Prepared By:
Phil Wong, Manager, Environmental Health Department
Mike Tudor, Manager, Environmental Health Department
Date:
April 19, 2018
Subject:
Seasonal Housing and Tenant Complaint Processes
Background
The Environmental Health Department’s (EHD) role can be divided into two distinct activities when discussing housing in the City of Windsor and Essex County. These activities include the inspection and assessment of boarding and lodging homes, which include the seasonal housing accommodation, and the investigation of tenant complaints. Both activities require high levels of collaboration with local municipalities, as well as provincial and federal agencies. All activities conducted by the EHD in relation to housing is mandated by Part III of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) and the Ontario Public Health Standards: Requirements for Programs, Services and Accountability 2018 (OPHS) and its related protocols and guidelines.
Windsor and Essex County (WEC) leads the province of Ontario when it comes to agricultural activities, with a large number of greenhouses producing crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers. The greenhouse farm operations allow for high yields year round which is unique to this region. Many of the seasonal agricultural workforce are offshore workers from Mexico and Caribbean countries. This large number of offshore workers adds to the vibrant multicultural communities in towns such as Leamington and Kingsville. It is essential from a public health perspective that seasonal workers are provided with a good standard of living and access to public health programs.
Currently, there are approximately 650 seasonal accommodations throughout WEC that are inspected annually. In 2017 Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) conducted close to 900 inspections, including re-inspections for the approval of these accommodations used to house foreign workers, as well as the investigation of health hazard complaints in these premises. Due to the steady growth of the agricultural sector in the last three years the number of staff hours dedicated to seasonal housing accommodation inspections has almost doubled. The EHD works with Services Canada and the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS) to approve all seasonal accommodations for occupancy. PHIs also work with local fire, building, and by-law enforcement to address issues that are associated with seasonal worker accommodations. The inspection and complaint process requires a great deal of coordination as multiple government agencies are involved with the entire process including the Mexican and Jamaican Consulates.
All complaints of potential health hazards are followed up by the EHD. All complaint investigations are required to be initiated within 24 hours and are addressed according to the Health Hazard Protocol 2018 and Health Protection and Promotion Act. The PHI investigating the complaint will collaborate with the local municipal departments that would have the primary role to deal with the identified hazard. This may include joint inspections with local building, fire, by-law enforcement, or public works departments. In 2017 PHIs followed up on over 1000 complaints in WEC of which 170 were related to residential settings. These complaints include but were not limited to mould, sewage, heating, pest, indoor air quality, hoarding, lack of potable water, etc.
Current Initiatives
The Health Hazard Response Protocol 2018 provides direction on the investigation, assessment, and management of mitigation strategies to prevent or reduce the burden of illness from potential, suspected, and/or identified health hazards. The protocol identifies facilities as a place with “public access and/or that serve priority or vulnerable populations in situations where they may present an elevated risk of exposure to health hazards to the public or priority populations. These facilities may include, but are not limited to ice arenas, seasonal farm workers’ housing, schools, childcare centres and other childcare facilities, shelters, and other facilities that may serve priority populations.”
The EHD currently provides education, conducts inspections, surveillance, and monitoring, and has a 24/7 on call system in place to respond to all notifications of potential health hazards in the community. A response to all calls received will be initiated within 24 hours of the notification. It is a requirement under the OPHS that the EHD continues to work and collaborate with local municipalities and other community partners to develop effective strategies to reduce the exposures to health hazards.
Approved by:
Theresa Marentette