August 2010 - Our Voice in Action

Ontario Risk and Behaviour Surveillance System

by Ian Johnson, Chair of ORBSS Advisory Committee

Dear Colleagues,

You’re invited to participate in an online survey that will help shape the Ontario Risk and Behaviour Surveillance System (ORBSS).

The survey is designed to collect feedback on the preliminary vision, mission, values, and goals of ORBSS, and to gather your priorities for risk and behaviour surveillance in Ontario. The results will help guide the ORBSS Advisory Committee in exploring models for a provincewide risk and behaviour surveillance system that allows for local flexibility and engagement.

The ORBSS Advisory Committee, which is led and centrally supported by the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP), was established in February 2010 to propose a plan for ORBSS, a provincewide surveillance system aimed at producing estimates of health behaviours, attitudes and other risk factors. The system is intended to build on Ontario’s existing surveillance infrastructure and systems to help local health units fulfill the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards, and to generate quality provincial-level data for the purposes of surveillance, research, policy development and evaluation. For more information, visit the ORBSS Project website.

At this stage, we would like input and advice from everyone who is interested in ORBSS. We ask that you please complete our online survey by August 16, 2010. The results of this survey will inform our proposal for an ORBSS model. This proposal will be shared with the community and input will be sought through another survey.

Please feel free to share this invitation with your colleagues. If you’d like to be added to the ORBSS Project mailing list, or if you have any other questions or comments related to ORBSS, please contact us at orbss@oahpp.ca.

We look forward to working with you to create a comprehensive provincewide risk and behavior surveillance system for Ontario.

 

Canada Census Long Form

As indicated in the OPHA July Ebulletin, we have told Prime Minister Stephan Harper and Minister Tony Clement that the government should reinstate the mandatory Census Long Form. View our letter expressing our grave concerns regarding Harper's decision.

 

Environmental Health Workgroup – Activities 2010

The Environmental Health Workgroup (EHG) is working collaboratively to improve the health of the public as it is impacted by environmental health factors through project participation, research, and advocacy to promote healthy public policy.

Pasteurization and Raw Milk

A letter of support was sent to the Office of the Attorney General regarding the Province of Ontario and Grey Bruce Health Unit Appeal of Ontario Court of Justice regarding the pasteurization and raw milk ruling on R. V. Michael Schmidt (January 21, 2010).

Proposed Amendments to Ontario Regulation 455/09 and Policy Options for Enhanced Planning

A letter was sent to the Ministry of the Environment in which the position of the group was stated on the following issues:

  • support for full employee input into the creation of toxic reduction plans;
  • recommendation that the workplace joint health and safety committees be the vehicle for employee participation;
  • recommendation for the licensing of toxic reduction planners;
  • encouraging the provision of new authorities for the province to ban or restrict the manufacture, distribution or sale of designated toxic substances and products; and
  • recommendation for the development of regulations for substances of concern that have potential human exposure and health effects.

EBR Submissions

  1. Proposed Amendments to Ontario Regulation 455/09
  2. Healthy Great Lakes, Strong Ontario
  3. Toxic Reductions Act Regulation
  4. Green Energy Act
  5. Lead in drinking water

Great Lakes Indicators Suite for the Human Health Sub-Set of Indicators

A letter of support was sent to Environment Canada for the State of the Great Lakes Reporting process, continued improvement of the Great Lakes Indicators and the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conferences. Support was expressed for maintenance of the six human health indicators, however, it was identified that information is lacking on biomonitoring markers of human exposure. Additional indicators of human health were suggested.

Policy Development

Air Quality – Proposed Resolution for OPHA: Poor air quality is associated with premature death, hospitalization and other health effects. Boards of Health have a responsibility to increase public awareness of health risks associated with outdoor air quality and adapt or supplement communication strategies related to reducing exposures to health hazards. As a result, the Environmental Health Workgroup is supporting a proposed resolution for OPHA to encourage the implementation of the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) across the province.

Partnerships

Marina Whelan, Workgroup Chair, presented the work and activities of the Environmental Health Workgroup at the ASPHIO meeting on May 17, 2010. As a result new members from public health and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) were recruited to assist with the objectives and activities of the group.

At this time, the EHG is working in partnership with OPHA, Canadian Partnership for Children's Health & Environment, Pollution Probe, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.