KENORA – Northwestern Health Unit leaders met with Ontario cabinet members this month during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa.
Marilyn Herbacz, the health unit’s chief executive officer, said Wednesday the team spoke to Health Minister Sylvia Jones about the findings of a viability assessment of the idea of merging the Northwestern and Thunder Bay district health units.
The Ontario government in 2019 raised the idea of consolidating the province’s 34 health units into 10 as part of “public health modernization” for greater efficiencies.
The idea was put on hold as the COVID-19 pandemic raged but then was raised again in 2023.
The two health units of Northwestern Ontario, with a combined area of about 400,000 square kilometres, were asked to assess the viability of merging.
Both engaged third-party consultants who produced reports that essentially said a merger would be impractical. The units ultimately decided against a merger.
Jones seemed to understand the business case against merging, Herbacz said.
Herbacz added that Jones “was very clear that the government’s intention was sincere and they only wanted to allow opportunities for health units to go through a voluntary merger process by submitting a business case.
“She was also very clear that there was no plan for punitive action against health units who did not put business cases (for merger) forward. And that was really nice to hear.
“So we were really grateful for the opportunity that we had to bring this forward to her.”
Health unit officials also met with Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy for a discussion “focused on the negative impacts of alcohol in the NWHU region, particularly the statistics related to youth,” said medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon.
A news release from the health unit said the conference “was a valuable opportunity to connect with others and bring issues faced in Northwestern Ontario to the forefront.”
