Item - 2017.CD22.10

The Community Development and Recreation Committee:

1.  Referred the item to the Acting Chief, Toronto Paramedic Services, with the request that he work with the Chief Information Officer to work toward placing additional data sets on the City of Toronto Open Data portal.

City Council on July 4, 5, 6 and 7, 2017, referred Administrative Inquiry IA31.3 from Councillor Paul Ainslie, Ward 43, Scarborough East, regarding Toronto Paramedic Services - Open Data, and Answer IA31.3a from the Acting Chief, Toronto Paramedic Services, to the Community Development and Recreation Committee for consideration.

This report provides supplementary information to an Administrative Inquiry submitted by Councillor Paul Ainslie, and referred to the Community Development and Recreation Committee by City Council on July 4, 2017, regarding Toronto Paramedic Services' (TPS') publication of incident data on the City's Open Data web portal as referenced in 2016.CD13.8. The Administrative Inquiry sought answers to the following questions:

1. Why has Toronto Paramedic Services not posted the incident data for publication on the Open Data web portal?

2. Why has Toronto Paramedic Services not incorporated the City of Toronto's mandate as per the City Open Data Policy?

3. When will Toronto Paramedic Services regularly release open data sets and update on a regular basis?
 

As of August 10, 2017, five years (2012 - 2016 inclusive) of historical Toronto Paramedic Services' response data have been published on the City's Open Data web portal, with annual updates to be released in January of each year. The data consists of incident numbers, incident types, vehicle assignment times, number of vehicles assigned, and forward sortation areas in which individual incidents occurred.

In preparation for its release, the dataset has also undergone an extensive privacy review, conducted by the City Clerk's Office and involving multiple consultations, to ensure its publication is in compliance with the Ontario Personal Health Information and Protection Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and with the City's Open Data Policy.

In keeping with the City's Information Management Framework, Toronto Paramedic Services' is committed to accountable management of the information it collects and generates. By making information more accessible, Toronto Paramedic Services' also supports the City's Open Government strategy to build public trust and confidence in government, and to improve the delivery of City services.