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January 16, 2020

To Mayor Dilkens and Members of Council,

Report S 201/2019 – Vision Zero Policy Implementation

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is writing in support of the City of Windsor Administration's recommendations in Report S 201/2019. Specifically, the WECHU encourages Windsor City Council to adopt the following documents that it directed its administration to create:

As you consider the membership of the Vision Zero Stakeholder Group please consider the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit as one of the three Health and Safety Agency community representatives identified in the Terms of Reference.

The WECHU has a mandate to work with municipal governments and community organizations to develop and implement a program of public health interventions that address the risk and protective factors to reduce the burden of preventable injuries within Windsor (MOHLTC, 2018). Participating as a member of the Vision Zero Stakeholder Group is consistent with this mandate in support of local road safety.

Adopting Administration's Vision Zero recommendations is an important issue for the Health and Wellbeing of Windsor residents. Indeed, injury due to a motor vehicle collision (i.e., either a motor vehicle or a pedestrian involved in a collision with a car, truck, van, bus, motorcycle, or all-terrain vehicle) ranked as the fifth most burdensome injury in Windsor and Essex County (Public Health Ontario Snapshots, 2020).

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Injury Prevention Guidelines (MOHLTC, 2018) state that "Injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) remain a significant public health problem in Canada. Injuries from transport-related incidents are a leading cause of overall injury costs in Canada, second only to falls. The number of road deaths and injuries remains high with MVCs representing the leading cause of injury-related death in 0 – 24year-olds in Canada".

In closing, the WECHU congratulates the City of Windsor and its Administration for taking a proactive and comprehensive approach to reducing preventable serious injuries and deaths from motor vehicle collisions.

Thank you for receiving this letter in support of the recommendations brought forward by your administration, and for considering the perspective we have outlined above.

Regards, Theresa Marentette, RN, MSc CEO, Chief Nursing Officer