Expanding Health Benefits for Toronto City Staff

The Pension Payroll and Employee Benefits team was tasked with reviewing options and reporting back by the third quarter of 2025. City staff carefully review our benefits plans to ensure they continue to meet the health, and wellness needs of both employees and Council members. This process enables the City to maintain a strong, comprehensive coverage that reflects the changing needs of our workforce. The City's employee complement comprises unionized and non-unionized employees. Changes to the City employees' benefits plans follow a defined approval process. Changes to the benefits plan for unionized employees are a result of collective bargaining and require City Council approval. For non-unionized employees, changes are recommended by staff and typically align with Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79 ratified benefits changes, before being presented to Council for approval. This report provides information on the status of the inclusion of gender-affirming benefits under the City's benefit provider, Green Shield. Following City Council's ratification of collective agreements in December 2024 and March 2025, both the Toronto Civic Employees Union Local 416 and Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79 now include gender affirmation benefits not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Inclusion of gender-affirming benefits within the Toronto Professional Firefighters' Association Local 3888 is pending the outcome of Interest Arbitration. The Association of Community Centres and Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2998 are currently engaged in collective bargaining. Monetary items, including gender-affirming benefits, have not yet been discussed. Changes to the City's benefits plan for non-union employees, including expanding health care benefits along with the transfer of funding provisions held in the City's Corporate Accounts to Divisions and Agencies consistent with impacts associated with approved collective agreements, will be considered as part of the Operating Variance Report for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025, proceeding to the Executive Committee meeting on September 29, 2025.