Municipalities within the Kenora and Rainy River Districts will likely be paying more to the Northwestern Health Unit.
Health Minister Christine Elliott told delegates attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference in Ottawa that they will be responsible for a 30% share of costs starting in 2020.
The provincial share will be 70%.
Elliott notes “In the first year no public health unit will experience an increase over 10% of current public health costs as a result of this cost sharing change.”
She says they will also continue to look at merging health units with a new round of consultations starting this fall.
“Through this consultation process, we will ensure that sufficient time is provided for thoughtful dialogue and implementation planning.”
Elliott says the discussions will be supported by the release of a discussion paper that will include possible boundaries of the new health units.
“These proposals are intended to help guide these consultations. They should in no way be considered final or inflexible.”
There was talk earlier this year of the Northwestern Health Unit combining with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
We’re offering municipalities more time to accommodate changes to public health & are building in protections for municipal budgets as funding models shift. We’re also increasing funding for land ambulance services on average by nearly 4% for 2019 with continued growth in 2020. pic.twitter.com/hWQqWEOpKd
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) August 19, 2019
