Sound check. 1 2 3. Sound check. 1 2 3. of health meeting for Monday, August 24th. I'm the chair, W 2, city councelor Cameron Crretch. And joined by me today are in the chambers are W 11 councelor Mark Tatson, Ward 13 councelor Alex Wilson, Ward 12 counselor Craig Casar, vice chair Emil Joseph, member Ryan Jansen, member Chelsea Kirkby, and joining me online are member Don Denko and councelor for W three, Linda Nan. I'm going to call the meeting to order because we do have quorum. I'll need a mover and second to approve today's agenda. I see councelor Casar and member Jansen. Any discussion on today's agenda? Any things you want to change? No. Okay. By show of hands, all those in favor of today's agenda. It's great. Thank you. That's everybody. We're now on to declarations of conflicts of interest. Does anybody have one to declare? Not seeing anybody with a conflict to declare. So, we're going to approve the meeting minutes from our previous meeting on June 22nd, 2026. Any mover and second for that? Moved by member Kirkby, seconded by Vice Chair Joseph. Any changes, corrections, emissions, or excitements from the minutes in June? Seeing none, all those in favor by show of hands. Okay, that's everyone. And now we're on to delegations. We have delegations today from three folks. And just remind everyone that you get five minutes for your delegation. At the 4m minute mark, I'll kind of give you an eyebrow because there's no way to ding in this room. So, you'll just get an eyebrow. And then at the 5m minute mark, if you're still talking, I'll uh give you two eyebrows and then ask you to wrap up. [laughter] And first up for delegating is John Davyy from Northend Neighborhood Association. And to activate your microphone in the room, it's the little person with the voice coming out of it is what you press, not the microphone with a line through it. There you go. >> Thank you. Okay, councilors and members of public health committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. My name is John Davyy and I'm here representing the North End Neighborhood Association as chair of its environment committee. And today we're joining Durand, Beasley, and Central Neighborhood Associations, as well as the 226 people um supporting a petition launched just last a week ago during the height of summer vacation to ask you to adopt the motion before you on electric on the electrification of Steuart Street Shunting Yard. Besides cars and traffic, the number one environment related complaint that we hear from north enders is about industrial pollution, including those from the CN Shunting Yard on Stewart Street. With Bay Street or with Bayront being a popular citywide park you used by thousands daily to exercise and find healthy natural retreat from urban life. You'll often hear anecdotes of those on mobile device uh mobility devices, foot and bicycles needing to cover their faces hoping to escape the worst of the clouds of diesel exhaust that they're walking and rolling through. We've spent years monitoring bringing and bringing attention to this through social media campaigns hoping that CN would find a way to stop polluting. And it's important to acknowledge that after a constructive in-person meeting facilitated by councelor Cretch, there have been some noticeable improvements and some positive steps made. For example, during summer months, there unused locomotives no longer sit idling overnight. So for four months of the year, we're exposed to slightly lower levels of diesel exhaust, which as the motion details is recognized as group one carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. But winter months, sorry, I forgot. But winter months are by far the worst due to the fact that CN locomotives apparently need constant source of heat as well as the increasing common lowle inversion events causing the clouds of diesel smoke to often hang over Bayfront Park and drift into residential neighborhoods. Even as it dissipates into the atmosphere, depending on the wind conditions, the odor is detectable on the other side of the neighborhood or even into Beasley and central neighborhoods. It's the time of year you're most often to seen find scenes like this. The issue came to a head this past February when residents across the North End and beyond reported a nauseating mix of GA gasoline and chemicals in the air. And although the source of the day's smell isn't confirmed to be CN, the description used matches those often used to describe diesel exhaust. So after seeing the incident reported in the spectator and years of watching this pollution block construction of badly needed affordable housing at Jamesville, Nina decided that the elephant in the room needed to be addressed. That being the noise and pollution of diesel-powered locomotives. Pollution that is considered too dangerous for future Jamesville residents should be too dangerous for existing residents. So we began reaching out to surrounding neighborhoods to get a sense of what their experience was with the shunting yards and they too hear regular complaints highlighting the same February incident. And so together we began advocating for elected representative to help address the long-standing issues. The fact that four neighborhood associations and over 226 petition signatures have united during the summer months reflects the concern and impact felt across the lower city and an agreement that electrified rail is the only long-term viable path. Electrifi electric freight rail is is a path long forged by nearly every other country on Earth. For example, Russia's 150,000 kilometers of rail are 52% electrified, including 100% of its 9700 km Trans Siberian railway, the longest in the world. Even in the 1930s, when CN was a crown corporation, it briefly operated an electric subsidiary, CNER. Data isn't available to know what percentage of its lines were electrified then, but it's it's likely far more than the poultry 0.2% that is electrified today. That's Canada way down there. It's encouraging to see CN's news release last week that they're beginning an electric or beginning a diesel electric hybrid pilot project using batteries to offset the diesel. It's an acknowledgement that diesel is no longer viable, especially when alternatives exist. How am I doing for time? >> Okay. Um, given that, uh, maybe I'll skip to this part. So, Ron Brown's Ghost Railways of Ontario has an entire chapter entitled Hamilton's Lost Electric Railways. The history told in this chapter is a reminder of why Hamilton often calls itself the ambitious city. the electric city and the city of waterfalls. We have a lost and sadly brief history of being Canada's shining star of electric passenger rail spanning from its core in at King and Catherine east to Vineland south to Brand south to Brford via Ancaster and northeast to Oakville. All hydropowered by the DQ Waterfall Cataract Company. The book retells a story about how the one passenger line that wasn't electrified remained coal powered. It was the line to Dundas. But knowing there was a new technology called electricity powered cleanly by local waterfalls, residents of Aninsleywood neighborhood protested against the dirty Dundas line operating in their neighborhood for 20 years until it too was electrified. I have two more paragraphs. >> Okay. Hamilton has a long history of ambition, innovation, and demanding cleanest railways, which is waiting to for a renaissance. We need a nation building, rail modernization program to get ahead of the massive other um demand from other superfluous sources. So, we thank Councelor Cretch and Nan for moving this second and seconding this motion before you today, calling for the federal government to take action uh to electrify Steuart Street Railard and hopefully one day all urban shunting yards and Canada's entire rail line and we hope other members will vote in favor of it as well. Thanks for your time. >> Thanks very much, John. And I see we have questions already from councelor Alex Wilson. Go ahead. Uh, thank you for coming out. Uh, and perpetual, thanks for all the communication work you do civically. Like you're one of my favorite content creators in the Hamilton kind of social media ecosystem. So really appreciating that. You've convinced me, you've made a great point. Um, trying to now move forward though and understand what the ask is of the federal government just in a little bit more detail. um is the hope that given that we're you know investing in made in Canada, we're talking about some renewal federally right now that this be considered a project either for federal investment or for regulation. So either via sticks or carrots, but the outcome being clean air in the north end via investment um at the CN site. Is that kind of how you're hoping CN gets there? Either through using federal money or through their own investment in new technology. Yeah. And I think their their existing to my understanding their existing pilot project for the um [clears throat] for the diesel electric split is a uh it's a partnership with the BC province I think. So there is a partnership going on there already for the electrification. It's just the I'm thinking that the electric it's sort of a half electric half diesel approach with that. So, I think it would be interesting to have another pilot project, a fully electric pilot project in Hamilton perhaps. Um, so I think because I think they're hoping to roll out the um those half half locomotives within shunting yards, I believe. So, it's a pretty good application for it because I think that's knowing how momentum works and whatnot. This is where most of the fuel use probably get used because there's a lot of stopping and starting and whatnot. So, >> and do you know why CN Canada is looking at kind of that hybrid model when you maybe your research has indicated that there's a full electric approach kind of going on other ways? You're you're seeming to indicate that you'd like to see there be a full electric approach kind of piloted here as opposed to kind of the existing hybrid pilot that's going on. Could you maybe speak a little bit? Do you think cost is the barrier? Why why maybe the approach if you were to put yourself on the other side, why why isn't it kind of happening the way you'd like to see it happening so far, do you think? Yeah, from my research anywhere that they've done significant roll out of fully electric lines on especially on freight is is done through uh government funding because it requires a sort of a long-term thinking right in sort of um thinking in decades rather than just fix quarters. So I think that may be one of the hindrance but um you'd have to ask CN. