Medical officer of health for Sudbury urging voters to support public health

The medical officer of health for Sudbury and Districts is highlighting the need to invest in public health programs and is encouraging voters to cast ballots in favour of candidates that support funding them.

Dr. Mustafa Hirji is making an appeal to members of the public to ask questions and be informed when candidates come knocking at their doors.

He says it's a critical time and public health hasn't always done a good job of telling its story, and he is choosing to raise awareness now.

"We've all just come out of a pandemic response, which really upended our lives," he said. "And we are seeing avian influenza, or bird flu, as a possible new pandemic that could be developing. We also want to make sure we are better prepared for any future pandemic or public health emergency that comes along."

Hirji adds there's a also a mental health crisis, especially among  young people, that needs to be addressed.

That would require public funding, which Hirji says has been stagnating since 2015 despite a growth in population and new mandates.

"With a continuously shrinking budget, public health struggles to deliver on its commitments to the community," the health unit outlined in a news release.

Hirji says he's not suggesting partisanship and doesn't fear any political backlash for speaking out during the election.

"We are not being critical about any governments that have been there in the past," he says. "I talked about the past 10 years. That's really encompassing governments of multiple different political parties."

Hirji says people have great power during elections to ensure the future health and vibrancy of their communities and he is urging them to be informed and vote.

As for other health units in northern Ontario, spokespeople for Algoma Public Health and Northeastern Public Health, say they have no comment about public health funding being discussed during an election campaign.