Changing public
health governance doesn’t solve funding woes: OPSEU
TORONTO – The creation of
a new Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion
sidesteps the real issue facing public health labs, the
Ontario Public Service Employees Union says.
“Moving our public health
labs to a new agency will not in any way solve the
biggest problem they face, which is years and years of
underfunding,” said OPSEU president Leah Casselman. “The
various reports that have come out over the last few
years have made it crystal clear that our public health
labs are drastically short of people and equipment.
That’s the problem that must be solved.
“Otherwise the government
is just shuffling deck chairs, not steering a new
course.”
In the Legislature today,
the McGuinty government proposed the creation of a new
Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion. The
agency, at arm’s length from the Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), would become the new employer
for close to 600 OPSEU members who currently work in
public health labs around the province.
Moving public health
further away from ministry oversight will not increase
democratic accountability, Casselman said.
“We support the
integration of public health functions and the creation
of the new agency as recommended by several blue-ribbon
reports,” she said. “That being said, moving the agency
out of the Ontario Public Service will hinder
accountability, not help it.
“We have seen with
previous divestments – the Municipal Property Assessment
Corporation comes to mind – that when things go wrong,
the Minister responsible has no way to take corrective
action,” Casselman said. “Too often, ‘at arm’s length’
means ‘out of reach.’”
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For more information:
Randy Robinson (416)
448-7441; (416) 788-9134 (cell)