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Thank you so much. >> Yeah. Thanks very much, Councelor Wilson. I'm not seeing other people asking, so I'm going to pass the chair to Vice Chair Joseph, so I can ask a couple of questions. I think one thing that you didn't highlight necessarily was uh the fact that obviously as a North End Neighborhood Association member, you live in the North End neighborhood, so I wonder if you can talk about what you've heard from your neighbors in terms of the impacts that they've experienced >> when diesel fumes are are sitting low in the atmosphere. Yeah, I mean there's a I'm a rail fan. I love trains. I've always loved trains. Um so there's a there's an element of it that's there's a nostalgic connection just to the trains in principle. Um but I don't know anyone that enjoys breathing the the clouds of diesel smoke. And um I think most people would probably prefer to have a quiet um rail corridor, quiet and clean cor rail corridor in their in pretty much slicing their city. um right there. So, um yeah, I think for the most part what I've heard, what I mentioned in my delegation is that people will talk about walking on the trail and having clouds of smoke just uh envelop them and um basically having to run through it or uh roll really fast through it just to get through. >> Okay, one more skill testing question. When you and I were out talking to Sienna about this, uh, it just so happened at that very moment that one of the shunting vehicles was moving around and let a large plume of smoke out while we're standing. But for people who don't know, can you make it clear exactly where primarily people are going to experience this? >> So, it's primarily from Bay Street um because they're parked there most of the time when they're we're not when they're not being used. west of Bay Street between mostly towards Bay Street but like the next street would be basically the Dejardan Canal or um so basically along uh Stewart Street um there. So um yeah, I think that's probably where most of it happens, but I I'm sure that because uh Beasley um has problems with it. So, I'm sure it's um the the trains that continue on into this uh steel district, it's it's all going through Beasley and Keith neighborhood and and all those neighborhoods. So, I'm sure they they get it as well. And like you say, and I'll be brief, like you say, there's a pedestrian bridge literally right over top of the shunting yard area where we where residents stand where these plumes of smoke come up from. And for anyone who doesn't know what the north end is like to topographically, they are there only so many accesses into the north end. Years and years ago, they tore down bridges that used to let people walk and drive into the north end. There's only a few accesses left. And this is one of the only ways for pedestrians to walk into their neighborhood or walk out of their neighborhood is right where uh diesel fumes are shunting coming out of the shunting yard. So anyways, thanks for being here today. Really appreciate it. I'll take the chair back. I see count questions from councelor Tatson. Go ahead. Just in the presentation today, um I saw [gasps] the pictures up on the screen here of clouds of diesel smoke and it was looping 3 or 4 seconds and it repeated repeated. I'm just wondering how long does that does an engine emit that diesel smoke on a regular basis? Like when they're is that was that when they're warming up? Is that >> just uh constant? Can you just explain that? There are times that it's fairly constant, but there like you'll see it mostly when they're starting up. Um, but it's not it's it's not all of the locomotives all of the time either. There seems to be some that are um lacking maintenance or different type of fuel or whatever. I don't know. But um when they start up um there's like obviously an injection of fuel that's happening that uh just causes a a plume of smoke to come out. And then other other times some locomotives that uh this you can see the heat coming out but there's uh really no visible smoke that's coming out but you know it's there's diesel fumes there as well. So um it's just a question of how how much it's being scrubbed or how cleanly it's coming through. >> Okay. Thanks. And then just one last question. Um you said that CN is pursuing a battery hybrid technology with their diesel. Are they are they actually are they looking at um fuel cell technology as well or is that not happening? >> Um I didn't look into I I just know they they are batteries from what I read. I don't know what type of batteries or um I mean it could be I've heard that they were exploring hydrogen but I know that a lot of people explored [clears throat] hydrogen um five or six years ago and then rolled it back um because it wasn't viable but it seems to be uh just really really big batteries that they're they're using now. >> Okay. Thanks so much, >> Member Jansen. >> Thank you so much for the presentation. Um I'm curious just if you could speak anecdotally to your experiences of engaging the folks over at CN um and their willingness and receptiveness to work as a good neighborhood partner with the neighborhood association. [clears throat] >> So I think for a lot of years I was under the impression that uh CN was sort of um untouchable. They were in federal just I remember just being told they were in f federal jurisdiction and they couldn't really do anything about it. So he felt kind of powerless. Um, we had a we did have a meeting uh I think a couple of years ago with the CN rep and then I I have noticed anecdotally after that that it has improved. They in the summertime especially there's a reduction in their the amount of locomotives that are idling and the amount of time that they're idling. Um so that's I mean that's a positive. Um it's still a um it would be great to have uh that just being electricity, right? because it's it's it's not like there's the choices aren't between diesel and dirty diesel and clean diesel. It's you can have electricity, clean electricity, right, since which we saw 100 years ago here in Hamilton. So, >> thanks. I'm not seeing any further questions. Thanks for coming, John. You can sit in the gallery and watch the rest of the meeting or join on YouTube. Up to you. Good. >> And we're on to our next delegation now, which is from Ian Borsk from Environment Hamilton. And this is a virtual delegation. And Ian, if you don't know the rules by now, you're never going to know them. >> Take it away whenever you're ready. >> Yeah, thank you. And uh, chair, I can't see your eyebrows, so I just have a timer going on the side here. Um, hi everyone. My name is Ian Borsick. I'm the executive director of Environment Hamilton. Um very happy to be delegating in favor of this motion and thank you to the movers and generally speaking thank you to all of public health um both uh for the folks who sit on the board but also all health uh all health staff who have been working very hard punching above your weight trying to address ongoing air quality issues within the city of Hamilton. Um and generally speaking really trying to push against uh the uh opinions and feelings that the federal and provincial governments have which is that um Canadians have to continuously be uh subjected to carcinogenic compounds in the air for the sake of economic development. I think as John showed in his presentation, other countries don't approach things like infrastructure like rail this way. They are making improvements. They're making investments that spare citizens these harmful pollutants. Um, specifically on this issue, my colleague Evan will be delegating next, but I want to say um, personally um, Environment Hamilton moved to the North End back in 2021, I believe. Uh, we are now uh, operating out of the Workers Arts and Heritage Center. So, we are right across the street from the Shunting Yard. And upon entering into the north end and then since I moved myself to the north end last year, we've been engaging with residents and really noticing that this is an ongoing issue from CN that we've been long aware of, but seeing it every day, going into the office, smelling it every day now, uh when I live in the north end, it's a very prevalent issue during the last event um in the wintertime where yes, I understand the particular uh temperature and the way you know the air quality or the uh the way the air pressure was working, you kind of trapped that diesel fumes in the north end. And I can just say as a north end resident um opening the door in the middle of winter and your entire house just being flooded with diesel fumes and those smells lingering well past when you return, you know, taking the dog out for a quick walk in the winter. He doesn't want to be out for long. He starts sneezing because of the diesel fumes. I'm choking. you know, you see your one neighbor, they're covering their face, um, and then coming back in and then still smelling it for, you know, 30 minutes afterwards because it just fully entered the house, seeped in, and just became something completely unnoticeable that, you know, our hepailter wasn't able to get rid of right away. Um, is really upsetting to a lot of residents and we know that the residents from across Hamilton are subjected to different issues um, from other sources around the city. But I think it's really important for public health and for the city of Hamilton to continue to put pressure on these other levels of government continue to put pressure on these bad neighbors where we don't want CN to stop operating trains. We don't want to see industry go out of business and the like there too. But we would like to see Canada and Hamilton adopt practices that other countries and other jurisdictions are adopting to ensure that these practices can happen. we can continue to see economic development happen without impacting the health and just the day-to-day well-being and enjoyment of residents. I know from previous motions, from previous efforts that this committee has made that this is likely to pass and I want to thank you for for that in advance. But I just really want to emphasize from a north end resident, this is something that is extremely disruptive to your day. Uh