Health in Toronto

Last updated

Several factors affect citizens' health in Toronto.

Contents

Description

The city is part of the Toronto Public Health Division, and is home to many hospitals.

Another risk to health for citizens is exposure to crime in the city. Toronto has a rate of violent crime of 738 incidents per 100,000 people, though this is still lower than the national average of 951, according to 2006 Statistics Canada data, and far lower than other cities of comparable size (particularly those in the United States). [1]

Governance

Several municipally funded programs affect health in the city. They are listed below, and where possible their annual budgets are provided. Provincial and federal programs also affect health in Toronto, such as the provincial Smoke-Free Ontario Act which bans cigarette smoking in enclosed spaces in the province.

History of public administration

All municipalities had their own public health programs, meaning a patchwork of systems throughout Ontario, including within the modern borders of Toronto. For example, the Town of Mimico, Town of New Toronto, and Village of Long Branch each had their own program, despite the communities bordering each other within a few kilometre stretch of Lakeshore Road. In 1956, the Lakeshore Board of Education in 1956 asking the councils of to consider forming one central service. [3]

Metropolitan Toronto was created in 1954 as a measure to encourage collaboration between the urban municipalities in southern York County. In 1960, the Toronto Board of Health chair called for a Metro-wide board, stating "epidemics don't recognize municipal boundaries. The present chaotic division of health responsibilities in ridiculous." [4]

Premier John Robarts' government looked to find efficiencies in local governance. That included Health Minister Dr. Matthew Dymond proposing a joint board of health for Metro's six municipalities. Local Medical Officers of Health and board chairs largely balked at the idea, announced in 1967, even though the province offered to pay 75% of costs, instead of the previous 25%. [5] It was thought that a merger would raise costs, [6] that one body couldn't serve 2 million residents, and that a merger might lead to a "lowest common denominator" approach. [7] [8] Dymond remained firm, noting that other large municipalities had been successful in such transitions. [9]

Organizations

Health organizations in Toronto include:

The city hosted the 2006 XVI International AIDS Conference.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarborough, Ontario</span> District of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Scarborough is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated atop the Scarborough Bluffs in the eastern part of the city. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue and the city of Markham to the north, Rouge River and the city of Pickering to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south. Scarborough was named after the English town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, inspired by its cliffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

New Toronto is a neighbourhood and former municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west area of Toronto, along Lake Ontario. The Town of New Toronto was established in 1890, and was designed and planned as an industrial centre by a group of industrialists from Toronto who had visited Rochester, New York. New Toronto was originally a part of the Township of Etobicoke. It was an independent municipality from 1913 to 1967, being one of the former 'Lakeshore Municipalities' amalgamated into the Borough of Etobicoke, and eventually amalgamated into Toronto. The neighbourhood has retained the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temiskaming Shores</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Temiskaming Shores is a city in the Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created by the amalgamation of the town of New Liskeard, the town of Haileybury, and the township of Dymond in 2004. The city had a total population of 9,634 in the Canada 2021 Census. Temiskaming Shores is Ontario's second-smallest city, in terms of population, after Dryden. Haileybury is the seat of Timiskaming District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Toronto</span> Dissolved region in Ontario, Canada

The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, which were starting to urbanize rapidly after World War II. It was commonly referred to as "Metro Toronto" or "Metro".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North York</span> District of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, the district has a population of 869,401.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York, Ontario</span> District of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

York is a former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River.

Alan Tonks is a former Canadian politician. He was the Liberal MP for the federal riding of York South—Weston in Toronto from 2000 to 2011, and was the final Metro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation of Metro Toronto into the new City of Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancelled expressways in Toronto</span> Unbuilt freeways in Toronto, Canada

The cancelled expressways in Toronto were a planned series of expressways in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that were only partially built or cancelled due to public opposition. The system of expressways was intended to spur or handle growth in the suburbs of Toronto, but were opposed by citizens within the city of Toronto proper, citing the demolition of homes and park lands, air pollution, noise and the high cost of construction. The Spadina Expressway, planned since the 1940s, was cancelled in 1971 after being only partially constructed. After the Spadina cancellation, other expressway plans, intended to create a 'ring' around the central core, were abandoned.

Ruth Anna Grier is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995, and served as a high-profile cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Gardiner</span> Canadian politician (1895–1983)

Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was the first chairman of Metropolitan Toronto council, the governing body for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, from 1953 to 1961. As Metro Chairman, Gardiner, nicknamed "Big Daddy," was a staunch advocate of growth and expansion and was responsible for many capital works projects, including the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway.

Russell Harold Ramsay was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1978 to 1985, and was a cabinet minister in the government of William Davis. Ramsay was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Thomas Leonard "Tom" Wells was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1963 to 1985 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Robarts and William Davis. There is also a school in Scarborough, Ontario named after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal government of Toronto</span> Local government of the City of Toronto

The municipal government of Toronto is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its structure and powers are set out in the City of Toronto Act.

Barbara Greene is a former Canadian politician. She served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. She was previously a municipal politician in North York, and campaigned for mayor of the city in 1985. She is a Red Tory, and holds progressive views on most social issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Branch, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Long Branch is a neighbourhood and former municipality in the south-west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-western corner of the former Township of Etobicoke on the shore of Lake Ontario. The Village of Long Branch was a partially independent municipality from 1930 to 1967. Long Branch is located within a land grant from the government to Colonel Samuel Smith in the late 18th century. After Smith's death, a small portion of it was developed as a summer resort in the late 1800s.

Ann Marie Curtis, née McCarthy, was a Canadian politician, who served as the reeve of the Toronto suburb of Long Branch, Ontario from 1953 to her retirement in 1962. She was the first, and only, woman to become reeve of Long Branch. She and Dorothy Hague of the Village of Swansea were the first women to become reeves or mayors in the Toronto area, both taking office for the first time on January 1, 1953. As reeve, she also served on Metropolitan Toronto Council from its creation in 1953 until 1962 and was the first woman on its executive.

In Ontario, a Public Health Unit is a government organization under the supervision of a local board of health. A PHU is under the direction of a Medical Officer of Health (MOH), who is appointed by the supervising board of health. The principle legislation governing PHUs is the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

References

  1. ↑ "National crime rate down in 2006". 18 July 2007 – via Toronto Star.
  2. 1 2 3 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "Public Health United Formation Urged". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. 13 April 1956. p. 4.
  4. ↑ "Health Service Amalgamation For Metro Area Is Suggested". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. 12 November 1960. p. 5.
  5. ↑ Anderson, Susan (2 June 1967). "Dymond plan in rough seas: York Spurns joint health setup". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. p. 5.
  6. ↑ "Proposed health district running afoul of boroughs". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. 2 October 1967. p. 15.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Susan (6 December 1967). "Metros 6 mayors close ranks against amalgamation of their hoards of health". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. p. 5.
  8. ↑ "A crazy-quilt health system does not serve Metro". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. 8 December 1967. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "Hears plea, Dymond still firm on one health unit for Metro". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. 7 December 1967. p. 5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.