Ottawa Board of Health
MINUTES 20
Monday, November 29, 2021, 5:00 PM
By Electronic Participation
Contact for the Ottawa Board of Health:
Diane Blais, Board of Health Secretary
613-580-2424, ext. 21544
[email protected]

Board Members:
Chair: K. Egli
Vice-Chair: T. DeGiovanni
Members: E. Banham, J. Cloutier, E. El-Chantiry, G. Gower, T. Kavanagh, L. Leikin, S. Menard, S. Pinel, P. Tilley

The Ottawa Board of Health met via Zoom on Monday, November 29, 2021 beginning at 5:00 PM.

Councillor Keith Egli, Chair of the Board of Health, presided over the meeting.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Confirmation of minutes of the meeting of November 1, 2021.

CONFIRMED

COMMUNICATIONS

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

At approximately 6:27 p.m., during discussions on to Agenda item 3, the Board approved a motion to extend the time of the meeting beyond 7:00 p.m.

3.		2022 DRAFT OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE OTTAWA BOARD OF HEALTH
		ACS2021-OPH-PCS-0007
	That, at its meeting of November 29, 2021, the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit: 3.        Approve the 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health; 4.        Upon the Board of Health’s approval of the 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health, direct staff to forward the report to Ottawa City Council, for consideration on December 8, 2021 as part of the City Council’s approval of the City of Ottawa 2022 Draft Operating and Capital budget; and 5.        Upon approval of the 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health by the Board of Health and Ottawa City Council, direct the Medical Officer of Health (or delegate), on behalf of the Board of Health, to forward the 2022 Annual Service Plan and Budget Submission, to the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) for consideration based on the approved 2022 Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health.
	CARRIED, as amended by Motion 20/3
	Ms. Svetlana Valkova, Manager of Performance & Corporate Services, spoke briefly to a PowerPoint presentation, which served to update the Board on the Budget approval process and timelines. A copy of her presentation is held on file with the Board of Health Secretary. Following the presentation, the Board heard from one (1) public delegation: ·         Councillor Mathieu Fleury, Ward 12 – Rideau-Vanier After hearing the public delegation, staff responded to questions from Board members after which, Chair Egli ceded the Chair to Vice-Chair DeGiovanni before the Board proceeded to vote on Motion 20/3. The discussion on this item lasted approximately 52 minutes.
	Motion 20/3 Moved by Member Menard That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit: 1.    Approve the 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health, outlined at Document 1, as follows: a.    Page 5 – Ministry of Health Programs & Standards:                                   i.    COVID-19 – Base;                                 ii.    Cost Shared Core Programs;                                iii.    Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program;                                iv.    Healthy Babies Healthy Children;                                 v.    100% City Programs *;                                vi.    Miscellaneous Programs;                              vii.    COVID-19 – One Time; and b.    Page 11 – User Fees; 2.    Upon the Board of Health’s approval of the 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health, direct staff to forward the report to Ottawa City Council, for consideration on December 8, 2021 as part of the City Council’s approval of the City of Ottawa 2022 Draft Operating and Capital budget; and 3.    Upon approval of the 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health by the Board of Health and Ottawa City Council, direct the Medical Officer of Health (or delegate), on behalf of the Board of Health, to forward the 2022 Annual Service Plan and Budget Submission, to the Ontario Ministry of Health (OMOH) for consideration based on the approved 2022 Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health.
	CARRIED
	* DECLARATION OF PECUNICARY INTEREST Chair Egli submitted a potential deemed pecuniary interest on Ottawa Board of Health Agenda 20, Item 3 - 2022 Draft Operating Budget for the Ottawa Board of Health, Document 1, Page 5 - Ministry of Health - 100% City Programs, as he sits on the Board of Directors of the Youth Services Bureau, an organization that will receive funding from, or would be eligible to receive funding from, this budget line item. Chair Egli did not take part in the discussion or vote on this portion of the Budget.

Following the vote on item 3, Chair Egli resumed chairing the meeting.

