“A board of health shall pay remuneration to each member of the board of health on a daily basis and all members shall be paid at the same rate.” Health Protection and Promotion Act, RSO 1990, c H.7, s 49 (4).
Debate is swirling surrounding Hamilton’s new Board of Health because it is implementing remuneration for citizen members and additional compensation if a council member is its chair.
This is required by law. It is not optional. The Act states shall.
The Act does not require Hamilton to have the highest compensation, as is proposed, nor does it require following Hamilton City Council’s growing practice of double-dipping—that is, council members drawing two salaries for the same work.
Hamilton Board of Health members will be paid $200 per meeting. This matches the rate in Ottawa, but is more than Toronto’s $125 per meeting.
Both Ottawa and Toronto council policies prohibit double-dipping by elected members. Neither council permits collecting pay for chairing Board of Health meetings.
(Ottawa’s 2024 provincial remuneration filing states none of its Board of Health members accepted the remuneration.)
Other Board of Health Citizen Remuneration Rates
A quick internet search provides a sampling of compensation rates.
Algoma Public Health: $110 (four hours or less), $150 if more than four hours
(Source)
Elgin, Oxford, St. Thomas (Southwestern Public Health): $125 (three hours or less), $175 if more than three hours
(Source)
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit: $80 per meeting (Source)
Northumberland County: $101.95 per meeting (Source)
Peterborough Public Health: $100 (four hours or less), $200 if more than four hours (Source)
Double-Dipping as Chair
Section 49(11) prohibits additional payments to elected officials, unless they are the chair of the Board of Health.
“Subsections (4) and (5) do not authorize payment of remuneration or expenses to a member of a board of health, other than the chair, who is a member of the council of a municipality and is paid annual remuneration or expenses, as the case requires, by the municipality.”
Hamilton’s Board of Health plans to grant the extra $200 per meeting to the council member who serves as chair.
This clause in the legislation is designed to recognize that in rural health regions, the work of chair is more time consuming and municipal councillors in these areas are not full-time politicians.
In fact, the Act explicitly prohibits politicians in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo, and York regions from being paid for their duties on boards of health.
The Act prohibited Hamilton, Ottawa, and Toronto at the time it was enacted, stating double-dipping is prohibited in “a single-tier municipality that, under the Act establishing or continuing it, has the powers, rights and duties of a local board of health or a board of health.”
Hamilton proposes to be the first of the major single-tier municipalities to pay councillors for chairing meetings.
Background on Hamilton’s Board of Health Change
Hamilton’s new semi-autonomous Board of Health officially came into effect on June 5 when Royal Assent was given to legislation that permits City Council to appoint anyone to a Board of Health of council’s choosing.
Previously, the Board of Health was comprised solely of the 16 elected members of council.
Under the new council-approved structure, the board will include six citizen members, one representative from the education sector, and six council members. Council chooses all appointees.
Council voted to begin the process to create the semi-autonomous board in March 2021.
At the time, eight delegates appeared before council, emphasizing the need for medical experts and community voices—especially from underrepresented communities—to have a seat at the table.
It took three and a half years, and a new council term, for the city to create a Public Health Sub-Committee. It held its first meeting on December 2, 2024.
Now, those members are Hamilton’s Board of Health.
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Published: July 6, 2025
Last updated: July 6, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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