The government of Ontario is moving forward with cuts to municipal public health services but officials are promising to make the transition an easy one.
On Monday morning at the annual Association of Municipalities meeting in Ottawa, Health Minister Christine Elliot confirmed that the provincial government will in fact be moving ahead with cuts to municipal public health starting in 2020.
The cuts were supposed to be retroactive starting in April 2019. The initial announcement of the cuts to public health left many municipalities that had already formalized budgets for 2019 scrambling to find a way to make up for the changes.
Elliot acknowledged that the announcement of the cuts caused a stir and said the provincial government took into account some of the concerns that were expressed.
"Our proposed approached inspired widespread, I would say, spirited discussion. I want to be clear, we are a government that listens. My ministry has been working diligently with AMO, the City of Toronto and with the association of local public health agencies... We heard about the need for more time," she said.
In May, Doug Ford announced that his government would be cancelling the retroactive cuts and restore 2018 funding. However, on Monday, Elliot confirmed that the proposed cuts will still be going forward starting January 1, 2020. The cuts include transitioning to a 70/30 cost-sharing ratio with the provincial government providing 70 per cent of funding and the municipality responsible for 30 per cent. Other proposed changes for public health in Ontario include merging 35 public health units into 10 by 2021. Elliot said the province's new super-agency model for public health will help bring a more modernized and stronger approach to healthcare in Ontario and allow for better coordination.
According to Elliot, any changes will come with protections that ensure municipalities have an easy transition.
"Future changes will build in protections for municipal budgets, all municipal budgets and the budgets will be treated the same," she explained. "In the first year, no public health unit will experience an increase of over 10 per cent of current public health cost as a result of this cost-sharing change. That's the protection we have built-in with respect to this transition."
Elliot added that in the next couple of weeks, the provincial government will begin working directly with municipalities during the transition period.
"It's important that we do this right," she said. "That's why our government will soon launch renewed consultation with municipalities and our partners in public health. This will be in addition to the work that is already being done at the technical tables. Through this consultation process, we will ensure that sufficient time is provided for thoughtful dialogue and implementation planning."
Ford was also on hand for the meeting, telling municipal officials in attendance that his government would be making the necessary steps to ensure municipalities are prepared for any funding changes on the horizon.
"We're providing transitional funding for your budgeting process in 2020 to help our municipal partners pursue greater fiscal sustainability and protect the future of public services. So you can continue to deliver important services people rely on every day, including public health and childcare," said Ford. "We are increasing funding for land ambulance services by nearly 4 per cent this year... and it will continue to increase into 2020. There will also be no changes to the structure of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund for 2020 to provide you with greater certainty in fiscal planning."
Cuts weren't the only topic of discussion, Ford also announced several initiatives that the province will be giving money towards including investing $13 billion to build new schools over the next decade and $315 million to improve and expand internet service into more rural and remote communities. He also formally announced the opening of the Community, Culture and Recreation Stream application process starting in September. Municipalities can apply to get a piece of the $1 billion worth of funding to go towards local projects including community centres, sports arenas, and cultural centres.