Sudbury and Algoma health units disagree on proposal to merge
CBC
Two northern Ontario health units disagree on whether or not they should move ahead with a merger, effectively making it a no-go.
On Tuesday morning, Algoma Public Health's board voted unanimously against developing a proposal to the province to merge with Public Health Sudbury and Districts.
Later that afternoon, though, Public Health Sudbury and Districts' board voted unanimously in favour of a merger.
Both votes were in response to the Ministry of Health's announcement last August that it would provide funding support to Ontario health units that choose to merge.
Had the plan in northern Ontario gone through, the merger would have created a new public health unit serving about 350,000 people spread over a wide geographical area.
Ontario has had plans to combine some public health units into larger regional entities since 2019, but those were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health Sudbury board chair René Lapierre said because Algoma voted no on the proposed merger, it won't go ahead.
"The recommendation to government to proceed to anything further had to be in agreement with both boards," he said.
Lapierre added the provincial government has not hinted to him that it would force a merger between both health units if they couldn't agree to one voluntarily.
"They have said to us from the get-go that this was a voluntary process. We have taken them at their word," said Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker, who sits on the Algoma Public Health board.
"I would hope they stay true to their word on that front and don't subsequently use this as the impetus to forcefully merge us."
Shoemaker said he voted no out of a concern that a larger health unit would have services consolidated in Sudbury.
"There is an inevitable pull to the larger metropolitan area, which is Sudbury," he said.
Shoemaker said if the two health units had decided to merge, Sault Ste. Marie would have lost some of its independence in decision-making on public health matters.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.