Minutes of the March 25, 2021
MANITOULIN-SUDBURY DSB BOARD MEETING
Present: Arthur Hayden, David Santi, Maureen Van Alstine, Bruce Killah, Richard Malette, Michael Levesque, Ted Lovelace, Richard Stephens, David Ham, Paul Schoppmann, Kevin Burke, Ned Whynott
Regrets: Jill Beer
Staff: Fern Dominelli, Donna Stewart, Connie Morphet, Melody Ouellette, Paul Myre, Ehren Baldauf
Chair, Bruce Killah, called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.
There were no declarations of conflict of interest.
Resolution 21-28
Moved by: David Ham
Seconded by: Richard Malette
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board move into closed session at 9:33 a.m.
Carried
Resolution 21-29
Moved by: Vern Gorham
Seconded by: Arthur Hayden
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board adjourn this closed session at 10:10a.m. and move to the regular Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB Board meeting.
Carried
Minutes of the March 25, 2021
MANITOULIN-SUDBURY DSB BOARD MEETING
Present: Arthur Hayden, David Santi, Maureen Van Alstine, Bruce Killah, Richard Malette, Michael Levesque, Ted Lovelace and Richard Stephens, Kevin Burke, David Ham and Paul Schoppmann
Regrets: Jill Beer
Staff: Fern Dominelli, Donna Stewart, Connie Morphet, Melody Ouellette, Paul Myre
Media: Tom Sasvari, The Manitoulin Recorder
During its Closed Session, the Board discussed Human Resources Issues.
Resolution No. 21-30
Moved by: Michael Levesque
Seconded by: David Santi
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Agenda be adopted.
Carried
Resolution No. 21-31
Moved by: Edgar Lovelace
Seconded by: Richard Stephens
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Minutes of the February 25, 2021 meeting be approved.
Carried
Donna Stewart, Director of Integrated Social Services walked the Board through the Children’s Services Summary of Policy Changes.
Over the last several weeks staff have completed a comprehensive review of Children’s Services Policies, several changes have been made to reflect changes to legislation, current practice, and language. Most policy changes have been to remove reference to the Day Nurseries Act (DNA) which is no longer in force. Procedure changes have been made to reflect current practice.
Resolution No. 21-32
Moved by: Kevin Burke
Seconded by: Paul Schoppmann
WHEREAS the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB Board has reviewed the Children’s Services Summary of Policy Changes.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB approve the Children’s Services Summary of Policy Changes effective April 1, 2021.
Carried
Donna Stewart, Director of Integrated Social Services walked the Board through the regulatory amendments under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014.
Staff received a memo from MEDU on February 26th thanking the sector for the ongoing efforts to support the health, safety, and well-being of families in response to Covid-19, the memo also provided an update regarding the regulatory amendments proposed in the summer of 2020.
The government has decided to wait and consider implementation of some of the proposed regulatory amendments, particularly those items that would require significant time and energy to implement, such as the two-provider home childcare model, new age groups and changes to staff qualifications.
The government will be moving ahead with the proposed regulatory amendments that will create more flexible options for families, improve health and safety and reduce administrative burden. In many cases the amendments will not require changes to current practice or will be straightforward to implement.
The changes were filed on March 8, 2021 and took effect at that time. A full listing of the changes may be found in the summary of the memo.
6.3.1 Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) Phase 3 Allocation
Donna Stewart, Director of Integrated Social Services walked the Board through the Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) Phase 3 Allocation and Guidelines.
On March 10, 2021 the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB board chair received details regarding additional provincial funding being offered through the third phase of Ontario’s SSRF.
The province has heard from municipal partners that additional funding is urgently needed to continue to protect the health and safety of vulnerable people as the province begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. For that reason, our government has announced an additional investment of $255 million in one-time operating funding to enable a third phase of the SSRF, bringing the government’s total SSRF investment to $765 million.
The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB will receive an additional $1,006,274 in provincial funding through the third phase of SSRF. This funding supports operating expenses only and capital projects are not eligible for funding.
Staff will complete an investment plan per Ministry requirements and ensure that the DSB is following the SSRF Phase 3 guidelines.
6.3.2 Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI)
Donna Stewart, Director of Integrated Social Services walked the Board through the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative Investment Plan.
Service Managers are required to develop and submit an annual Investment Plan that outlines how their CHPI funding allocation will be used each year. This Investment Plan will be effective April 1, 2021 and run until March 31, 2022. The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB’s allocation for this coming fiscal year is $766,183.
The province has established two key program outcomes that will measure performance and ensure accountability:
The DSB is required to deliver services that will address both program outcomes.
