Regional Councillor Report

Submitted by: Colleen Jordan, Regional Councillor Wards 3 & 4

Date: October 9, 2008

Health and Social Services - September 25, 2008

Dine Safe Durham

Health and Social Services Committee endorsed a resolution to recommend to Regional Council that the “Dine Safe Durham” food safety disclosure program be approved.

This program will be similar to on-site posting programs in Toronto and Peel Region. The postings will have three categories as follows; Green is a pass, meaning satisfactory conditions, Yellow means a conditional pass whereby infractions have been found resulting in significant violations or food handling infractions where corrections are required within a short time frame (e.g. 24 to 72 hours), Red represents a closure which indicates significant infractions leading to health hazards and serious health outcomes (such as foodborne illness).

Prior to implementation, all public health inspectors will undergo training on policies and procedures of the new program, food establishment operators will be provided with training/resources on “Steps to Achieving Green” and a public awareness program will be implemented.

Employment Insurance

The Committee received a report providing information about Employment Insurance in Durham Region. In the Oshawa CMA and surrounding area, 74% of applicants are ineligible to receive EI benefits. In contrast, in other Provinces rates of eligibility are as high as 74%. The criteria for eligibility for regular EI benefits in the Oshawa CMA is also higher than other regions in Ontario. For example, in Windsor a worker will require only 560 hours to qualify, whereas, in the Oshawa CMA 665 hours are needed.

Durham also continues to see an increase in EI applicants. Considering that many of these applicants will not qualify, it is expected that a number will apply for social services. It is forecasted that Ontario Works numbers will increase as much as 8 to 9% when compared to 2008. Using that estimate, it is expected that the cost to the municipality in 2009 will be an increase of about $2.6 million. Considering that in other Provinces a number of these applicants would qualify for EI, it is estimated that Durham Region will pay over $1.5 million or 65% more on these costs than municipalities located in other Provinces.

The low eligibility rates for EI are making social assistance the option for many low income workers in Durham. As numbers of social assistance recipients increase it will also have an effect on childcare subsidies and rent geared to income subsidies.

The Committee will meet prior to the next Regional Council meeting to endorse recommendations dealing with these issues.