you can't go outside. It is you can feel it. You know, I I was wearing a scarf over my face and then, you know, the next day putting that scarf back on, I could smell the diesel fumes on. Um, and for folks who have been living in the north end their entire lives, this has become something that they are expected to just live with, much like how they're expected to live with emissions from other sources that impact them on the daily basis as well. And it's important for us to point to these other jurisdictions. I think in some cases, you know, looking at a country like Russia where they have winters just like us, they are oil reliant for exports just like us and yet they are making improvements that improve the local air quality for their residents that we aren't. I think we have to take a serious look and really look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, well, why are we doing this? Why do we put up with this? Um, I think the city of Hamilton has really stepped up and said that this isn't something we have to put up with. Um, but I think that needs to continue and that extra pressure on CN right now I think is really apt and I think it'll uh go a long way in terms of uh putting continuous pressure as I know other communities are dealing with this issue with other shunting yards around the country as well. And I'll leave it there and happy to answer any questions. >> Thanks very much. I'm not seeing folks with questions. So thank you much for your delegation. You can watch the rest of it on YouTube. And uh we'll go to our last delegate, Evan Eubin, who is here in person. You can start whenever you're ready. >> I believe you also know the rules. I'll be brief because I think Ian and John probably covered most of it. uh but just wanted to start off by saying that the World Health Organization has a document that they released in 2021 called uh global air quality guidelines. This is a update. They publish it every few years. And uh in the the abstract of it, they have a quote. Uh despite some notable improvements in air quality, the global toll in deaths and lost years of healthy life has barely declined since the 1990s. And I think anecdotally a lot of people in Hamilton can kind of relate to that that quote. Um, I [snorts] wanted to mention from a quantitative perspective, uh, the government of Ontario has a downtown Hamilton air monitor. Uh, it's located in the Beasley Park area, so a little bit south of where this, uh, rail operation is, but still within the vicinity. Um, it measures five different air pollutants. PM2.5, so very fine particles. uh PM2 PM10 which is a little bit larger uh ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide uh PM2.5 and sulfur dioxide are of particular concern especially in combination um and in Hamilton we have heightened levels of sulfur dioxide compared to most other places because of the steel making operation especially. Um, so over the last 2 years, measurements from this downtown monitor, they [snorts] do meet the annual average sulfur dioxide guidelines, at least the average, uh, but they still exceed that average about 16% of the time. And for PM2.5, they're actually above the average by 44%. Um, the measurements also exceed the World Health Organization has a recommended like 24-hour maximum, which is only supposed to be exceeded 3 or four times a year for to be classified as like good air quality. Um, in Hamilton, we exceed that about 10% of the time. Um, so [snorts] yeah, obviously any additional source of air pollution, we should do our best to mitigate that considering that's the conditions we're dealing with. And again, this monitor is south from the the rail operation that we're talking about today. So, uh, in Hamilton, we're also particularly impacted due to a lack of cumulative effects policy. So this means that each industrial facility in Hamilton, when we're talking about regulating it for the purpose of air quality, it's [snorts] considered an isolation from every other facility. It's only regulated as if that was the only facility there. So this is obviously an oversight and it means that it's important for each industrial facility to be pressured into cleaning up its operations. So today there's an opportunity to pressure CN Rail to do that. Uh I know a few months ago I delegated there was an opportunity to pressure DeFasco to do that and there's going to be other industrial facilities in the future where I'm sure there's going to be an opportunity to pressure them to do that. Um but yeah, so in conclusion, I think the motion is important to support and uh see where we can go from there. But thanks for listening to my delegation. >> Thanks very much. Any questions for Evan? I'm not seeing questions for you at this time. So, thanks very much for coming to delegate. Those are all of our delegations for today. Have a mover and sign to receive the delegations by councelor Alex Wilson, second by member Jansen. Uh all those in favor by show of hands. Thanks very much. That's everybody. We're now on to items for information. And by the way, for those uh watching and interested in what the motion is coming up, it'll be coming up under motions, which is item number nine. Item [snorts] seven has items for information. And the first one is correspondence from MPP Dr. Robin Lennox respecting bill 121, Save a Life Act, and the lock zone kit registration and public access in 2026. Can I have a mover and a second to receive this correspondence? Moved by Councelor Chatterson, seconded by member Kirkby. Is there any discussion about this correspondence? Councelor Alex Wilson, go ahead. >> Um, thank you. There's a request to endorse in the correspondence, but I just have a question about, I guess, operationalization. Um, it seems that something for at least for the emergency uh, defib kits that we're we're kind of in control over as a city, like we have the option to add things to that. And so, I'm just trying to understand the request is to say, hey, can we ask the province to come up with a provincewide strategy? But just do we see their value in having Nooxone kits in spaces where there are defibrillators? Is that something we could kind of opt into or try out? I'm just trying to understand um at a local jurisdiction if we could if this is something that requires endorsement versus just operationalization and if staff have given thought to if they see value in operationalizing this or if we've seen that. [clears throat] >> Good morning. Uh Katherine Holtz, manager of the epidemiology and evaluation program covering for Melissa Bixa, director of epidemiology and wellness. Uh thanks for the question there. Uh yes, so uh publicly available Nlloxxone uh kits in public spaces um would be beneficial in the sense that it would help normalize uh the use of nlloxxone to reverse an opioid uh overdose. Um we understand that uh when we look at some of the uh the data around uh where opioid overdoses are predominantly happening vast majority are occurring in private residences. Um so there uh that is just one consideration there in terms of uh the the public access to the nlloxxone itself. Um and that the role that uh the Ontario public sorry the Ontario Nlloxxone program has in terms of distributing uh nlloxxone uh for uh purposes for for take-home kits. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. Member Jansen. >> Thanks so much. uh and through the chair I'm just and and just kind of as a a follow up on that I'm just trying to understand current state uh with respect to the availability of nlloxxone in facilities where there's a defib kit um and you know and and then secondary to that what it would take if there's a significant gap to close that gap. >> Thank you for the question through the chair to uh the member. Um yes. So so Nlloxxone is distributed uh in some parts by Hamilton public health to some community organizations through the Ontario uh Nlloxxone program. Uh I believe Sharon McKinnon is on the line. Um she's the senior pro program uh project manager uh who can speak a little bit more about the the lockum distribution. Um good good morning through the chair to the member. Um yes the nlloxxone uh program that is operating here in uh Hamilton they're providing uh kits to individuals through the harm reduction program as well as through other community agencies in Hamilton. Um, so I don't know if you have any other questions. Oh, there's Sharon. Um, that would be uh kind of the the work of the the bill itself in terms of uh uh making that a requirement there. Look, sounds like Sharon has some audio if she wants to add anything. >> Yeah, I thank you. So uh through the chair to the um to the member the Nlloxxone program here in Hamilton uh through the harm reduction program here at uh public Hamilton public health they are distributing Nlloxxone uh as well. The um Nlloxxone is also being distributed through community agencies uh here in in in the city. >> All helpful, very helpful. And and then just to the second part of that question uh just around obviously an on the-fly sort of feasibility of closing that gap if we were to uh ensure that nlloxxone was available within all city facilities given the the current state of the program and and availability um yeah how how feasible would it be to close that gap and make sure that nlloxxone is available within city facilities. Thank you >> through the chair Elizabeth Richardson medical officer of health. So thanks for the questions around the Nlloxxone program. So the the current state is as you've heard that there isn't the lock zone provided in those city facilities. The lock zone provided through that sort of program to put it in with AEDs would have to be paid for by the city itself. There isn't the programs that Sharon and and Katherine have described are all ones that make it available directly to the public or through agencies to the public. And it is only those routes that are funded by the ministry. And so if an organization wants to provide that nlloxxone currently, they would have to purchase that for themselves. So that's one of the barriers is the cost and then the supply into those sites. And then there's the ongoing maintenance of nlloxxone, checking it to make sure it's properly stored, that it's properly um uh you know checked for dates and that sort of thing. And uh to make sure that if it's used that it's replaced um in those circumstances. So there's a a few things that would have to be