July 2011 - Current and Emerging Public Health Initiatives in Ontario

Think Tank on an Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy: A Possibility Conversation- Activating Change Together.

OPHA staff member and NRC manager Cindy Scythes and OPHA Food Security Workgroup chair Kim Ouellette attended this Think Tank on June 23, 2011 and submit this update.

The Think Tank was hosted by the Ontario Collaborative Group for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (OCGHEPA). Our declaration of possibility for this meeting was “to activate momentum for the creation of an Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy that will align the common goals of government representatives and key stakeholders to stimulate significant positive change for healthy individuals and communities”.

Attendees included representatives from Ontario’s Ministries of Health Promotion and Sport; Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Child and Youth Services; and Education, as well as key government and non-government agencies working in the area of food and nutrition.

The outcome of the meeting was clear commitment to develop a call to action on an Ontario Food and Nutrition strategy. A design team will be meeting in the next three months to strategize on next steps.

The OCGHEPA meets to bring together stakeholders to facilitate discussion, to develop agreement, to support action, and to advocate for policy initiatives, program directions, funding, and other issues related to:

  • Healthy eating and physical activity
  • Healthy weights
  • The determinants of health, in particular, the factors that affect food access, availability and adequacy.

Healthy Babies Healthy Children Provincial Advisory Committee

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services responsible for the Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program (HBHC) has invited OPHA to sit on a newly formed advisory committee.  The HBHC program was originally developed in 1998 to be a universal program to support families with children from pregnancy to six years of age. It is housed in all 36 health units across the province. The ministry is currently undertaking some changes to the program to be implemented in January 2012. With an enhanced screening and visiting process the program will no longer be offered to all new mothers.

The committee was formed to provide guidance on the HBHC program changes which are designed to better support children and their families as well as to promote better partnerships to enhance inter-sectoral system collaboration and strengthen HBHC service delivery. Liz Haugh, current OPHA president, will sit on the committee along with representatives from alPha, hospitals, other ministries, and the academic world. Representatives from Manitoba and Nova Scotia, where similar programs exist, have also been invited to participate. Meetings will be quarterly and mostly via teleconference.

The first meeting entailed a discussion about ensuring that program investment is achieving the desired outcomes. Some examples included educating and supporting hospital staff to complete the new tool, which is currently being validated in several health units, as well as the potential contents of a new information package for parents. The next meeting is scheduled for September 23, 2011.

Provincial Policy Statement Five Year Review

By law, the Ontario government is required to initiate a review of the Provincial Policy Statement every five years. The latest review began in 2010 and included call for comments from interested stakeholders in the winter of 2010. As a follow up to this step in the process, a Provincial Policy Statement Working Group has been formed. This is one of three consultation approaches that are being used. Another group has been formed for Northern Ontario and a different process is being used to consult with the Aboriginal community. This working group described below will act in a technical review capacity to discuss issues, explore ways to improve the policy statement and to provide direct feedback from different stakeholder groups. Representatives on the committee will share information with their constituent bodies and consult when issues are under consideration. The working group is not intended to reach consensus but rather provide input. The provincial government will consider the input and make all decisions on the provincial policy statement.

We are excited to announce that during this review, Public Health has a seat at the table. An initial meeting was held at the end of June and more meetings will take place throughout the fall. Pat Fisher, co-chair of the OPHA Health and Built Environment Workgroup and Public Health Planner at Region of Waterloo Public Health is on the workgroup along with approximately fifteen other organizations. At the initial meeting, representatives from the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, who are leading this working group, shared a list of common themes and emerging issues from the submissions that they received including:

  • The PPS generally works well, however there is room for improvement
  • There is a desire for clarity around some issues and increased flexibility around other issues
  • There is a desire for greater direction for rural issues
  • Mixed reaction to the 20 year planning horizon, some think it is too short, others too long
  • Request for more flexibility about meeting intensification requirements and rural boundary issues
  • There is a desire for more clarity about employment areas and uses
  • There is a stronger presence on affordable housing issues
  • Natural heritage – consider lowering requirements or enhancing requirements
  • Agriculture – looking for flexibility to allow for broader economic development options for non-farm uses
  • Cultural Heritage – improved alignment with Cultural Heritage Act

Some common Emerging Issues:

  • Healthy Communities
  • Active Transportation
  • Climate Change adaptation & mitigation
  • Sustainability
  • Inter-relationship between layers of documents, policies and planning requirements
  • Request for more guidance materials

To keep up to date on future developments with the Provincial Policy Statement review, please join the OPHA Health and Built Environment Listserve at http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/builtenviro

Pat Fisher
Co-chair of the OPHA Health and Built Environment Workgroup
Public Health Planner
Region of Waterloo Public Health
pafisher@regionofwaterloo.ca

Canadian Public Health Association and Canadian Network of Public Health Associations: Health Accord

Planning preparations are underway for the next national Health Accord. The Canadian Public Health Association (CPH) will be initiating conversations from the public health perspective. Regular updates will be undertaken regularly with provincial associations. OPHA will seek to align efforts provincially.