After taking October off, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health is heading back to work with an agenda that covers communications, youth mental health, immunization and the financial information from the year so far and the year coming up. An interesting meeting with something for everybody, so let’s dig into the agenda…
NOTE #1: This meeting will held virtually online. To get the link you will have to send a request to join the meeting via an online form that you can find with the agenda on the WDGPH website. The deadline to send in the request is Wednesday November 4 at 11 am.
NOTE #2: The meeting begins at 2 pm.
MOH Update(s) – Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer will deliver her verbal report on current matters facing Public Health.
Business Arising – This is interesting. The Board of Health will be asked to review and approve bylaw #5, or, to put it another way, “A By-law to Appoint an Acting Medical Officer of Health”. Basically, in the event there’s no Medical Officer of Health or Associate Medical Officer of Health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, then one person from a list of area MoHs or AMoHs will be empowered to act in that capacity.
PRESENTATIONS:
- WHY Survey 2026 Update
- Protecting Health Through Safe Recreational Water
- 2027 Draft Budget Presentation
Client and Community Support Q1 & Q2 – In the first half of this year, Public Health’s frontline team handled more than 17,000 interactions, averaging 2,953 per month; parents and caregivers accounted for 58 per cent of contacts, while the general public accounted for 35 per cent. The AI chatbot meanwhile averaged 196 monthly visits and 138 engaged conversations while also reporting a 91 per cent automated resolution rate. The report also notes improved equitable access to children’s health services on two fronts, one was the Prenatal Care Access Program and the other is Sight for Success, which provides eligible students in Grades 1–12 with up to $160 toward prescription glasses.
Health Protection 2026 Q3 Summary – This is the quarterly report for all the inspections that Public Health has done in the last three months from food inspections to youth access to tobacco to infectious disease outbreaks. See the report here.
WHY Survey 2026 Update – WHY stands for “Well-Being and Health Youth” and this survey collects information on children and youth health and well-being every two years. The 2026 survey received responses from 20,725 students, 3,035 parents and 1,318 school staff; approximately 64 per cent of eligible students participating, and was expanded for the first time to include French-language schools through Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir. The mental health results did show some improvement with 52 per cent of students reporting high positive mental health compared to 47 per cent in 2024, thoughts of suicide decreased from 16 per cent to 13 per cent, and thoughts of self-harm declined from 21 per cent to 19 per cent. Substance use trends are also positive with alcohol use among Grades 7–12 students declining to 26 per cent, compared with 40 per cent in 2019, while vaping and cannabis use also decreased. The survey also introduced new questions on food insecurity, eating behaviours, gaming, gambling and climate change.
Immunization Coverage in Schools and Licensed Childcare Settings – During the 2025–2026 school year, Public Health identified 6,390 elementary and secondary students with overdue or incomplete immunization records and sent 6,371 notices to families but 766 students were temporarily suspended after repeated efforts to address outstanding requirements. There were another 1,887 children in licensed child care with incomplete or overdue records too. The report suggests vaccination through rural and evening clinics, multilingual information, simplified online record submission, and individualized support for children experiencing needle anxiety or other challenges as ways to help improve vaccine uptake.
Protecting Health Through Safe Recreational Water – “Recreational Water” means pools and spas. In 2026, Public Health’s safety program covered 94 public pool and spa facilities, with 203 inspections completed to date, compared with 95 facilities and 279 inspections in 2025. The report notes that climate change and warmer weather means increase recreational water use and harmful blue-green algae blooms, while extreme rainfall can introduce bacteria and other contaminants into lakes and beaches, which means more pressure on the need for these inspections. The report also notes the need for equitable access to safe recreational water, particularly for children, older adults, low-income residents and people without private cooling options and some of the barriers like transportation, facility costs, accessibility and communication challenges.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Second Quarter Financials – The cost-shared mandatory programs reported a surplus of $1.126 million as of June 30, compared with a budgeted mid-year surplus of $686,484. That’s mostly about timing, and it’s not expected to last, but revenue was also up slightly and there were notable variances included lower-than-budgeted salary and benefit spending, IT costs, and professional services.
Interim Third Quarter Financials – This report shows a surplus of $839,307, compared with a budgeted year-to-date surplus of $290,434, which is, again, due to timing. No financial changes are recommended.
2027 Draft Budget – The consolidated budget proposes an increase of 4.2 per cent or $1.14 million over the 2026 approved budget for 2027. The Ministry of Health is assumed to provide a one per cent increase in base funding for cost-shared programs while municipalities are being asked to contribute a combined $10.34 million, which includes an 2.9 per cent increase, from 2026. Guelph’s share is a little over $4.8 million, which is a $136,000 increase from this year.
Annual Facilities Update – Public Health reports that its facilities are being maintained effectively, major flood damage at the Guelph office last December has been repaired, and investments in workspace redesign, water-loss prevention, accessibility, and energy efficiency are supporting safer and more sustainable operations. No new funding is being requested.
CLOSED SESSION:
The board will tackle the “2026 Cybersecurity Assessment” and will have an in-camera discussion about the “Reserves and Reserve Funds Status” as of the end of August.
