Minutes - April 20, 2023 - Governance Committee Meeting

Members Present: 

Michelle Smibert (Chair)
Aina DeViet
Matthew Newton-Reid
Tino Kasi (arrived at 6:03 p.m.)
Emily Williams, Chief Executive Officer (ex-officio, attended virtually)
Dr. Alexander Summers, Medical Officer of Health (ex-officio)

Regrets:

Michael Steele

Others Present:

Stephanie Egelton, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health (recorder)
Sarah Maaten, Acting Director, Public Health Foundations
Deb Turner, Administrative Assistant to the Acting Director, Public Health Foundations
Cynthia Bos, Manager, Human Resources
David Jansseune, Assistant Director, Finance
Dr. Joanne Kearon, Public Health Medical Resident

At 6:01 p.m., Secretary and Treasurer Emily Williams called the meeting to order

Meeting Procedures

Election of 2023 Governance Committee Chair

Secretary and Treasurer Emily Williams opened the floor to nominations for Chair of the Governance Committee for 2023.

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that Michelle Smibert be nominated for Chair of the Governance Committee for 2023.
Carried
M. Smibert accepted the nomination.

E. Williams called three times for further nominations. None were forthcoming.

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that Michelle Smibert be acclaimed as Chair of the Governance Committee for 2023.
Carried

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

Chair Smibert inquired if there were any disclosures of conflict of interest. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that the AGENDA for the April 20, 2023 Governance Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

Approval of Minutes

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that the MINUTES of the November 10, 2022 Governance Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

New Business

Emily Williams, Chief Executive Officer introduced Deb Turner, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Public Health Foundations. E. Williams noted that D. Turner was previously the Program Assistant for the former Privacy, Risk and Project Management Office and has been providing significant support for Governance activities.

2023 Governance Committee Reporting Calendar (Report No. 01-23GC)

E. Williams presented the 2023 Governance Committee Reporting Calendar. The proposed amendments to the reporting calendar included removing the initiation of the MOH/CEO Performance Appraisal, as there is a standing committee for this purpose (MOH/CEO Performance Appraisal Committee) and spreading out policy review by subject matter area over two years for ease in reviewing by the Governance Committee.

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by T. Kasi, that the Governance Committee:
1) Receive Report No. 01-23GC re: “Governance Committee Reporting Calendar”; and
2) To approve the 2023 Governance Committee Reporting Calendar (Appendix A).
Carried

Governance Policy Review (Report No. 02-23GC)

E. Williams presented the Governance Policy Review for the March meeting. It was noted that there are more policies in front of the Committee due to the cancelled Governance Committee meeting in February.

There were seven (7) policies for the Committee to review, with the subject matter areas of Board Responsibility and Transparency, and Financial Activities:
• G-180: Financial Planning and Performance
• G-205: Borrowing
• G-430: Informing of Financial Obligations
• G-200: Approval and Signing Authority
• G-260: Governance Principles and Board Accountability
• G-370: Board of Health Orientation and Development
• G-400: Political Activities

Material changes were suggested by staff for Policy G-200: Approval and Signing Authority to align with the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act regarding approval amounts for the Medical Officer of Health, Chief Executive Officer, those in leadership roles and the Board of Health.

Housekeeping changes were suggested by staff for Policy G-400: Political Activities to remove the former role of Director, Corporate Services and insert Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer where applicable.

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to:
1) Receive Report No. 02-23GC re: “Governance Policy Review” for information; and
2) Approve the governance policies as amended, appended to this report (Appendix B).
Carried

Quarterly Risk Register Update (Report No. 03-23GC)

E. Williams presented the Quarterly Risk Register Update. It was noted that the report will close out the 2022 Risk Register. All risks except five (5) risks have been mitigated

The risks that have not been adjusted for 2023 are:
• Stakeholder/Public Perception: The appointment of a permanent Associate Medical Officer of Health will assist in addressing residual risk.
• Political: Potential return of modernization discussions and reflection of continued uncertainty for COVID-19 funding for the coming year.
• Financial: The Ministry of Health’s claw back of unused funds from the Ontario Seniors’ Dental Program.
• Financial: With part-time staff being permitted to join OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System), there is an additional $160,000 in costs. Financial: Token or access management (software licenses through the Information Technology department) is being reviewed with a plan to centralize it when impacts are known.