NEXT MEETING

Regular Meeting

Monday, February 14, 2022 - 5:00 PM

_____________________________                    _____________________________

BOARD SECRETARY                                           BOARD CHAIR

Chair’s Speaking Notes
November 29, 2021 Board of Health Meeting

Good evening, Bonsoir, Kwey (pronounced k-way), Aingai (pronounced i-ng-nye), Taanishi (pronounced tawn-shai),

Ministry Approval of Dr. Foote’s Appointment

To begin my verbal update tonight, I am very happy to report that on November 15^th, we received written confirmation that the Ontario Minister of Health has approved the appointment of Dr. Michelle Foote as Associate Medical Officer of Health with Ottawa Public Health.

Dr. Foote commenced work with OPH in December 2020. Since then she has been a tremendous asset to the health unit so, with this formal approval from the Province, I would like to officially congratulate Dr. Foote on her appointment and welcome her to the OPH team.

Mental Health, Crisis Support and Self-Care Training for Councillors and Staff

Earlier this month, Ottawa Public Health’s Mental Health and Substance Use Health Unit offered training to Members of Council and their staff titled: Mental Health, Crisis Support and Self-Care Practices.

Two virtual sessions were held – on Tuesday, November 16^th and Friday, November 19^th. The objective was to increase mental health literacy, foster resilience, prevent crisis and increase knowledge of available mental health and substance use health supports.

These 1-hour sessions were led by Public Health Nurses, Linda Cove and Norma Monterroza with support from Chanel Brown. A total of 33 Councillors and Councillors’ staff attended.

Following the sessions, participants were invited to complete an evaluation survey and I’m happy to report that the feedback has been very positive with participants stating increased knowledge and understanding of the mental health resources and supports. 

As part of this training, OPH also offered all participants the opportunity to take the LivingWorks Start suicide prevention training. This is a 90-minute online course that teaches participants to recognize when someone is thinking about suicide and connect them to help and support.

I personally would like to thank Linda, Norma and Chanel as well as Kim Cyr who helped coordinate the important sessions.

Stigma Workshop for Media

Still on the subject of mental health and substance use health training, last week the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) hosted its biennial Issues of Substance (IOS) conference. The event is Canada’s only national conference that brings together addiction workers, healthcare professionals, researchers, policy makers, knowledge brokers, and people with direct or indirect, lived or living experience with substance use or substance use disorders from across the country.

Anticipating that the event would garner media attention, the CCSA, the Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) and OPH worked together to coordinate and deliver stigma and person first language training to media partners in advance of the IOS conference.

CCSA and CAPSA developed a Stigma Primer for Journalists Manual, and using this Primer and with support from OPH, on November 22^nd they delivered a workshop to media partners on stigma and person first language.

We know that how the media reports on or talks about mental health and substance use health can have an impact on stigma and influence how the general public perceives these topics as health issues deserving of our respect and compassion. Therefore, I want to thank our partners at the CCSA and CAPSA, and to OPH staff for your forethought in preparing and delivering this training in advance of the IOS conference. Thanks also to our Media partners for taking the time to be a part of this important training.

alPHa Fall Symposium

On November 19^th, Members Banham, Cloutier, El-Chantiry and I participated in the Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (or alPHa) Fall Symposium.

The morning began with a Public Health Video Showcase before the Call to Order and Greetings from the alPHa President.

There were welcoming remarks by The Honourable Christine Elliott, Ontario Minister of Health, Allan O’Dette, CEO of the Ontario Medical Association, and Dr. Steini Brown, Dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Co-Chair of Ontario’s Science Table. Then came an update from Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, followed by discussions on post-pandemic recovery and beyond.

The afternoon featured separate section meetings – one for Members of Boards of Health, the other for the Council of Medical Officers of Health.  

It was an informative and productive day and I would encourage all Board Members to participate in future alPHa meetings and events if they are able to coordinate it with their schedules and other commitments.

I would now like to invite Member Cloutier to also share his perspective on the day.

(Member Cloutier to speak)

Thank you Member Cloutier.

Vaccine Clinic Tour

This past Thursday, I had the privilege of touring the COVID-19 Community Clinic at the Eva James Memorial Centre in Kanata, along with Dr. Etches, Mayor Watson and Councillors Cathy Curry and Allan Hubley.

