Article content

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

——

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ontario public health cuts will endanger the public Back to video

Author: Thilina Bandara, PhD, Community and Population Health Sciences, University of Saskatchewan

Ontario recently announced that it will reduce funding towards public health agencies across the province to the tune of $200 million.

The Ford government also proposes to reduce the amount of public health units from 35 down to 10 over the next two years.

This has caused an uproar in the province, and generated anger from big-city mayors, concern from local health officials and expressions of public protest — due to the amount of funding being cut and the speed at which these cuts are occurring.

The cuts come as a surprise to many and will create a period of public vulnerability, as officials scramble to reorient around a new fiscal environment.