Minutes - June 16, 2022 - Governance Committee Meeting

Members Present: 

Ms. Aina DeViet (Chair)
Mr. Matt Reid
Ms. Kelly Elliott

Regrets:

Ms. Tino Kasi
Mr. Michael 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. Mariam Hamou, Member, Board of Health
Ms. Kendra Ramer, Manager, Privacy, Risk and Governance
Ms. Cynthia Bos, Manager, Human Resources
Ms. Lilka Young, Health and Safety Advisor

At 6:01 p.m., Chair Aina DeViet called the meeting to order.

Disclosure 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. Matt Reid, seconded by Ms. Kelly Elliott, that the AGENDA for the June 16, 2022 Governance Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

Approval of Minutes

It was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the MINUTES of the April 21, 2022 Governance Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

Reports and Agenda Items

Governance By-law and Policy Review (Report No. 10-22GC)

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

Highlights of this report included:

• Four (4) policies were included for review: G-080 Occupational Health and Safety, G-290 Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, G-340 Whistleblower, and G-500 COVID-19 Immunization.
• There were no changes of note to policy G-340 Whistleblower.
• Policies G-080 Occupational Health and Safety and G-500 COVID-19 Immunization were updated to align with staff policies.
• Minimal changes were made to policy G-290 Standing and Ad Hoc Committees to include Terms of Reference and a reporting calendar for the Performance Appraisal Committee. A recommendation was also made to recommend to the Board of Health to strike the Performance Appraisal Committee and appoint members for this committee at the June 16, 2022 or July 14, 2022 Board of Health meeting.
• Currently there are no by-laws or policies coming up for review in Q3 or Q4 of 2022. It is recommended that the Governance Committee continue its review cycle to more evenly distribute the workload for committee members.

Chair DeViet noted in Appendix E of Policy G-290, Performance Appraisal Committee Terms of Reference, under the header “Frequency of Meetings”, it says “The Governance Committee will meet three (3) times per year or at the call of the Chair of the Committee.” She inquired if it should say “Performance Appraisal Committee” instead of “Governance Committee.”

Mr. Reid agreed it should be changed to “Performance Appraisal Committee” and recommended changing the sentence to read “at least three (3) per year or at the call of the Chair of the Committee.”

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to:
1) Receive Report No. 10-22GC, re: “Governance By-law and Policy Review” for information; and
2) Approve the governance policies appended to this report (Appendix B) as amended.
Carried

It was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to strike the Performance Appraisal Committee for 2022.
Carried

2021-22 Provisional Plan Progress Update (Report No. 11-22GC)

This report was introduced by Ms. Williams who introduced Ms. Ramer.

Highlights of this report included:

• Seven (7) projects were initiated or resumed during Q2 2022.
• Two goals associated with projects had problems surface which are causing delays, highlighted at a high level in Appendix B:

1. Funding was not approved to move forward with the expansion of electronic client records. This problem is not unique to MLHU as this funding was not provided to all health units requesting it. Despite this challenge, there is still a plan to move forward as highlighted in Appendix C.
2. The Anti-Black Racism Plan will fall behind schedule due to resource capacity and allocation within the Health Equity team. Due to the breadth of recommendations in the Anti-Black Racism Plan and the limited capacity currently within the Health Equity team, focus is being placed on recommendations which have a dependency on other strategic projects, for example the Employment Systems Review led by the Human Resources team.

• A report card on the goals of the Provisional Strategic Plan will be presented to the Governance Committee in Q3.
• One of the projects identified in the Provisional Strategic Plan, Joy In Work, is being brought forward to the Board of Health in a separate report and therefore is not detailed in this report.

Chair Reid confirmed with Ms. Ramer that the Provisional Strategic Plan will carry into 2023 due to its timelines being elongated with Board approval in February 2022.

Ms. Ramer informed the Board that the consultation phase with internal and external stakeholders will begin in Q3 of 2022 as part of the next strategic planning cycle.

Chair DeViet inquired about the information contained in the report about the transition to the SharePoint file system. Under the heading “Top Risks” it states “resistance to change”. Chair DeViet inquired if any change management protocols or steps have been put in place to mitigate this risk. Ms. Williams informed the Board that the transition to SharePoint has begun with groups which have expressed interest and these groups are piloting the transition and sharing their lessons learned. Those who are less eager to transition will be offered training and an opportunity to meet with the teams who have already gone through the process.

It was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 11-22GC, re: “2021-22 Provisional Plan Progress Update” for information.
Carried

Board of Health By-Law #3 Review (Verbal)

Ms. Williams introduced this verbal report.

Highlights of the report included:

• Board of Health By-law #3 currently has limitations on attending Board of Health and committee meetings electronically outside of a declaration of emergency. As of last week, all local emergency orders have been rescinded. The limitations included that members attending electronically did not count towards quorum and could not attend in-camera meetings.
• Following research into the matter, it was determined that in 2020, the Municipal Act was updated to allow for boards to include in their by-laws that members could meet virtually outside of an emergency declaration and, while doing so, count towards quorum and attend in-camera meetings.
• Presuming the Board members would like the option to continue to meet virtually, changes to By-law #3 were proposed. If the changes are approved, the Board will have the flexibility, at the call of the Chair and under the advisement of the Medical Officer of Health, to meet virtually.
• The proposed changes to the wording of the by-law included:
• 6.2 In accordance with Section 238(3.1) of the Municipal Act, R.S.O., the Board shall ensure that members can participate electronically in a meeting which is open to the public. Any such member shall be counted in determining whether or not a quorum of members is present at any point in time. Board members shall also be permitted to participate electronically in a meeting which is closed to the public.
• 6.3 A member who is participating electronically in a meeting shall be able to vote on any matter that is before the Board, subject to restrictions contained elsewhere in this policy, and otherwise at law.
• Section 6.4, which refers to declarations of emergency, is removed.

Mr. Reid noted that other Boards, including the London Police Board, are continuing to implement a hybrid model. He indicated that having the flexibility of attending in person or virtually would be an asset to accommodate for the preferences of the individual Board members, for example those having to travel far distances to attend in person.

Ms. Elliott requested if the language could be updated to clearly indicate a hybrid model such that both virtual and in-person attendance can occur during the same meeting.

Ms. Williams suggested beginning section 6.2 with “In order to support a hybrid model…”.

Ms. Elliott suggested adding to section 6.2 “…the Board, meeting in a hybrid model, shall ensure…”.
Dr. Alexander Summers, Medical Officer of Health, suggested changing the wording to “…the Board shall ensure that members may participate electronically…”. He also stated that the intention for MLHU staff is to attend in person if the meeting is in person, except for exceptional circumstances.

Chair DeViet indicated that the ability to attend any meeting virtually, even an in-person meeting, would be an asset to ensure quorum. For example, members would still be able to count towards quorum if they felt ill and could not come in-person, but felt well enough to attend virtually.

It was agreed to change the language as suggested by Dr. Summers.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the Governance Committee receive the Verbal “Board of Health By-Law #3 Review” for information.
Carried

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Elliott, that the Governance Committee recommend to the Board of Health to amend Board of Health By-Law #3.
Carried

Other Business

The next meeting of the Governance Committee will be held on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

Adjournment

At 6:24 p.m., it was moved by Ms. Elliott, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the meeting be adjourned.
Carried

Aina DeViet
Chair

Emily Williams
Secretary