Marie-Claude Turcotte, OPH’s Manager of Immunization, provided the tour and local media were also invited to attend. 

It was a wonderful opportunity to see first-hand how OPH’s vaccine clinics have been modified to make them child and family friendly.  Among other things, Gerri the giraffe was there to get vaccinated and there were fun and colourful stickers, signage and superhero selfie posters. We also got to meet and chat with friendly nurses and OPH staff who are excited and ready to vaccinate children.

I want to thank OPH staff for their work in making our COVID-19 vaccine clinics more welcoming for children and families and for organizing last week’s tour. I especially want to thank the parents and children who have booked appointments and signed on to get their shots.

I look forward to getting regular updates on our progress in growing Ottawa’s COVID-19 vaccine coverage by vaccinating this newly eligible age group.

Awards and Recognitions

Lastly, on Thursday, November 18th Dr. Etches was awarded the Saphir Female Personality Award from the Franco Ontarian Foundation. This award recognizes and values the commitment, excellence and influence of women in the Franco Ontarian community.

And on Friday, November 19^th, the Ottawa Board of Trade announced that Dr. Vera Etches and the OPH team as the recipients of the Best of Ottawa Business Awards 2021 “Newsmaker of the Year”.

Congratulations to Dr. Etches and the entire OPH Team on these well-deserved awards and recognitions.

Upcoming Holidays

Given that this is our last meeting of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about the upcoming holidays. I know many people have started planning for their Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s and other celebrations over the coming month or so.

Though we are in a much different situation than we were this time last year, especially as we are starting to vaccinate younger children, I want to remind everyone to be vigilant this holiday season.

When planning get-togethers and celebrations, consider everyone’ vaccination status and assess the risk of those you’re gathering with. If you choose to attend a larger gathering, maintain a physical distance and wear a mask when this might be difficult. Consider planning outdoor activities, or opening doors and windows to improve ventilation if you’re gathering indoors.

Information on safer gatherings can be found on the OPH website.

I will conclude by wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Joyous Kwanzaa and a Happy New Year.

I would be happy to take any questions.

Board of Health Meeting
Dr. Vera Etches – Verbal report
November 29, 2021

Good afternoon, Kwey, Ulaakut, Taanishi, Bonjour,

In tonight’s Verbal Report, I will provide an update on the local COVID-19 situation and vaccine rollout in Ottawa.

Current COVID-19 Situation

Yesterday, the government of Ontario announced two individuals in Ottawa tested positive for the COVID-19 Omicron variant with recent travel from Nigeria. We are now aware of returned travelers who have tested positive for the Omicron variant. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the individuals are self-isolating. / Hier le gouvernement de l'Ontario a annoncé que deux personnes à Ottawa ont testées positives pour le variant COVID-19 Omicron lors d'un récent voyage en provenance du Nigéria. Nous avons maintenant connaissance de voyageurs de retour qui ont été testés positifs pour la variante Omicron. Santé publique Ottawa gère les cas et les contacts et les personnes s'auto-isolent à présent.

Ottawa Public Health is working with the Province to monitor COVID-19 variants of concern, including Delta and Omicron.

In order to rapidly identify, trace and isolate COVID-19 and its variants, Ontario has expanded eligibility for provincially funded COVID-19 PCR testing to individuals who have returned from, or travelled in Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Namibia. Asymptomatic family members and other household contacts of travellers are also eligible for testing.  

To reduce the transmission of the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, we are advising individuals who have been in these locations, within 14 days before arriving in Ottawa, AND members of their households:

1.    To immediately self-isolate, even if fully vaccinated, and to follow federal guidance and any additional guidance provided by Ottawa Public Health if contacted;

2.    To seek testing for COVID-19 at one of Ottawa’s assessment centres regardless of whether they have symptoms - Federal guidance at this time is for testing to occur immediately upon arrival and eight days after arrival; and

3.    To isolate from household members. For example, stay in a separate room or stay in an isolation centre until receiving a negative test result.

