Chairs set up for three members of the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit board remained empty at the city's budget meeting last night. The board members were a no-show. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca.
Chairs set up for three members of the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit board remained empty at the city's budget meeting last night. The board members were a no-show. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca.
The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has pitted the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit against the municipalities that help pay for health unit services, deputy mayor Peter Chirico says.
Chirico made the remark after informing city council that health unit board members would not be attending last night’s budget meeting.
The health board had held an information session Wednesday night attended by Mayor Vic Fedeli and six North Bay councilors, and chairman Bill Russell, medical officer of health Dr. Catherine Whiting and corporate services director Marc de Grosbois were scheduled to come to city hall Thursday to present again.
That didn’t happen though, Chirico said.
“I spoke with the chair this afternoon and certainly expressed my displeasure with the fact that they were not attending this evening,” Chirico said.
“When asked why, I was not furnished with an answer other than they had provided their information last evening during the conversation.”
The health board had passed a budget for the health unit that included a 29 per cent increase.
While the city’s health levy didn’t go up, council was expecting a $300,000 decrease, since the province had said it would take back another 10 per cent of health unit funding.
Budget discussions took up about one-third of the evening Wednesday, with costs associated with the merger of the North Bay and Parry Sound health units being the most contentious issue.
“I asked the chair to ensure he went back to his board and sooner than later discuss the items that were brought up last night and take them back to the Ministry of Health and ask them to step up to the plate, as they said they were going to because this merger is costing us money,” Chirico said.
The merger wasn’t supposed to cost North Bay and area municipalities any money, and those assurances were provided to him by Ontario medical officer of health Dr. Sheila Basrur, said Chirico, who had been a board of health member at the time.
“I spoke to Dr. Sheila Basrur and asked her very frankly ‘will the merger of the two health units cost the member municipality one dime?’ The answer was ‘no,’” Chirico said.
"And when I asked if they would cover the cost to bring them into compliance, the answer was ‘yes,’ period, end of story. But that’s not the case.”
Chirico said he’s asked Russell to go back to his board, “take a look at it on that basis,” and ask the Ministry of Health to fund their portions of those costs, “to bring up a health unit that was dysfunctional, that wasn’t working and well below compliance rates.”
The health unit budget also includes funding for the equivalent of 18.5 fulltime jobs.
And Chirico said he’s asked the board about spreading the hiring out over a few years rather than bringing in a 29 per cent increase at once.
“Because we know with the Ministry of Health taking up some slack and uploading to it, we were expecting some savings money in our pocket,” Chirico said.
“We are certainly pressing for that, we want that and I don’t think we should accept anything else but that. That’s the way it is.”
Chirico was quick to point out he wasn’t criticizing the work the health unit does.
“They protect the health of this community and all the surrounding communities,” Chirico said.
He also praised Whiting, saying she did “excellent” work.
But in the end the Health Ministry had to be held accountable, Chirico said.
“It has pitted health unit against member municipalities, let’s not forget that folks,” Chirico said.
“It is not the health unit, it is the ministry that has done it and they should be held accountable for it.”
Chirico said he will be discussing the matter with city chief financial officer Brian Rogers to see what options were available.
One suggestion made last night was to reduce the $2 million health levy by the $300,000 the city had expected to save.”