put in place in order to make it happen. I think that's why the act itself contemplates doing that very similarly to how the defibrill defibrillators themselves are are maintained and and checked. And so I think that's why that alignment with that uh that act is set out. >> Thanks very much. And just some procedural guidance. Usually we try not to craft motions on the floor. If people are thinking about a motion or want to ask for more information from city staff about the feasibility of something, we can certainly ask for a report. Um I think we have a September board of health meeting. So we can bring a motion back to endorse this bill at that time. If you want to work on some language with staff or wh believe there's some connectivity problems. Uh just flagging that. >> Yeah, the whole meeting seems to be impacted. Today, my name is Mike Bush. I'm the manager of the vaccine records and inventory program with Hamilton Public Health. Uh today, I'll be providing an overview of our program. I'll walk through our mandate, key population health trends, how the program operates, and highlight our 2025 2026 activities and outcomes. Sorry, some technical difficulties there. Like other public health programs, our work is guided by the Ontario Public Health Standards, which establishes mandatory requirements for all boards of health. These standards help ensure consistent and safe delivery of immunization programs across the province. Within this framework, the program is guided by key provincial legislation, including the Immunization of School People's Act and the Child Care and Early Years Act. Collectively, these activities support safe and effective immunization services, help reduce the risk of vaccinereventable diseases, and contribute to the overall health and protection of the community. Immunization remains one of the most effective public health measures to prevent the spread of vaccinereventable diseases and protect vulnerable populations within the community. Monitoring immunization coverage and disease trends helps us identify risks and target public health interventions where they are most needed. During the 2023 2024 school year, only 57.3% of Hamilton students had an up-to-date immunization record on file with public health, reflecting a decline from prepandemic levels. The pandemic disrupted routine immunization delivery and reporting, resulting in decreased coverage and increased number of incomplete records. Post pandemic public health continues to work with families to improve record reporting, support catch-up immunization, and ensure students are protected. At the same time, vaccine preventable diseases continue to pose a significant public health risk. Measles has resurged across Ontario with 2,146 cases in 2024 2025 and resulted in Canada losing its measles elimination status in 2025. Hamilton reported 10 measles cases during this period, which represented the highest number of cases seen locally in more than a decade. Despite increased measles activity across the province, Hamilton did not experience any confirmed community outbreaks, reflecting strong surveillance, case and contact management, and continued focus on immunization and prevention efforts. Local surveillance shows that immunization coverage and reporting are not consistent across Hamilton. While many schools have immunization compliance exceeding 75%, others are below 60% leaving pockets of students at greater risk of vaccinereventable disease. These differences are not due to schools themselves, but rather the social determinance of health and their impact on healthcare access and reporting. These differences are influenced by a range of factors including language barriers, access to information, and broader social determinance of health rather than a single cause. To address these gaps, the program is reducing barriers by developing multilingual resources, working with community healthcare providers to support outreach and service delivery and partnering with school boards and priority schools to strengthen communication and improve immunization reporting. Together, these efforts help ensure all children have equitable access to immunization information and protection. Hamilton Public Health supports immunization through two complimentary programs. Today's presentation is not covering the community vaccination and school clinics program which delivers publicly funded vaccines directly to residents. The presentation will cover off the vaccine records and inventory program which provides the infrastructure that enables immunization across the community. Our work for focuses on three core functions. First is immunization record management. We maintain and update immunization records, assist families with reporting vaccinations, and administer provincial legislation on vaccine requirements for school-aged children and children attending licensed childare. Second, we steward the ordering, distribution, and supply of publicly funded vaccines so healthcare providers have timely access to the vaccines they need. Our third function supports providers through education, guidance, and oversight to help ensure vaccines are stored, handled according to provincial requirements. This includes monitoring the vaccine cold chain, the process that keeps vaccines within required temperature ranges, and responding to storage incidents to protect vaccine quality and minimize unnecessary vaccine loss. Together, these functions ensure vaccine supply is reliable, immunization records are accurate, and publicly funded vaccines remain safe and effective for Hamilton residents. The next three slides on program activity highlights showcase the volume and scope of this work in practice, helping illustrate how these core functions translate into meaningful public health outcomes across the community. Hamilton Public Health reviews immunization records for school age students and children attending licensed childare. Identify students and children with incomplete or missing immunization information and notify families of the immunizations or documentation required to maintain compliance and support protection against vaccinereventable diseases. In the 2025 2026 school year, Hamilton Public Health assessed more than 84,000 immunization records for children attending school. In addition, Hamilton Public Health will screen approximately 8,000 child care child care attendee records across 175 licensed childcare centers to support compliance with the Childare and Early Years Act. In 2025, the program supported the distribution of over 387,000 doses to congregate care settings, healthcare providers, and hospital systems to maintain stable supply and minim minimize disruptions across the community. Working closely with vaccine providers, we continuously monitor vaccine inventory to ensure product availability, support equitable distribution across the community, and maintain vaccine wastage at less than 5%. The team also conducted over 515 550 vaccine fridge inspections to ensure compliance with the vaccine storage and handling protocol, including consultations, cold chain guidance, and education on cold chain requirements, best practices, and inventory management. 100% of reported temperature excursions were investigated to protect vaccine integrity, and cold chain activities helped ensure vaccines remain safe and effective before they administered across the community. The effectiveness of the vaccine records and inventory program relies on strong partnerships and ongoing collaboration across the health system. We work closely with provincial partners including public health Ontario and the Ministry of Health, Ontario Ministry of Health to implement provincial immunization policies and ensure consistent application of vaccine storage, handling and cold chain requirements. Locally, we collaborate with healthcare providers, hospitals, school boards, licensed childcare operators, and community agencies to provide guidance, education, and operational support to help partners meet legislative [clears throat] and program requirements while responding to emerging immunization issues. And internally, we clo we work closely with the city of Hamilton partners to coordinate immunization compliance activities, support school and child care reporting processes, and improve service delivery through collaborative planning and continuous quality improvements. [snorts] In 2025, the program made up 3% of the gross expenditure of public health. Most of the budget was allocated to employee and employer related costs and the program operates with a budget of approximately $1.7 million and a dedicated team of 17.5 full-time equivalent staff made up of data support and control clerks, inventory clerks, coal chain RPNs, delivery clerks, a project manager, program supervisor and manager. With this context in mind, I'll move into the impacts and outputs. To understand the impact of the program, let's look at four key indicators. The first two indicators highlight the scale and impact of our immunization of school pupils act activities. During [snorts] the 2025 2026 school year, 24,114 reminder notices were sent to parents and guardians to inform them when their child's immunization record was incomplete or missing information. These notices provided families with an opportunity to submit up-to-date records, clarify existing immun immunizations, or obtain any outstanding immunizations to meet requirements after the initial reminder notices and through working with parents, families, and schools. 