By James Matthews
Highlands East council joined a provincewide effort to lobby Queen’s Park for more healthcare resources throughout Ontario.
The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) have presented a united front and have asked the province’s municipal councils to join the lobby.
In a letter to councils, Kimberly Moran, CEO of the Ontario Medical Association, and Colin Best, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, outline reasons why their groups are working collaboratively to advocate for a better healthcare system for Ontario’s residents and communities.
“Communities across Ontario have been facing critical health-care challenges, including long waitlists for primary care, shortages of doctors and other health care workers, and emergency room closures,” their letter reads.
“These cracks in Ontario’s health care system are impacting economic development, health, and well-being at the local level.”
According to the motion distributed by the OMA and the AMO and adopted by Highlands East council, the state of health care in Ontario is in crisis. As many as 2.3 million Ontarians lack access to a family doctor. Communities have weathered emergency room closures across the province, patients have been de-rostered, and 40 per cent of family doctors are considering retirement over the next five years.
It has become increasingly challenging to attract and retain an adequate healthcare workforce throughout the health sector across Ontario, they say.
“The Northern Ontario School of Medicine University says communities in northern Ontario are short more than 350 physicians, including more than 200 family doctors,” the motion reads.
“And half of the physicians working in northern Ontario (are) expected to retire in the next five years.”
They said the percentage of family physicians practicing comprehensive family medicine has declined from 77 per cent in 2008 to 65 per cent in 2022.
Per capita health-care spending in Ontario is the lowest of all provinces in Canada, and a robust workforce developed through a provincial sector-wide human resources strategy would improve access to health services across the province.
Highlands East council voted to join other municipalities and urge the province to recognize the physician shortage, to appropriately fund health care, and to ensure every Ontarian has access to physician care.
“Ontario municipal governments play an integral role in the health care system through responsibilities in public health, long-term care, paramedicine, and other investments,” their groups’ letter read.
