Public health is working for us
The dedicated health professionals at Ottawa Public Health are focused on protecting your health – and protecting our community.
By sharing services with the City of Ottawa, we save $8 million on administrative costs – savings that are reinvested in Ottawa’s public health services.
And by focusing on emerging health issues, we save even more. Every $1 invested in public health saves $14 in acute care costs. That’s a smart investment.
Mergers and cuts to public health will hurt people here
The provincial government wants to merge Ottawa Public Health with all of Eastern Ontario, from Kingston to Cornwall to Renfrew, and cut provincial funding for public health.
That’s the wrong move. Mergers and cuts will only weaken our strong public health services and disrupt our focus on Ottawa.
We need to keep public health close to home.
Merging health units will hurt Ottawa
Ottawa is the second largest city in the province. We need to keep public health close to home – and dedicated to serving Ottawa.
Merging the region removes local accountability, increases costs, and puts Ottawa’s services at risk. Our smaller neighbours don’t want to merge with us and put their services at risk, either.
Preserving the existing boundaries of Ottawa Public Health is the best way to serve the unique needs of all of our communities.
Ottawa Public Health keeps our community safe and healthy
Even small cuts will do big harm
Cuts to public health put vital programs in danger and hurt people in our community.
A cut of just 5%, or $3 million, is the same as eliminating our entire School Health program and stopping immunizations in Ottawa’s schools, putting all of our kids’ health at risk.
That’s also 3x as much as it costs to deliver the Safe Water program. The last thing Ontario needs is to put the safety of our drinking water at risk. We need to keep public health close to home.
Together, let’s speak up for a thriving Ottawa
We are the dedicated health professionals at Ottawa Public Health who work hard every day to help parents and protect our kids’ health, keep our water and food safe, deliver dental care and mental health programs, and control infectious diseases and prepare for emergencies.
We call on the Province to:
- Stop the plan to merge Ottawa Public Health with the rest of Eastern Ontario – and keep our focus on serving Ottawa’s unique needs
- Stop the cuts to public health funding, which put vital programs at risk
- Start investing in public health, including with legislation that guarantees adequate levels of funding and cost-share ratios between provincial and municipal governments
Tell the provincial government to
PROTECT
Ottawa Public Health
Let’s put the brakes on the merger and cuts to our public health services – and tell the government to start investing to make public services even better.
