Funding change for health units "good news," Chirico says

Deputy mayor Peter Chirico says it’s “good news” Queen’s Park will begin paying more of the cost of public health units, as long as provincial grants aren’t cut correspondingly.

Caroline Mallan, Queen’s Park bureau chief for the Toronto Star, reported today the Ontario government’s budget, which will be rolled out Tuesday, will include the Liberals asdsuming greater responsibility for local public health units.

Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, Mallan wrote, will announce that government funding for Ontario’s 37 local public health units will increase to 75 per cent by 2007 from the current 50 per cent level.

“This is good news,” Chirico said.
“But hopefully when this comes through it doesn’t mean the equivalent amount will be removed from the Community Reinvestment Fund grant cities receive from the province.”

Chirico said reports about Walkerton and the SARS outbreak in Toronto all recommend health care funding should be the complete responsibility of the province.

“That way, the province isn’t pitting municipality against municipality and municipality against health unit,” Chirico said.

In January Chirico said the province should have to fund programs it’s mandated the North Bay and District Health Unit to implement.

The change in the funding formula for public health units, Mallan reported, is designed to help municipalities better cope with crises such as the SARS outbreak or the campaign to battle West Nile virus.

It also addresses problems, Mallan wrote, caused by the Tory downloading of responsibilities to municipalities.