WHEREAS Ottawa Public Health and the Ottawa Board of Health recognize that this is a crisis and there is a need for further actions to address these issues and respond to community needs, in collaboration with community and partners;

    THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health unit direct the Medical Officer of Health and the team at Ottawa Public Health to work with their various partners to:

    • Increase public awareness and understanding of the work that is underway, through multiple coordinated and interconnected strategies and action plans;
    • Further develop a comprehensive, multi-sector overdose response strategy to address and respond to the drug overdose crisis, its contributing factors, and its unintended consequences on people and communities; and
    • Increase the type of data available as well as the timeliness of the data published on Ottawa Public Health’s Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard to better inform policy decisions and the planning, development and coordination of services and interventions.

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health unit request that the Medical Officer of Health bring forward a report to the Board on work to enhance the multi-sector Overdose Response Strategy and the Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Dashboard. 

File ACS2023-OPH-MOH-0007 – City-wide

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

File ACS2023-OPH-PCS-0007 – City-wide

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

File ACS2023-OPH-PCS-0006 – City-wide

  • That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive the 2023 Q2 operating and capital budget status reports for information.

File ACS2023-OPH-PCS-0005 – City-wide

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

File ACS2023-OPH-BOH-0010 – City-wide

  • That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit approve the 2024 meeting schedule, as outlined in this report.

  • 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’s 2023-2024 Respiratory Season Preparedness Plan; 2022 Annual Report and Attestation to the Ministry of Health; 2023 Operating and Capital Budget Q2 – Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; Delegation of Authority – Contracts Awarded for the Period of January 1 to June 30, 2023; and 2024 Ottawa Board of Health Meeting Schedule, be received and adopted.

  • BE IT RESOLVED THAT Confirmation By-law no. 2023-5, 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 September 18, 2023, be read and passed.

Monday, November 6, 2023 - 5:00 PM