Given the rapid and ongoing expansion of countries where Omicron has been detected to date, including jurisdictions on multiple continents, a cautious approach could consider any recent travel outside Canada (including but not limited to countries or regions with confirmed Omicron cases) as a potential increased risk for Omicron acquisition.

The federal government is examining border measures, the provincial government is overseeing testing and sequencing/surveillance and health system capacity. As Ottawa’s local public health agency, we are focused on case and contact management and supporting all people in Ottawa to limit opportunities for COVID-19 transmission. / Le gouvernement fédéral examine les mesures à prendre aux frontières, le gouvernement provincial supervise les tests et le séquençage/la surveillance et la capacité du système de santé. En tant qu'agence de santé publique locale d'Ottawa, nous nous concentrons sur la gestion des cas et des contacts et sur le soutien de tous les habitants d'Ottawa afin de limiter les possibilités de transmission de la COVID-19.

The best way to prevent transmission of COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and remain vigilant by practising basic public health measures including wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, and limiting close contacts. Expanding access to vaccination in all countries is also important.

In the coming days, we may see an increase in the number of people testing positive because of transmission of the Omicron variant in Ottawa. It is important to remember that this is not a new virus and that the public health measures that we practise will help reduce the spread of the Omicron variant. Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, should get tested immediately.

COVID-19 Vaccination

With respect to our local COVID-19 vaccination efforts, on Friday, November 19^th, Health Canada authorized the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11 and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) issued its recommendations with respect to its administration.

The first doses of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Canada on Sunday, November 21^st and as of Tuesday, November 23^rd, parents have been able to book vaccine appointments for their children born in 2016 or earlier through the Provincial booking system.

Well over 25,600 first-dose appointments were booked that first day for children aged five to 11 at Ottawa Public Health clinics.

We began administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 on Friday, November 26^th and I’m pleased to report that as of last night, over 8400 Ottawa children in this age group have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. / Nous avons commencé à administrer le vaccin contre la COVID-19 aux enfants âgés de 5 à 11 ans le vendredi 26 novembre et je suis heureuse d'annoncer qu'en date d'hier soir, plus de
8 400 (huit-mille-quatre-cent) enfants d'Ottawa de ce groupe d'âge ont reçu leur première dose du vaccin contre la COVID-19.

At this point, over 40% of this age group have either received their first dose or have an appointment on the provincial booking system. As others are receiving vaccinations in pharmacies, physicians’ offices, at CHEO and in mobile and school clinics and neighbourhood vaccination hubs, the OPH COVID-19 vaccination dashboard will help us assess vaccine uptake over time.

Protecting the population through COVID-19 immunization continues to be an undertaking by many partners for which I am very thankful.  Parents can review our website to assess what immunization option will work best for their children, including: our seven community clinics, 10 neighbourhood vaccination hubs, over 100 local pharmacy locations, mobile teams and primary care. In addition, CHEO is offering vaccination for children with medically complex needs and, as of December 2nd, OPH will begin a rotating schedule of 73 after-school vaccination clinics. The schedule for these clinics is now available on our website. Further, First Nations, Inuit and Métis community members can get vaccinated by the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health team, who are hosting a clinic at the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre and Inuit community members can go to the Akausivik Inuit Family Health team for their shots.

We recognize that some parents may be hesitant to vaccinate their children. We also understand that parents will have questions about the vaccine. I encourage parents and guardians with questions to speak to their health care provider, their local pharmacist, or contact Ottawa Public Health to speak to a public health nurse to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting your children vaccinated. Our role is to provide the information parents need to make an informed decision. / J'encourage les parents et les tuteurs qui ont des questions à s'adresser à leur fournisseur de soins de santé, à leur pharmacien local ou à Santé publique Ottawa pour parler à une infirmière en santé publique afin d'en savoir plus sur le vaccin et l'importance de faire vacciner leurs enfants. Notre rôle est de fournir l'information dont les parents ont besoin pour prendre une décision éclairée. 

