June 21, 2018 - Governance Committee Meeting - Minutes

Committee Members Present

Mr. Trevor Hunter (Chair)
Ms. Joanne Vanderheyden
Ms. Trish Fulton
Mr. Ian Peer
Mr. Kurtis Smith

Others Present

Mr. Michael Clarke (Board of Health member)
Mr. Jesse Helmer (Board of Health member)
Ms. Maureen Cassidy (Board of Health member, 6:56 p.m.)
Dr. Christopher Mackie, Secretary-Treasurer
Ms. Elizabeth Milne, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health and Communications (Recorder)
Ms. Laura Di Cesare, Director, Healthy Organization
Mr. Jordan Banninga, Manager, Program Planning and Evaluation

Dr. Mackie called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. He noted that this was the first Governance Committee meeting of 2018. Dr. Mackie then opened the floor to nominations for Chair of the Governance Committee for 2018.

Mr. Smith nominated Mr. Hunter for Chair of the Governance Committee for 2018.

It was moved by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Peer, that Mr. Trevor Hunter be nominated as Chair of the Governance Committee for 2018.

Mr. Hunter accepted the nomination and agreed to let his name stand.

Dr. Mackie called for further nominations three more times. Hearing none, it was moved that nominations be closed and that Mr. Hunter be named Chair of the Governance Committee for 2018. Carried

Disclosure of Conflict(s) of Interest

Chair Hunter inquired if there were any disclosures of conflict of interest to be declared. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Ms. Vanderheyden, that the AGENDA for the June 21, 2018 Governance Committee meeting be approved. Carried

Approval of Minutes

It was moved by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Peer, that the MINUTES  of the January 18, 2018 Governance Committee meeting be approved. Carried  

New Business

4.1 2018–20 Strategic Planning Update (Report No. 004-18GC)

Dr. Mackie introduced the report and outlined the approach used for the Balanced Scorecard.

Ms. Fulton noted a sentence missing on page 29, under “Measuring Progress,” fourth bullet point. It was agreed that the sentence be adjusted to “Seek to hold ourselves accountable.”

Discussion ensued on the following items:
• How often the Governance Committee and Board of Health are to be updated on the progress of the Balanced Scorecard.
• Why the administrative policy review is noted as being behind schedule on the Balanced Scorecard.
• Consideration of risk on location-related projects, and how to plan for loss of funding under the Risk Management Framework.
• The development of the Project Management Office (PMO), which has built a risk-mitigation schedule into all projects in order to mitigate risk in each case.
• The pilot project for activity-based workstations, along with a suggestion to use different acronyms for activity-based workstations (ABW) and alternative work arrangements (AWA), thereby highlighting the difference between the two activities.

It was moved by Ms. Fulton, seconded by Mr. Smith, that the Governance Committee:
1) Recommend that the Board of Health receive Report No. 004-18GC re: “2018 Strategic Planning Update” for information; and
2) Approve the 2018–20 Middlesex-London Health Unit Balanced Scorecard.
Carried

4.2 2018 Board of Health Self-Assessment Results (Report No. 005-18GC)

Discussion ensued on the results of the self-assessment, which included:
• The verbatim comments in the assessment.
• That elected officials bring a crucial element and perspective to the Board of Health.
• That this assessment will inform further discussion regarding the allocation of work between the two Board of Health standing committees, whereby some elements from each committee could be adjusted to even the workload.

It was moved by Ms. Vanderheyden, seconded by Mr. Smith, that the Governance Committee:
1) Recommend that the Board of Health receive Report No. 005-18GC re: “Board of Health Self-Assessment Results” for information; and
2) Consider the survey results and incorporate feedback into Board development planning for 2018.
Carried

4.3 Organizational Structure Changes (Report No. 006-18GC)

It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Ms. Fulton, that the Governance Committee receive Report No. 006-18GC re: “Organizational Structure Changes” for information. Carried

4.4 Governance Policy Review (Report No. 007-18GC)

Discussion ensued on each of the following bylaws:

G-B30 Proceedings of the Board of Health
• Clarification of participation in meetings by electronic means, the parameters by which a Board member may participate electronically, and how this policy aligns with the Municipal Act (i.e., intent and interpretation of Section 19 of the Act).

G-150 Complaints
• The procedure for written complaints.
• Clarification as to which kinds of complaints are to be directed to the Secretary-Treasurer and which kinds to the Board Chair.
• Clarification of wording, in that a complaint should be directed to the Secretary-Treasurer’s designate should the Secretary-Treasurer not be available to receive it.
• How the complaints policy aligns with the Whistleblower policy, and the difference between the two.
• The Health Unit’s internal policies and procedures for dealing with complaints.

G-205 Borrowing
• The various types of borrowing.
• That the Finance & Facilities Committee should review this policy.
• Clarification that this policy only covers borrowing to acquire real property, not for other purposes.
• Discussion about formal agreements (which do not exist at this time) between band councils to provide Health Unit services on Reserve, and that this might be a future eventuality.

G-430 Informing of Financial Obligations
• No changes or discussion noted.

G-260 Governance Principles and Board Accountability
• Clarification of wording, in that the Health Unit is accountable both to the government and to the municipalities it serves, and whether lower-tier municipalities are included in this accountability statement.
• That acknowledging lower-tier municipalities is important, and will happen as part of the Health Unit’s service review in Middlesex County. As staff gather information, there will be more clarity to inform this policy.

G-270 Roles and Responsibility of Individual Board Members
• The final page number was wrong. It will be corrected to read “4 of 4.”
• The use of the word “outsiders” in the section on Board solidarity.
• How and to whom Board members are to refer media requests, and whether they speak on behalf of the Board or their particular constituency.

G-340 Whistleblowing
• Consistent use of terms throughout this policy in referring to “Board of Health” and “Health Unit.”
• Responsibility of the Board Chair, under this policy, to follow up on and respond to complaints.
• The importance of ensuring that this policy works in practice.
• That this policy will be reviewed to ensure consistent use of terminology, and brought back to the Governance Committee for further review.

G-360 Removal and Resignation of Board Members
• No changes or discussion noted.

G-380 Conflicts of Interest and Declaration
• No changes or discussion noted.

I-120 Political Activities (Appendix C to Report No. 007-18GC)
• That the Committee commended the work done to complete this policy and noted that it has a good balance.
• That staff wrote this report in consultation with legal, and also in alignment with Western University’s political activities policy, as suggested by Mr. Helmer.

It was moved by Mr. Peer, seconded by Ms. Fulton, that the Governance Committee:
1) Receive Report No. 007-18GC for information;
2) Recommend that the Board of Health approve the new and revised Governance Policies as outlined in Appendix A; and
3) Recommend that the Board of Health approve the new Administrative Policy on Political Activities (Appendix C).
Carried

A brief verbal discussion took place on item 4.5 (redistributing the work between standing committees). Dr. Mackie noted that staff are aware of the imbalance of workload between committees, and will complete a review of best practices in this area. They will bring a report back to the Governance Committee for consideration.

Other Business

Next meeting: Thursday, September 20, 2018.

Adjournment

At 6:22 p.m., it was moved by Ms. Vanderheyden, seconded by Mr. Smith, that the meeting be adjourned. Carried

TREVOR HUNTER
Chair

CHRISTOPHER MACKIE
Secretary-Treasurer