Mayor John Tory announced Friday that Toronto is tapping two public-sector heavyweights to lead the city’s new Office of Recovery and Rebuild.
The new office will be headed up by Saad Rafi, who managed the 2015 Pan Am Games. The public health strategy around the recovery will be guided by Dr. David Mowat, Ontario’s former chief medical officer of health.
“In these two individuals I can tell you we have found the best possible one-two punch you could possibly find to make sure we have the best plan, the most well-thought-through plan,” Tory said.
He said that the two will work closely together to make sure that the best health advice remains paramount in all decision-making.
“Everything will be guided by considerations of public health and making sure that people stay healthy,” Tory said.
Tory said that while city staff have already been engaged in planning for the reopening of the city when social distancing measures are eventually eased, the city approached Raffi and Mowatt because of their extensive experience at multiple levels of government.
“We needed two people steeped in experience,” Tory said, adding that at the moment, the deputy city managers and public health officials already “have their hands full.”
“They are fully occupied managing the biggest emergency this city has ever seen,” Tory said. He added that brining in special help to guide the recovery and rebuilding effort “is the responsible thing to do.”
Rafi has been a deputy minister in the ministries of Health and Long-Term Care, Energy and Infrastructure, Transportation, and Public Safety. Rafi has also been a partner at Deloitte LLP. A profile on Deloitte’s website says he was responsible for implementation the Ontario Pension Plan.
Mowat has had roles at the local, provincial and federal levels of government. He has been the medical officer of health in Kingston and Peel Region, and served twice as Ontario’s chief medical officer of health. Mowat also served as deputy chief public health officer at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Office of Recovery and Rebuild will be comprised of 30 to 40 city staff and will report to City Manager Chris Murray.
Speaking alongside Tory Friday, Murray echoed agreed that while some good work has already been done by city staff on planning for the recovery, a dedicated team is needed.
“You need people who are going to be engaging 24/7 on this task,” Murray said. “It’s in our interest to have people who are not just skilled, but have relationships with upper levels of government.”
Dr. Eileen de Villa will continue to oversee Toronto’s public health response to the COVID-19 crisis and she assured reporters Friday that she isn’t going anywhere.
“I will oversee and continue to provide leadership to COVID recovery and rebuild, plus COVID response and all the other aspects that we need to make sure are being taken care of and well managed on behalf of the city,” de Villa said.
She said the public will continue to see her “actively engaged” on response, recovery and the rest of Toronto Public Health’s services to the city.
De Villa added that she has worked with Mowat for over a decade, including on efforts to combat measles, H1N1 and Ebola and that he has been a mentor to her in in her own career.