I want to re-iterate the rationale for immunizing children aged 5 to 11. While most children will not experience severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection, some will and vaccination decreases the risk of severe outcomes. Vaccinating 5-11 year olds also helps them to stay in school and benefit from the social and developmental supports provided by in-person learning. Lastly, when children are less likely to transmit COVID-19 because they are immunized, they are helped indirectly by the benefits that come from keeping COVID-19 manageable in the community – more access to activities, parents and guardians with more access to employment, and less concern that adults they care about and depend upon will require hospitalization.

Parents can visit our website at OttawaPublicHealth.ca/ChildCOVIDVaccine for the most up to date information about the COVID vaccine for children. We are turning information parents shared with us into a frequently asked questions section.

We also continue to make progress on administering third doses to people who are eligible and we are interested in seeing the uptake of third doses grow more quickly. Currently, anyone over 70, First Nations, Inuit and Metis people and healthcare workers who have passed 6 months since their second dose are able to have the booster, in addition to people with certain types of immunosuppression.

While there is disparity in vaccination coverage between Ottawa neighbourhoods with less socioeconomic advantage and neighbourhoods with higher socioeconomic advantage, many of Ottawa’s neighbourhoods with lower coverage have been catching up and this gap has been narrowing as we continue to see residents come out for their first and second doses. Last week we updated our neighbourhood vaccination coverage estimates on the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study website. These neighbourhood estimates show that coverage with at least one dose for 12 years and older is now at least 75% and at least 71% for fully vaccinated coverage.  

Efforts to increase uptake and ensure no child is left behind continue in neighbourhoods with lower uptake.  Working closely with partners, the team is providing information in languages other than English and French, ensuring service providers who work with families have access to up-to-date information about vaccination, distributing appointment cards in Q5 neighbourhoods to make it easier for families to access vaccine at the school pop-ups and offering mobile clinics in shelters for residents with increased barriers to access other options.

Every vaccine approved for use in Canada is safe and effective and vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread and reduce the impact of infectious diseases, whether it is the seasonal flu (influenza), childhood infections such as chickenpox (varicella), or COVID-19.

While many people infected with COVID-19 experience only mild illness, others may get a severe illness or even die. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, even if you are not at increased risk of severe complications. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an antibody response without having to experience the illness of COVID-19\. Moreover, every person who gets vaccinated gets us one step closer to community immunity. This is true locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. This is a global pandemic, requiring vaccination around the globe in order to mitigate further transmission and variants.

I want to encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible and thank those who have already done so. I especially want to thank the more than 8400 Ottawa children who have already been vaccinated and the many more who have upcoming appointments, as well as their parents who have booked those appointments, talked to their children about vaccination and helped them feel comfortable with the decision to get vaccinated.

With respect to the upcoming holiday season, as Chair Egli has noted, we are in a much different situation than we were this time last year, but many of us still don’t have the full protection that comes from 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine - plus the 2 weeks that it takes to build a robust immune response - so it’s important that we continue to be cautious when gathering with family and friends outside our own households.

When getting together with extended family or friends, consider everyone’s vaccination status and to celebrate as safely as possible.  

Looking forward

As you heard at our last meeting in early November, we are planning for a lot of exciting public health work in 2022, and while, yes, there will be COVID-19 work, we have other work to do. Tonight we will be considering the budget for our work. Beyond supporting our budget submissions to the City of Ottawa and the provincial Ministry of Health, I look forward to connecting with you about how we re-imagine our public health work into the future. I expect that the process to prepare a new strategy for Ottawa Public Health will involve meaningful engagement with diverse partners, community members and clients and I look forward to your guidance in 2022.

I want to end by thanking all the new and continuing OPH employees who have persevered through such a challenging now long period. The dedication of all types of OPH team members is impressive – whether they are answering phones, emails and tweets, ordering supplies, helping on-board new people, addressing climate change, promoting equity and policy solutions to address determinants of health, answering questions of partners, supporting mothers with post-partum depression, helping people with dental abscesses, keeping syphilis or tuberculosis or other communicable diseases from spreading, or putting together financial statements and budgets, they are making a difference for the health of the people of Ottawa and I am proud to be part of their team.

I would be happy to take any questions. / Cela conclut mon rapport verbal. Il me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.