Background

The Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS, 2026) are published by the Minister of Health (MOH) and documents the minimum expectations for public health programs and services to be delivered by Ontario's 29 boards of health/public health units. 

Each year, the WECHU develops programs and work plans to fulfill the expectations of the Standards as defined in the OPHS. This report provides a quarterly status summary for the WECHU’s Intervention Work Plans (IWPs) within the 2026 Annual Service Plan that contributes to accomplishing the requirements of the OPHS Standards.

Reporting Structure

The project leads for each active IWP were asked to provide a progress report on their work at the end of the Quarter. The status updates consisted of the following categories:

• On Target (the intervention is progressing at the planned pace)
• Variance (the intervention is behind the planned pace)
• Complete (the intervention has been completed)
• Deferred (current work on the intervention has been stopped – with potential to continue next year)
• Cancelled (the intervention will no longer occur this year)

If the intervention was identified as ‘Variance’, ‘Deferred’, or ‘Cancelled’ then a reason was provided. In these cases, the most relevant reason was selected from the following list:

• Adjusted Program Priorities (program priority alterations resulted in changes to the IWP)

• Human Resource Issue (staffing circumstances resulted in changes to the IWP)

• Partnership Limitations (external partner(s) did not meet their obligations)

• Public Health Emergency (a significant emergency resulted in changes to the IWP)

• Internal Resource Limitation (financial, material, or internal support limitations resulted in changes to the IWP)

• External Resource Limitation (External financial, material, or internal support limitations occurred with partnerships, collaborations, funding, or regulations)

It is important to note that reporting reflects a snapshot summary of progress made on interventions based on the predetermined milestones for the intervention for this quarter. This does not necessarily represent the amount or scope of work captured under each program.

Operational Plan Overview

Each Intervention Work Plan (IWP) implemented at the departmental level contributes to meeting the overall goal of the Standards in the OPHS. Table 1 depicts an overview of total work plan activity for the quarter across the organization, while Table 2 illustrates each Standard type and the status of the IWP’s contributing to that realm. 

Operational Plan Status Summary

Part 1: Foundational Standards Work Plans

Foundational Standards articulate specific requirements that underlie and support all Standards (OPHS, 2026).

There were 21 active Foundational Standards intervention work plans (IWP’s) in progress during Q1 2026. 19 (95%) of the IWP’s were reported as on target. 1 work plan was as having a variance.

Table 3 displays the number of work plans per Foundational Standard focus that were reported as on target or variance.

Part 2: Program Standards Work Plans

Program Standards are grouped thematically and articulate broad population-based goals, outcomes and specific requirements (OPHS, 2026).

There were 89 active Program Standards intervention work plans (IWP’s) in progress during Q1 2026. 87 (98%) of the IWP’s were reported as on target. 2 work plans reported a variance. 

Figures 3 & 4: Overall Status and Reason for Variance

Part 3: Corporate Internal Work Plans

Corporate work plans are internal WECHU work plans that support departments in meeting their responsibilities under the OPHS.

There were 34 active Program Standards intervention work plans (IWP’s) in progress during Q1 2026. 31 (91%) of the IWP’s were reported as on target or completed, 2 reported a variance and 1 was deferred.