In August, APH received notice from the provincial government regarding the funding and structure of local public health agencies that will take place from 2024 to 2026.
“I think for the most part we’re all in a little bit of shock. This will be a topic of conversation in future board meetings,” said APH board chair Sally Hagman at the public health unit’s most recent board meeting held on Wednesday. “Of note, from 2019 to 2021, there has not been any provincial increases to public health base funding. A one per cent increase was provided to public health base funding in 2022 and 2023. According to the Bank of Canada, the average annual rate of inflation from 2019 to 2023 was 3.78 per cent, and a basket of goods and services that cost $100 in 2019 would cost $116 in 2023, a 16 per cent increase in cost,” wrote Dr. Jennifer Loo, APH medical officer of health and CEO in an email to SooToday.
“The history is all there. Those of us in the northeast in particular have had conversations about this in the past,” Loo said. The APH board resolved that the health unit “engage with northeastern Ontario counterparts for further exploratory dialogue about voluntary mergers in light of recent provincial announcements.”Details of what such mergers would involve are scarce at this point.