18,758 student records were resolved and brought into compliance with the Immunization of School pupils act in advance of the reminder deadline. The third key indicator is the impact of our ISPA efforts. Among the 58,000 students in the birth cohorts enforced during the 2025 2026 school year, the proportion meeting ISPER requirements increased from 71.6% to 99.3%. Importantly, by the end of the 2526 school year, all school age cohorts had completed at least one full cycle of ISPA assessments since this component of the work resumed post pandemic in the 2023 2024 school year. The fourth key indicator demonstrates the impact of ISPA activities on measles immunization coverage. This is an update from the 2024 2025 annual report for [clears throat] the cohorts of focus this school year. Those born in the 2008 to 2011, 2013 to 2016, and 2020 birth cohort years, measles immunization coverage improved following outreach and follow-up with families. One dose coverage increased to 98.2% a 4.7 point improvement, while twod dose coverage increased to 91.6%, a 3.8 percentage point improvement. These results demonstrate how proactive record review, family engagement, and compliance activities contribute to improved immunization coverage and stronger protection against measles. Every publicly funded vaccine administered in Hamilton is supported by a system that ensures it remains safe, effective, and available. While residents may only see the moment they receive a vaccine, there's a large network operating behind the scenes to support that experience. The vaccine records and inventory program coordinates vaccine distribution, monitors storage conditions, supports health care professionals, and responds quickly when concerns arise to maintain confidence in the vaccine system. A key part of that work is cold chain management, ensuring vaccines are kept within strict temperature ranges to ensure they remain effective for patients. In Hamilton Public Health, we oversee the system through routine inspections, provider education, incident monitoring, and rapid follow-up when storage concerns occur. In 2025, all 584 community sites storing publicly funded vaccines were inspected, ensuring that vaccines provided in the community are properly maintained for effectiveness. The system also supports timely community access to vaccines. Over 19,000 vaccine orders were fulfilled within three business days for health care professionals in 2025, resulting in the distribution of more than 387,000 publicly funded vaccine doses across Hamilton. When cold chain incidents occur, public health conducts detailed assessments determine whether quality and effectiveness have been maintained. This quality assurance process protects patient safety while also preventing unnecessary vaccine loss when products can be safely retained for use. In 20125, these assessments helped avoid approximately $274,000 in vaccine replacement costs while maintaining vaccine integrity and public confidence as the primary priority. Continuous improvement helps us deliver better services to families, providers, and schools. Over the past year, we improved our internal processes for managing immunization record requests, allowing us to respond more consistently during periods of high demand and reducing processing deadlines. For example, during high demand periods, we improved how immunization phone line requests are triaged and distributed across the team. This allowed for better workload management and prioritization for time-sensitive requests. We also worked closely with local school boards to improve communication and coordination. One important change was introducing a secure electronic process to share attendance lists and suspension orders with school principles. This has improved timelines making it easier for schools and public health to work together during the immunization of school pupils act process. Looking ahead, we are modernizing our immunization record systems, exploring automated data integration, and enhancing our cold chain inspection technology to conduct more timely, accurate, and improve consistency on how information is captured to strengthen processes for responding to adverse storage conditions. Together, these initiatives will improve efficiency, reduce manual work, and strengthen the quality and reliability of our services to the community. The final slide highlights the importance of our work through the perspective of provincial public health leadership. The quote from Dr. Kieran Moore reinforces that vaccinereventable diseases remain an ongoing risk and can reemerge if immunization efforts are not sustained. It underscores the importance of strong immunization systems, including accurate records, vaccine management, and cold chain oversight in maintaining protection across our communities. While drawn from Dr. Dr. Moore's 2024 annual report. The message reflects the broader provincial direction on sustaining immunization system strength and vigilance. Thank you for your time today. >> Thank you very much for sharing that information with us on our program update series. Looking for questions. First up, Councelor Tatison and then up Vice Chair Joseph. Take it away, Councelor Tison. >> Hey, thanks for that presentation today. Very in-depth. Um my question is this. Some families choose not to be vaccinated for various reasons. Some are conscientious objectors. Some students are frail. These families then fill out forms and receive exemptions. Are these families counted as compliant once they fill out the forms? >> Uh through the chair and to the counselor. Um correct. Individuals that have completed either a non-concientious medical or a medical exemption would be considered as compliant when we run our compliance numbers. >> Okay. So then is there any lines in your information that share publicly actual vaccinated students versus those that are counted as compliant? Uh Brendan Lou, associate medical officer of health um through uh the chair to the counselor. Yeah, thanks for that question. And that's been something that we um really do try to take a hard look at in terms of what's the difference between uh an individual that may meet all the legislative requirements um which may include an up-to-date vaccination record, may include a medical exemption if that's appropriate to that student or it may include a statement of conscientious um uh exemption. Uh and so some of the data that was shared in the presentation particularly as it related to um increases in rates of measles coverage and and and the one dose versus twod dose coverage that is reflective of the um vaccination coverage within the school setting and not not just uh compliance um with the acts which may as you said include exemptions. Uh and so what we have seen is that uh the work of public health and the work of this program has been incredibly impactful at increasing not just compliance with the legislative requirements but also coverage uh across the community and and and within schools particularly for measles vaccine in this case and I I always um think it's important to draw uh the distinction is that um obviously the primary goal and increasing vaccination coverage is is hugely important and impactful in terms of preventing vaccine in preventable diseases. Um, but having an uh a record or an indication of where students may be protected or where there may be students that uh would not be immune uh is also important to support the followup of public health in the case of a uh case and contact management or or an outbreak response. And so being able to quickly identify in a school setting, for example, who is uh uh protected and and who may be at great whis risk so that public health can act quite quickly uh is is important regardless of of that um uh of um that uh that vaccination um record. And so the the the compliance piece and having a sense of where folks are at uh is an important element um secondary to of course the the the importance of a high level of vaccination across the community. >> Okay, thanks for that. So my my last question on this then is are parents with frail children are those families do they get that information if there are nonvaccinated children that are compliant that could potentially pose a risk to them? uh [snorts] through the counselor uh or through the chair to the counselor. Um so no information about individual students would be shared with with any any other other parents. Uh we really do focus on ensuring that parents and families have the most up-to-date information about where their children's uh vaccine records may not be be uh up to Joseph and then member Denko I believe has her hand up. So go ahead Vice Chair Joseph. Um my comments questions are kind of similar and I don't think I got the answer to the first one which was you know you see uh 57.3 in 2023 2024 and then you're getting to 99.3 and uh do we know how much of that gain is people receiving vaccinations? My query there is if it's not if it's legislative compliance then it would uh probably demand different kinds of actions public health campaigns education campaigns you know these kinds of things. So um through the chair to the member um absolutely a multi multipronged approach um every every person's uh situation is not necessarily the same and we know that folks have different different different needs. Uh just speaking a bit more to some of that shift over the last two years that we've that we've seen. Uh we know that across the province uh our experience was not unique that uh co 19 presented a significant barrier uh to access to healthcare providers to access to vaccinations uh and a the ability of public health to prioritize this followup um uh relative to to to pandemic era activities that that were quite resource intensive. And so um that that drop down to the 57.3% is is um very similar to what was experienced by really public health units across the province. And upon us being able to do a bit more of a a deeper dive into some of that data, we know that that that 57.3% was not reflective of where vaccination rates were at. that was really truly the majority of that being a gap in the ability to report or or that information being up to date with public health. And so um I don't have the numbers at my fingertips exactly, but uh uh likely it was it was probably more in the 80 to 90% ballpark in terms of where coverage had been at that time 2 or 3 years ago. and and the impact that we've seen over the last two years of of restarting much of this work is reflective in that in the figures that were shared um by by Mike in terms of uh over for example this 2526 year and some of the numbers that were shared in the annual report that were reflective of the 24 25 year we did see that u significant increase in what we would understand to be measles coverage vaccine coverage across the community um in in both one dose and twod dose dose coverage and So the the bulk of the gap may have been a administrative records one which which as I said before it does continue to be quite important to ensure that public health can respond in the event of a vaccine preventable disease outbreak. But we do see that there is an impact on rates of vaccination that it that it is important for us to be able to provide those reminders to families where they may not realize that a vac uh a vaccination is