Minutes - April 21, 2022 - Governance Committee Meeting 

Members Present:

Ms. Aina DeViet (Chair)
Mr. Matt Reid
Ms. Kelly Elliott
Ms. Tino Kasi (joined 6:03 p.m.)
Mr. Mike Steele

Others Present:

Ms. Carolynne Gabriel, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health (Recorder)
Dr. Alexander Summers, Medical Officer of Health
Ms. Emily Williams, Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Kendra Ramer, Manager, Strategy, Risk and Privacy
Ms. Cynthia Bos, Manager, Human Resources
Ms. Lilka Young, Health and Safety Advisor
Ms. Mariam Hamou, Member, Board of Health

At 6:00 p.m., Chair Aina DeViet called the meeting to order.

Disclosures of Conflict of Interest

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

Approval of Agenda

It was moved by Mr. Michael Steele, seconded by Mr. Matt Reid, that the AGENDA for the April 21, 2022 Governance Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

Approval of Minutes

It was moved by Ms. Kelly Elliott, seconded by Mr. Steele, that the MINUTES of the February 17, 2022 Governance Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

New Business

2021 Occupational Health and Safety Report (Report No. 05-22GC)

This report was introduced by Ms. Cynthia Bos, Manager, Human Resources who introduced Ms. Lilka Young, Health and Safety Advisor.

Discussion on this report included:

• Over the course of 2021, there were 77 employee-reported incidents, a 126% increase from 2020. Possible contributing factors to this increase are the increase in workforce and the promotion of the incident reporting platform conducted during the weekly staff virtual townhalls, which increased awareness of the platform and encouraged staff to report incidents.
• The top three types of incidences reported were violence, struck with/caught by/contact with, and slips/trips/falls.
• All incidents of violence were workplace violence; no cases of domestic violence were disclosed. Of the workplace violence, the incidents were client-to-worker and cases of aggression and verbal or written threats; no MLHU staff members were injured or physically assaulted. A trend of workplace violence against health care workers has been seen globally over the course of the pandemic.
• Examples of struck with/caught by/contact with incidents are contact with sharp edges or pinch points.
• Incidents in slips/trips/falls potentially could be attributed to more work sites with the vaccination clinics, which resulted in more scenarios, for example slipping out of chairs at a clinic. Slipping on ice was also a factor.
• There were five (5) employee needle stick incidents reported and an additional five (5) by non-employees seconded from partner agencies to support the vaccine effort. As the COVID-19 vaccination clinics provided over one million doses, the number of needle stick injuries is not surprising.
• There were two (2) incident investigations into root causes, one for a critical injury and another for a needle stick injury.
• A large focus of 2021 for Occupational Health and Safety was supporting the COVID-19 vaccination effort, including the opening and operation of several COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The Occupational Health and Safety Program was integrated into the planning, operations, and logistics of the clinics and supported training, ensuring proper personal protective equipment, safe workstation set-up, and safety measures for receiving the vaccine.
• The Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) increased from nine to 12 members to assist with additional COVID-19 vaccine clinic worksite inspections.
• The Employee Immunization Program was transitioned from Vaccine Preventable Diseases to Occupational Health and Safety, which had an additional workload due to an increase in MLHU staff and additional recording requirements for COVID-19 vaccines.
• Occupational Health and Safety has taken a leadership role in the Be Well program, which is the Health Unit's internal wellness program. Among the accomplishments of Be Well was the launching of a staff membership portal with Employee Wellness Solutions Network.
• The rate of violence incidents in 2022 is trending similar to 2021 with verbal threats and aggression. Safety plans are put in place as appropriate.
• It was noted by Ms. DeViet that two incident types continue to increase year-over-year, motor vehicle incidents and violence, while all others declined in 2020.

It was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Governance Committee make a recommendation to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 05-22GC, re: “2021 Occupational Health and Safety Report” for information.
Carried

Governance By-Law and Policy Review (Report No. 06-22GC)

This report was introduced by Ms. Emily Williams, CEO who outlined the changes to the five (5) policies which were appended to the report.

The policies under review were:

• G-020 MOH and CEO Direction
• G-040 MOH and CEO Selection and Succession Planning
• G-290 Standing and Ad Hoc Committees
• G-380 Conflicts of Interest and Declaration
• G-410 Board Member Remuneration and Expenses

The proposed changes to the policies were outlined in Appendix A.