Resolution No. 21-33
Moved by: Ned Whynott
Seconded by: Maureen VanAlstine
WHEREAS the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB has reviewed the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative Investment Plan.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB approve the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative Investment Plan.
Carried
6.4.1 Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care (CPLTC)
Paul Myre, Acting Chief of Paramedic Services provided the Board an update on the CPLTC. Since the last update on the CPLTC funded program, many milestones have been achieved and our implementation plan remains on target for an April 1 “Go Live” date.
A significant milestone was to be able to scale up the Community Paramedicine team from 5 to 12 active members. All 12 have now been trained in COVID-19 assessments/testing and on conducting CPTLC home visits. The DSB has also acquired 3 vehicles through a vehicle tender process.
Additionally, after several meetings with Dr. Jason Prpic, staff have finalized Medical Directives that are required to allow Community Paramedic team to perform medically delegated acts in the community for non-acute patients.
A Community Programs Supervisor was hired who will be tasked with leading all non-emergency community focused programs such as Community Paramedicine/CPLTC, Public Access Defibrillators (PAD), Public Relations, Public Education Campaigns, and day-to-day supervision of our Non-Urgent Patient Transportation Service.
6.4.2 COVID-19 Testing & Vaccines
Paul Myre, Acting Chief of Paramedic Services gave the Board an update on COVID-19 Testing and Vaccines.
Late last fall, the Ministry of Health conducted a pilot program introducing rapid antigen testing to a broad range of workplace settings. Four settings were prioritized for access to the Panbio rapid antigen screening device: healthcare settings, essential frontline services, congregate settings, and industry. The pilot involved introducing an antigen technology-based COVID-19 test that is authorized by Health Canada for point-of-care use to be performed at workplaces by trained individuals and did not require shipping a specimen to a lab for processing. The thought behind the pilot was that frequent screening with rapid antigen tests would increase the chances of early identification of cases in otherwise asymptomatic individuals.
The Panbio is a device that can be used onsite at workplaces, with professional oversight, and provides a test result within 15 minutes. The Panbio is not a ‘consumer’ point of care test and must be used within the current licensing and regulatory requirements.
While antigen screening is not preventative and should not be used as a substitute for appropriate prevention activities such as symptom screening, physical distancing, and hand hygiene, there remains interest in using rapid tests as an additional screening tool to support the health and safety of workers, and regular business activity in the province.
As of March 5, 2021, changes to Ministry of Health guidance allow for trained individuals to perform point-of-care antigen testing in workplaces in accordance with the product manufacturer’s label. Supervised self-swabbing for point-of-care antigen testing is now also permitted as part of the guidance changes. Based on the success of the initial deployment of rapid antigen testing, the government is expanding the program to more sectors including first responders, emergency medical services, trucking and transportation, wastewater management, and post-secondary institutions. On March 17th, the Ontario Government announced and expansion of its Provincial Antigen Screening Program in the coming weeks that will see the deployment of over one million tests per week across these and other priority sectors. While the DSB has not yet been selected as a testing site, staff have been in communication with Ministry officials to explore rapid antigen testing and to see if the DSB is an ideal candidate to roll out a program. The Ministry has reached out and asked for details that may make the DSB a candidate for the program.
Vaccines
Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB Paramedics continue to play an integral role as the province enters Phase 2 of the vaccination campaign. As of today, over 23,000 total doses of the vaccines have been delivered in our districts and over 1.5 million total doses have been delivered in Ontario. Paramedics participate in weekly clinics and have begun to deliver vaccines to home bound patients in the Espanola and LaCloche areas. Paramedics also delivered vaccines to home bound patients in Chapleau.
With 4 vaccines approved by Health Canada in circulation, it is expected that a steady supply of dose will continue well into the summer where Ontario expects to vaccinate up to 9 million people. Priority populations for Phase II are as follows in the order I list them:
With a more predictable, steady supply of the vaccines comes an ability to extend distribution methods to other capable vaccinators such as: mass vaccination clinics, pharmacies, primary care providers, site-specific clinics, mobile teams, mobile sites, and public health units. This will facilitate a critical mass vaccination campaign and will ease the pressures on single site clinics.
Resolution 21-34
Moved by: Richard Malette
Seconded by: Richard Stephens
BE IT RESOLVED THAT we do now adjourn at 10:48 a.m. until the next regular meeting to be held on April 22, 2021.
Carried
Original signed by Bruce Killah - Chair
Original signed by Fern Dominelli - CAO (Secretary-Treasurer of the Corporation)