overdue or that a record hasn't been updated with public health. >> Thank you. Um the other piece to that is [clears throat] did uh did other areas, municipalities, regions see similar increases from in measles ima immunization coverage rates like 4.7 to 98.2 these kinds of things with similar kinds of interventions. Was do you know if it was unique to here because that's incredible actually. Yeah. uh to uh through the chair to the member. Um that's a great question. I would love to to know kind of what what the impact across the provinces. We've we've completed um a lot of this looking at this data um uh from our own um sort of approach and so I can't speak to say what the impact may have been at in in other places. I know that um some [clears throat] of these processes occur a little bit differently depending from juris jurisdiction to jurisdiction and um when and how they may have be restarting or or or revamping some of this work um post pandemic is is um does differ and so I don't know that I can speak to how that would compare to other places. I know that this is a an interest or priority from Public Health Ontario, for example, though to look at at some of this data provinially and and they have been um uh updating some of their methodology and and how the data is collected and presented across the province uh on their website. Um but there's lots of challenges with this data um just by the nature of how it's reported to to us and um we continue to advocate on how how impactful and beneficial a a a more modern um uh immunization registry or or data system uh that does not require sort of all the all of the uh reporting from parents to public health and and and um that would be in terms of understanding some of these shifts. Um but uh I I absolutely agree that the the the the change or the shift of the impact of that work over the last two years um I think we understand it to be quite important and impactful in terms of of protection in the community. >> Thank you. Yeah, you should study it and publish it. >> Thank you very much. I see member Kirkby has a question. Go ahead. >> Um thanks so much for the presentation. That was really great. Um I think this is a similar question just on the same thing but just wanted to ask do you have kind of a comparison chart or do you able to share the data maybe not off the top of your head but what the coverage rate should be for different um illnesses and then what we are reaching here in Hamilton just that would be a great chart or something to have in the future just to be aware of like where we hit the different coverage rates. uh to the member um through the chair. Um yeah, thank you for that question. So, it does differ from infection to infection based on based on how um based on how transmissible uh uh something is. And so we we do have um uh we we would uh calculations for her immunity thresholds that would kind of set out what would be uh need or require in terms of coverage across the population to really prevent uh uh outbreaks or spreads of vaccine preventable diseases. You may still have cases. Um, we know that this can happen um uh in isolation, especially in the in the global world that we live in with with folks um coming from from other places or or or that these things may spread a little bit in the community from here and there. But really trying to reduce or avoid the risk of of sustained transmission or further spread is is really the aim of of uh a high performing uh community vaccination program. And so, um, we can definitely, um, think about how how some of that information could be presented in some of our our reports in the future for sure. >> Thanks. And now I see your hand is up again. Member Denko. >> Uh, thank you [clears throat] so much. And my first question was was already asked and interrogated by uh, Councelor Tatison and member Joseph. So, thank you for that. Uh I was curious to know we don't have the the specific percentage of students who are vaccinated and compliant by being vaccinated and I think that was the the crux of one of the questions. Um but could we presume that where we're seeing the increases in in number of doses received for measles that that might reflect um somewhat the vaccination rates um because it would also reflect awareness, willingness to be vaccinated um across our system. uh through the chair to the member. Um I would absolutely understand some of those those numbers presented as um indicative of uptake and an improvement of coverage particularly with respect to measles vaccination. Um, measles is a is a vaccination series that is uh relatively simple in terms of it it does just require two doses through uh childhood for someone to to complete that vaccination series. And not all the immunizations that are provided as part of the the routine uh childhood immunization series um may have more doses and and maybe can be a bit more complex. And so um it um th this was an indicator that was chosen because of obviously measles has been a very present topic uh in Ontario in the last few years and it is one that we're able to present sort of fairly uh fairly clearly to for your for your your interest and and and importance. Um but uh but yes, I would say that that that understanding of how we're able to um assess that coverage has increased and improved as a as a uh through this work being being completed. Um we would definitely expect to see uh sort of across uh different routine childhood immunizations um separate from from measles or MMR vaccination. >> Thank you. and through the chair. Um, you did talk a bit about the the fact that families are required to report immunizations unless they're they're done through the school program. Uh, and there's the uh the hope that we can, you know, innovate and improve the the recording system. Have we made any specific progress on that? Um, you know, I I know we've talked about this before, ideally having an integrated electronic system so that when students get back or children get vaccinated, um, that's automatically shared. Uh, because that that certainly is a significant area that creates gaps and barriers, um, for families when they're not aware of the reporting requirement. Uh, do we have a sense of, you know, is there a next step? Is there a public health unit that is moving forward with this? Um what is our hope >> uh through the me uh through the chair to the member? Um it is it's a great a great question and uh a little bit of the information that was shared um by Mike through the presentation uh really illustrated um how much of the framework around this work is is provincial in nature and that relates to uh our legislation the Ontario public and the Ontario public health standards as well as uh uh uh legislation such as the immunization of school people's act and the childcare early years act and and in fact many of the systems that we use to complete this work are also provincial in nature. And so really um the the the path forward to a a much improved um uh system and data infrastructure around this topic is one that uh is is really um the benefits would be reaped at the provincial level and and that is a key finding that's identified through Dr. Moore's uh 2024 report which did focus on immunization that a um a a improved data system immunization record that is is useful and helpful for uh healthcare providers as well as families, students, members of the public is is really an important step forward for our public health system as a whole. And so we continue to advocate, support, engage with uh provincial partners around uh all of the work that is is is um being done towards improving our our immunization data systems uh in Ontario. And then we continue to look at innovation locally around how can we improve the process with what is within our control. and and and Mike has highlighted a number of the initiatives uh that have been completed or ongoing in terms of streamlining some of the process uh uh within the current legislative and regulatory framework. uh and we uh continue to engage with our colleagues in other jurisdictions around where they've found uh successes and and and look to to leverage and and um uh learn from each other in terms of of how we can work within the the current system as well. >> Thank you. If I can ask one quick last question, it's around um you've talked about improving the processes to respond to immunization record gaps faster. We know that this past year, well, at least I know at the schoolboard level, there were a lot of inquiries from families when um the reporting wasn't done because we we've reintegrated that that suspension from school requirement. Um so, I was wondering if we've we've identified areas where we can further improve to minimize the number of days missed from school. um because I I am aware of of families where uh a child did have to miss school because they were working through um perhaps they got an immunization and it wasn't quite at the right time but didn't want to reimmunize and they were having trouble getting through to someone to get that resolved quickly. Um so would you say that we've taken steps to to improve any of the gaps that may be identified or improve those timelines? >> Uh yeah, sure. Maybe I'll uh I'll let Mike speak to some of the specific improvements that we've we've been able to put into place with our program and the school boards over the last few years. >> Uh thank you for the question and through the chair to the member. Um we've made certainly some significant changes in terms of our um processes and our workflow in order to support the community members that do have challenges specifically with timelines. And so um for one, we are now moving forward with screening notifications. So those reminder notices we spoke about, we are sending upfront in the fall of every school year. And so what that enables, it does enable to provide a much longer window of time for families to reach out to healthcare providers, um reach out to public health or to a healthare professional that is able to support them. It also enables them with sufficient time to uh you know receive doses whether they're being administered through a healthcare professional or through the Hamilton public health unit. Um and we also are working collaboratively with our school program in public health as well as our schoolboard partners to identify um children that are you know up against some social determinance of health