Councillor George Maroosis says that a recommendation from a panel reviewing health units in Ontario could lead to job losses in North Bay.
Maroosis says a panel review recommendation that would see Ontario’s 36 health units consolidated into 14 much larger entities could spell labour troubles locally.
Under the proposal, the North Bay-Parry Sound district would be folded into a farther-reaching health unit that could also include Timmins and Sudbury. Maroosis says that if this came to pass, the health unit headquarters could very likely be located in Sudbury.
North Bay City Council passed a unanimous motion at the most recent meeting of the whole encouraging the provincial government to examine the options carefully. Some of the other aspects of the proposal vexing councillors include less representation locally and more bureaucratic red tape when it comes to dealing with local health emergencies.
Currently, there are 400 members of municipal government sitting on health boards provincially, a number that Bain says would be at least cut in half under the new structure.