Committee Member Matt Newton-Reid inquired if the OMERS changes were being built into the 2023 Budget, which E. Williams confirmed.

It was moved by A. DeViet, seconded by T. Kasi, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 03-23GC re: “Quarterly Risk Register Update” for information.
Carried

2021-22 Provisional Plan Progress Update (Report No. 04-23GC)

Sarah Maaten, Acting Director, Public Health Foundations provided an update on the 2021-2022 Provisional Plan. S. Maaten reminded the Committee that the 2022 Provisional Plan was extended to Q2, 2023 and that the draft 2023-2024 Provisional Plan will be presented to the Board of Health in May for feedback.

There are currently seven (7) identified projects occurring within the current provisional plan, with six (6) of these projects ongoing:
• Employment Systems Review;
• Implementation of the Anti-Black Racism Plan;
• Onboarding and Enhancement of the Electronic Client Record (ECR);
• Transition to SharePoint;
• Implementation of the Joy in Work Framework;
• Return to Office; and
• Sociodemographic and Race-based Data Collection in Electronic Systems.

S. Maaten noted that the implementation of a framework to support shared work between multiple teams is delayed due to resource constraints.

Dr. Alexander Summers, Medical Officer of Health, noted that the significant focus of the 2023-2024 Provisional Plan will be around creating a management operating system, which is a foundation for how the Health Unit will conduct their work.

Committee Member Tino Kasi inquired on details on the implementation of the Anti-Black Racism Plan and feedback through the Anti-Black Racism Plan Advisory Committee. S. Maaten and Dr. Summers provided feedback and highlighted the ongoing prioritization of this work in the draft 2023-2024 Provisional Plan.

It was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 04-23, re: “2021-22 Provisional Plan Progress Update” for information.
Carried

2022 Occupational Health and Safety Report (Report No. 05-23GC)

Cynthia Bos, Manager, Human Resources presented the 2022 Occupational Health and Safety Report, on behalf of Lilka Young, Health and Safety Advisory and Dalia Salim, Human Resources Coordinator, Health and Safety.

C. Bos noted that providing this report to the Committee and Board is a policy requirement under Policy 8-010 Occupational Health and Safety. This report has been reviewed by the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee and Procurement and Operations and will be provided to all staff later this week.

Key highlights of the report included:
• Be Well’s launch of Fitness on Demand with Employee Wellness Solutions Network (EWSN) and continued virtual programming.
• Over benchmark Utilization Rate for Employee and Family Assistance Plan (over 33.71%).
• Improvements in the uptake of COVID-19 and Influenza vaccines, as part of changes made to the Employee Immunization Program.
• Introduction of Employee De-Escalation Training.
• Increase in reported employee injuries and incidents (11% increase).
• Increase in reports to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

Reported incidents in 2022 included:
• 155 incident reports were received in 2022:
• 86 employee-reported incidents (up 11% from 2021);
• 13 non-workplace incidents (up 18% from 2021); and
• 30 client/non-employee incident reports (down 32% from 2021).
• Most reported incidents categories:
• Workplace Violence (40);
• Struck with/caught by/ contact with (9);
• Slip, Trips and Falls (8);
• Exposures (8);
• 4 employee needlesticks; and
• 8 one-on-one ergonomic reviews were conducted.

Committee Member M. Newton-Reid inquired on why there was an increase in incidents at the Health Unit. C. Bos noted that the Occupational Health and Safety team anticipated higher reporting due to the systematic encouragement of reporting incidents. C. Bos added that some incidents have naturally occurred with more individuals being back in the office and with more staff employed at the Health Unit. There also have been client to staff incidents at vaccination clinics or in the community with enforcement officers.

Committee Member T. Kasi inquired if there was a sliding scale of staff being able to report incidents to Occupational Health and Safety. C. Bos noted that the Health Unit is seeing increased reporting due to staff seeing the value of reporting incidents, even if they are minor or near misses. E. Williams added that regardless, staff should report an incident because there is awareness of the problem that needs to be resolved.

It was moved by A. DeViet, seconded by M. Reid, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 05-23 GC, re: “2022 Occupational Health and Safety Report” for information.
Carried

Other Business

The next meeting of the Governance Committee will be held on Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6 p.m.

Adjournment

At 6:37 p.m., it was moved by M. Reid, seconded by A. DeViet, that the meeting be adjourned.

Carried

Michelle Smibert
Committee Chair

Emily Williams
Secretary