to provide um supports and opportunities for them whether that's being attached to a primary care doctor because the family does not yet have one or whether that's just helping them navigate the system and understanding the actual steps that need to take place. Um, second to that, we've made enhancements to our Q- line. And so we are working towards a more enhanced automated workflow so that when callers are calling in, they are going to the right area that is required for the service they're requesting um versus them having to kind of go to other areas of the program which we then know bogs down the uh available phone lines across the city. And so those are so two of the areas that we are working with families to support that and are continuing to work with our central west colleagues as well as the province to identify areas that can further enhance and support community members. [clears throat] >> Thanks. And I think member Jansen also wanted to ask questions or had some comments. [clears throat] >> Thanks and thank you for the presentation and uh through the chair. Similarly, I had a a a very um encouraging and positive reaction when I saw some of those those impact measures. So, you know, kudos to to you and your teams for the work that you're doing. Um I'm just thinking through our function as uh as a board here and one of our functions would just be risk monitoring uh and and uh getting a better sense of understanding mitigation strategies for that. I'm wondering are there any risks generally with the work uh that you highlighted in this presentation um that we as the board should be aware of or and andor can uh can help support you? >> Uh thank you through the chair and to the member. Um excellent question. I think uh as members of the board of health uh really it's just having a good understanding of the work the processes and the ways that community members can either report immunization or reach out to healthcare provider or other health unit to receive those. Uh I do find that you know when we run into our our isproposes in the school year um you know parents are very tentative. They want their children to be in school at all costs. And so um sometimes knowing all of the activities that are going on in the world these days in our own lives, work lives. Um sometimes those notices aren't necessarily seen until closer to that deadline. >> [snorts] >> And so I know that time and time again you you guys as board of board members as also some being counselors support the community and you are that outreach. And so as members of the board of health again I think it's important just to be able to provide guidance to individuals reaching out to you and to help um connect them with the right individuals in public health. So that would be the vaccine program so that we can also further support and get them into a place that helps them feel comfortable uh and a part of the community in terms of their immunization status. [clears throat] >> Thanks. I'm not seeing further questions at this time. We have need now a mover and second to receive this. Oh, we don't. We already have one. No. Okay. We do need a mover and second to receive it. Sorry. Moved by member Kirkby, seconded by councelor Tatterson. Um, all those in favor receiving the report. Thank you so much. We have two items up here for consideration. I'll just do a brief synopsis of each to save us some time in case there's any confusion. 8.1 board of health 26028 delegation of the duties during the medical officer of health absence policy. It's pretty straightforward by the title, but if you see the report, we don't have a policy for this. We need one. So when the medical officer of health's away, other people can do things. It's important as a new board of health, we have many of these such slightly boring policies to approve. At this point, need a mover and second to approve the report. Moved by member Jansen, seconded by councelor Alex Wilson. Any questions on this? Not seeing any. All those in favor? By show of hands. >> Oh, it's not trying to vote. I'm so sorry. Thank you. [clears throat] The vote is loading. So, we'll just patiently wait to do so. It's there now. Please indicate your vote and I'll also look online in case anyone's having a trouble with theirs. Member Denko is in favor. Thank you. This is for both. >> It's just for the first one for uh 8.1 and that carries 920. Now we're on to 8.2. Delegation of head powers and duties for the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act 1990. So briefly, again, I'll just summarize this. Usually, it's a city clerk who does this kind of thing, but it makes sense for the clerk for the board of health to do it. And this report was written by the city clerk. So, it seems like the city clerk is fine with delegating these powers and authorities to secretary for the board of health, which is legislative coordinator Matt Cotier. So, it's just a matter of making sure we know who is going to be minding the MFIPA for the board of health. Need a mover and second for this one. Moved by councelor Chhattis, seconded by councelor Alice Wilson. Anybody have any questions, comments, or debate? >> Goat go. >> I heard a go Matt go in the background. Make sure that that's on the public record. That is an electronic vote also. So that's going to be coming up shortly. And that vote is up now. [snorts] >> And member Councelor N, we're just waiting on your vote. Thank you. Councelor Nan's in favor. [snorts] As always, we're not in charge of the internet. Carries 90. And we're now on to motion. So, I'll pass the chair over to Vice Chair Joseph so I can introduce my motion. >> Yeah, I got um great. So 9.1 uh electrification of Canadian National Railway Stewart Street Yard. Uh Chair Kretch, please introduce your motion. It's seconded by uh Councelor Nan. >> Thanks very much. And this is a long time coming in terms of the discussions I've been having with members of the War II community. I really want to thank first John, Evan, and Ian for being here to delegate, but also neighborhood associations in Durand, Beasley, Central, and the North End. I think it's important that all those neighborhood associations are advocating here because they represent both the south part of the ward and the north part of the ward so people get a sense of how widespread this issue is for people and the kinds of concerns that people have across neighborhoods. I want to clarify a couple things that came up before getting into this a little bit more because I think there's some important things that were mentioned and I think it's important for everyone here to have some context about what the story looks like. When I first got elected, I too was told and before I was elected, I too was told talking to CN is a is not really something that's done. Counselors don't talk to CN. We don't do that. And I thought that was weird. And so I emailed them and said, "Hey, want to talk?" And they said, "Sure, let's do it." I also emailed CPKC Rail by the way and Metroinks and all of them were down to talk. And we've managed to do some pretty great things with Metro Links, some things with CPKC Rail, including helping with some of the underpass issues that we had along Hunter Street. And Sienna has done a couple of things here as well, including replacing some of the diesel locomotives with cleaner ones. So, they had at least one there, I think, that was quite a bit older, and they replaced it with one that was somewhat newer, and that certainly has helped with some of the more polluting emissions that were there. But I think this is important. Whether there's a polluting plume of smoke or not, diesel fumes are pouring into this neighborhood 247 in the winter to keep the shunting operations going. If they don't keep those cars operating when the temperatures are below zero, then the cars won't start and they can't shunt. So obviously temp temperatures in the winter will fluctuate and we'll have some temperatures where we'll see either overnight or during the day there are positive temperatures and they don't need to keep them running during those temperatures. But they're basically idling all the time. And the atmospheric situation in that area is such that the diesel fumes in the winter specifically hang in the lower part of the atmosphere close to the ground and because of winter winds blow everywhere around the area. So we've heard complaints from not just W 2 but other wards especially WS one and W three uh neighbors in the Beasley central and north end mostly but we heard stuff from farways Corktown people saying they were smelling these fumes. So that's why we're here today to ask for electrification in terms of the kinds of options available. Believe me, I've had every conversation I could have with CN about this. And they've said for climates like Ontario, not British Columbia, where we can do kinds of pilot projects with things because the weather is more temperate, but in Ontario, we're not there yet for electric locomotives, period. So they're not there yet in terms of that technology which is why we're talking about electrification which is either electric locomotives or electrify the lines themselves in and around the shunting station so that we can ensure that trains that are coming in there and the shunting area itself or the shunting is happening which is right in that local area is happening electrically to keep those fumes emissions down. This has come up to a head as John said in the winter months because the atmosphere conditions were pretty bad. And when we talked to weather scientists, they've said we don't expect the atmosphere conditions are going to improve. Um these aren't these aren't going to get better. They're going to get probably to stay the same or get worse, maybe get a little bit better, but generally speaking, the dissipation of diesel fumes. And one of the things I heard from residents um was the impact it had on their health. So, you heard from Ian talking about it getting trapped inside people's homes and I've heard from lots of people about nausea, vomiting, headaches, inability to sleep, uh all kinds of things like that. Their kids really suffering more disproportionately, seniors having a really hard time with these impacts. And this motion calls on the federal government to address these issues because ultimately they're the ones who are providing all kinds of exemptions and permissions for CN to do kind of whatever it