Discussion on this report included:

• G-020 MOH and CEO Direction: the proposed change was to remove the section of the policy which specifically lists the duties of the roles and instead maintain reference to policy G-030 MOH and CEO Position Descriptions.
• G-040 MOH and CEO Selection and Succession Planning: the proposed change was that, in the event the CEO is temporarily unable to fulfill their position (vacation, short leave of absence) the Assistant Director, Finance shall temporarily be in charge of the daily operations and perform the CEO’s duties. It was also suggested that the Transition and Selection Committee shall consider appointing a senior leader in an acting role to fulfill a permanent position for either role.
• G-290 Standing and Ad Hoc Committees: it was suggested by a member of the Governance Committee to make the MOH and CEO Performance Appraisal Committee a standing committee instead of an ad hoc committee; however, recommendation from staff was to keep it as an ad hoc committee as it is responsible for the completion of only one (1) task.
• Mr. Reid suggested that the committee be a standing committee with members and a calendar decided at the inaugural January Board of Health meeting so the committee and its duties are not forgotten later in the year. As well, as the committee is assembled every year, having it as a standing committee would provide some consistency.
• If the committee is a standing committee it would require a Terms of Reference and reporting calendar to be completed and approved for the inaugural Board of Health meeting in January.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the MOH and CEO Performance Review Committee become a standing committee of the Board of Health and Terms of Reference be developed in consultation with staff.
Carried

Further discussion on the report included:

• G-380 Conflicts of Interest and Declaration: no changes were recommended.
• G-410 Board Member Remuneration and Expenses: it was recommended by staff to remove section 1.3 which stipulates that Board members can only be paid one fee per day, regardless of how many Board-related events they attended that day. Removing this section will bring the policy in line with current and historical practice. It was acknowledged that not updating this policy to make this change would mean members of the Governance Committee would not receive remuneration for attending their meetings as they are scheduled to occur on the same day as Board of Health meetings.

It was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Steele, that the Governance Committee make a recommendation to the Board of Health to:
1) Receive Report No. 06-22GC re: “Governance By-Law and Policy Review” for information;
2) Direct staff to evenly distribute the governance by-laws and policies to be reviewed over a two-year period; and
3) Approve the governance policies appended to this report (Appendix B).
4) Direct staff to develop the Terms of Reference and reporting calendar for the standing MOH and CEO Performance Review Committee.
Carried

2021-22 Provisional Plan Update (Report No. 07-22GC)

This report was introduced by Ms. Williams who introduced Ms. Kendra Ramer, Manager, Strategy Risk and Privacy.

Discussion on this report included:

• In the fourth quarter of 2021, the Board of Health approved extending the timelines for the provisional plan due to the Health Unit focusing on pandemic work.
• Over the course of the first quarter of 2022, MLHU has begun repatriating staff to their home teams which has allowed the re-initiation of projects under the Provisional Plan.
• Report No. 07-22GC outlines the projects which have been re-initiated.
• A variety of ongoing activities and tasks associated with achieving the goals identified in the Provincial Plan have been operationalized by programs and teams across the Health Unit during the pandemic.
• A detailed progress report will be prepared and presented at the next Governance Committee meeting.
• Planning is underway to determine timelines for the strategic plan development cycle for 2023.

It was moved by Ms. Tino Kasi, seconded by Mr. Steele, that the Governance Committee make a recommendation to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 07-22GC, re: “2021-22 Provisional Plan Update” for information.
Carried

MLHU Q1 2022 Risk Register (Report No. 08-22GC)

This report was introduced by Ms. Williams, who noted this report is the first of the new quarterly risk reporting process, which is different than in the past where an annual report was produced. Ms. Williams then introduced Ms. Ramer.

Discussion on this report included:

• The strategy of looking at risks on a quarterly basis and assessing mitigation strategies was the reason for shifting to quarterly reporting.
• In Q4 of 2021 there were 12 risks identified as high risk. Of those 12, seven (7) are now ranked as moderate, which means that mitigation strategies were either effective or highly effective. Three (3) of the 12 are now ranked as minor residual risks and two (2) remain at significant residual risk, particularly due to the inability to assess the mitigation strategies at this time.
• Through this new process, new risks can also be identified throughout the year. Since Q4 of 2021, one (1) medium risk and two (2) new high risks were identified in relation to political and human resource categories, which have partially effective mitigation strategies in place at this time.
• These newly identified risks will be revisited in Q2 to determine if the mitigation strategies continue to be effective or if new strategies are required.
• The medium risk of cyber security is now ranked as moderate due to training which is in place.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the Governance Committee make a recommendation to the Board of Health to:
1) Receive Report No. 08-22GC re: “MLHU Q1 2022 Risk Register” for information; and
2) Approve the Q1 2022 Risk Register (Appendix A).
Carried

Other Business

The next meeting of the Governance Committee will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

Confidential

At 6:31 p.m., it was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Governance Committee will move in-camera to consider matters regarding labour relations or employee negotiations and personal matters about identifiable individuals, including municipal or local board employees.
Carried

At 6:42 p.m., it was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the Governance Committee rise and return to public session
Carried

Adjournment

At 6:42 p.m. it was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Kasi, that the meeting be adjourned.
Carried

AINA DEVIET
Chair, Governance Committee

EMILY WILLIAMS
Secretary