These meeting notes are part of Documenters Canada, which is partly funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Learn more about our program here. The Green Line maintains full editorial independence to ensure journalistic integrity.
The Board of Health is keeping up with its 2024 to 2028 Toronto Public Health Strategic Plan, but residents and health-care professionals say more funding and resources are needed to meet its goals.
On July 13, 2026, Toronto Public Health (TPH) presented its annual report to the City, saying two out of its 22 key actions are complete, 19 are on track and one is upcoming.
All actions, including their objectives, status and progress are listed on the City of Toronto’s website. They include: establishing a process for identifying health hazards in mass gatherings, implementing a workplace development strategy to support staff and more.
The two actions completed on the list so far:
- Provide current, public-facing data on the use of alcohol and other intoxicants, as well as their harms.
- Build and share a dynamic dashboard that shows the trends and characteristics of the local population’s health information.
But despite TPH being on track with most of the plan’s items, a few speakers at the recent public meeting asked the City to allocate more resources and money, so that it can actually meet the objectives listed.
The four-year plan outlines five key objectives:
- Strengthen health protection, disease prevention and emergency preparedness
- Promote health and well-being across the lifespan
- Promote the conditions to support positive mental health and reduce the harms of substance use
- Advocate to advance health equity
- Nurture a positive workplace culture
Alma Marinelena, a public health nurse working in the control of infectious diseases, said that City leaders need to prioritize the drug toxicity epidemic, pointing to objective three in the strategic plan.
“If the City is serious about this objective, we need City leaders to be bolder. We need you to explore all founding avenues to allow these [supervised consumption] sites to re-open and stay open,” she says. “Otherwise, we know that more people in Toronto will die preventable deaths.”
Marinelena also said that Toronto public health nurses are paid significantly less than other public health nurses in neighbouring municipalities. She added that there should be at least a $10,000 increase for each worker.
She says that burnout is directly connected to staffing shortages and low wages. She wants her colleagues to avoid staying home because of burnout and not being able to pay their bills.
Other deputants raised concerns on TPH’s approach to vaccination and tuberculosis prevention and treatment.
After receiving the information, the Board of Health asked TPH to show the progress it’s made and identify the risks that could affect the plan or need more funding in next year’s report.
Until then, Torontonians can keep up with the progress on TPH’s strategic plan by checking out the City’s website.
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