wants. You heard from Evan today about different measures that are above the average and not quite meeting those limitations. And honestly, when you call the Ministry of the Environment, uh, Conservation and Parks at the provincial level, they will come out and look at, you know, what's happening in the area. But if they don't get there when the things are actually going on, they may show up later that day or they may show up the next day, depending on the situation. And they have the tools they have to measure things. They're going to say, "Well, these sorts of these sorts of conditions and regulations are being met and these aren't." We don't really have strict diesel fume standards for these kinds of areas. We need to have those. And the federal government needs to step in when it comes to CN in general because right now they're being regulated as a for-profit corporation that's also given protections as if it was a crown corporation. But if you go on Wikipedia and you can look for yourself, the majority uh not the majority, it's just the person with the most shares in the company of CN is Bill Gates. So I we have this rosy idea in Canada. We have for a long time about our national rail, you know, this this notion, it's all painted in red and white, and we feel very patriotic about it. It's a for-profit corporation run basically out of the United States, and that's what's motivating the operations there. So, this is calling on the federal government to say, "Listen, this is a public good. We want to keep things moving in Hamilton. We want to see industry be supported. Can we do it in a clean way and a way that protects neighborhoods?" I think neighborhoods like this have seen enough harm come to them, especially in the north end, and this is a way to stand up and ask for some action. One thing I wanted to ask for to be changed in the motion was just that I think there was a slight typo on the second whereas clause where it says the 2010 code red report showed a 21-year discrepancy in the life expectancy between some upper and lower city neighborhoods. So, thanks for councelor Tatison for catching that. Um, it should say some upper and lower city neighborhoods, not all. But I think it's an important point to linger on for a moment, right? That we're seeing industrial fallout have harms when we're talking about carbon black, other kinds of issues, but these are having more localized harm to people who in this in this area who are trying to get out. And I can't emphasize enough that the diesel fumes are are really really really causing plumes and pollution around a major walkway in and out of the north end at a GO station. So we're asking commuters. It's at the GO station where this is happening. Everyone, the West Harbor GO station right there. We're asking everybody to to choose a healthy and clean and safe option to commute back and forth to a destination for work. We're asking people to have active transportations. We have a Cheryl bike lane on here. We're asking people to get out in their neighborhood and walk around. We also took some bridges down so people can't walk around. and this is one of the only ones that can walk around in this part of the neighborhood and then we're going to pump it with diesel fumes um at all hours of the day and night. So, I think that's really sending a message to North Enders that that what I've heard a lot from them in this term of council beforehand is that they feel like they're being treated like secondass citizens. They deserve to have clean neighborhoods, too. And this is what this is about is starting to have that conversation and hopefully the federal government will take some notice once we send them a letter and ask them to take take action on that. I will uh I'm done my comments for now and I'll turn it back over to you chair. >> All right. Um is there any discussion? >> Sorry, Council Dan. >> Thank you, Vice Chair, and thank you to all the residents and chair crutch who have engaged on this issue for quite some time um and did it in a way that they're looking for national standards. they're being clear about whose responsibility it is to set those, but also to encourage new technological solutions on this really long-standing um issue, but more importantly, health concern that our residents here in Hamilton have. Um, you know, I know I'm speaking to folks who completely uh get it and agree around the board of health table and also at public health. Changing industrial practices to protect health uh of the environment and our local ecosystems and our people uh only seems to happen when the community demands it. Doesn't seem to just come to us, right? Excellence and standard setting um is not coming forward by corporations. It is needing to be compelled when people are bringing forward evidence and the federal government has opened up funding as referenced by the delegates for rail systems and companies to measure, manage and mitigate climate risks. But there isn't a crossover in any of that work that the federal government is doing that includes railbased air emissions and the ways in which the rail systems and companies are contributing to some of those climate issues as well. Um, you've heard me say for years now that the health impacts need to be made more central in compelling updating governmental regulations both with the province and the federal government and also with the private operators um in terms of their practices. Economics hasn't been solely about simply generating the highest margin of profit for a long time. A healthy economy is defined when it integrates both thriving human and environmental health as well. Um, happy to second the motion. Um, remain cautiously optimistic that the federal government might listen to this well-crafted letter that staff are being directed to put together. Uh, if there's anything I can do uh, moving forward through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, uh, there is ongoing forum there with the rail companies as well. um as well as with the federal government around air emissions and human health as well. So, thank you so much uh councelor Crutch. >> Uh thanks councelor Nan. Any other discussion? >> Member Denko. >> Uh thank you for the chair. Happy to support this motion today. Uh I haven't been down when there's been plumes in in our city, but I was trans um traveling through Havlock where they have a railard right in the center of their small town and was shocked at the the level of diesel fumes when we got out to give the dog a break on our travels. And so imagining living with that uh on a long-term basis, like we heard from some of the delegates, um it it's really unacceptable. uh also understanding that diesel fumes uh have particulate matter. They're considered a carcinogen. Uh when we look at CN's website, they talk about improving safety, but it doesn't seem to reference the the safety of the public from a public health perspective or a health perspective. It's more about safety around the rail lines. And so I think um this is this is a really timely and important motion. I was wondering if there is a benefit in asking council to also advocate for for these changes. Um, you know, a letter from public health uh from the city of Hamilton is is very important, but I can see the opportunity to leverage our our council council counterpart to also um elevate the the message if possible. Thank you, member Denko. Any other discussion? >> Chair crutch. >> Yeah, I just wanted to respond to Ember Denko said. I think it's something that certainly we talked about when we were all having discussions about this motion coming forward and when neighborhood associations were speaking about it. And I think what people identified was that it was really important for us to address the health impacts here first. And I think it's not saying that we can't also ask council to do it, but I think there's enough members here that if we wanted to bring a motion to council, we probably could just do that. It's one of the benefits of having this this board of health model is the board of health doesn't have to ask council to do something. We could just do it ourselves. Unfortunately, because the legislative timelines are a little weird this year, that might make things tricky and which another reason why we thought bringing it to the board of health first was a good idea. So, thanks for that. And I think we're all listening to that idea and thinking about possibly bringing it forward there. Appreciate it. >> All right. Um, any other discussion? >> Seeing none, um, so we'll vote on this. It'll it'll require electronic vote. >> [clears throat] >> Member Denko just needs your vote. Thank you. And that's carried. Uh 9 to zero. Uh the second item under motions is 9.1A. Um the correspondence respecting the uh electrification of Canadian National Railway Stewart Street Yard. May I please have a mover and a seconder to receive the correspondence? Moved by Chair Cretch, >> seconded by Councelor Nan. All those in favor? Anyone opposed? Uh that's carried and I'll turn the chair back. >> Thank you so much. Appreciate that. I want to thank everybody who wrote in as well. We're on to notices of motion which there which there are none and on to private and confidential. So we have a decision to make after we want to go into a closed session to discuss this item. So it's up to us if we wish to. I'm going to look around to see if anybody wants to go into close session to discuss this. I'm not seeing people wanting to do so. So in that case, we need a mover and second on the following that the confidential communication update respecting the Ontario public health standards update be received and remain confidential. So I'll move and second on that. Moved by councelor Casar, seconded by councelor Alex Wilson and there won't be discussion on that otherwise it'll have to happen confidentially. So all those in favor by show of hands. That's everyone. Thanks so much. Now we're on to item number 12 which are our bylaws. We have one every meeting. It's thrilling to confirm the proceedings of the board of health. Anyone want to get this one? [clears throat] Councelor Alex Wilson was first. Councelor Craig Casar was second. And this is an electronic vote. And the vote is up. Member Deno's in favor and that carries 90. We don't have any further business here today. So the meeting is adjourned 11:01. Have a great day folks. See you in September. Bye for now.