A possible merger of health units is still being considered by the Ford government.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says consultations were halted in March due to COVID-19.
“Once the pandemic is contained and risks are mitigated for the people of Ontario, we will consider how to complete the consultations and move forward with making the important changes we need to strengthen our public health and emergency health services.”
One of the original proposals included the merger of the two health units in northwestern Ontario.
In the interim, Elliott says $47-million in one-time funding will be given to municipalities in 2020 and 2021 to offset expected higher public health costs because of the pandemic.
She also announced the Ford government is increasing funding to the Land Ambulance Service Grant by 5% this year.
That’s in addition to a 4% increase last year.
To further support public health units as they continue to respond to #COVID19, we are providing ongoing stability for municipalities by investing $47 million to ensure they do not experience any impact as a result of changes to cost-sharing during this critical time. https://t.co/us0Amsp9lz
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) August 17, 2020
