KAWARTHA LAKES-The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit board voted today to merge with Peterborough Public Health effective January 1, 2025.
“Peterborough residents became more familiar with public health’s role and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the health unit in our community has served us for over 135 years with a wide-reaching scope beyond infectious diseases,” said Councillor Joy Lachica, Board Chair for Peterborough Public Health. “With our friends at HKPR and the generous funding investment by the province, we will sustain and grow public health services for our residents.”
City of Kawartha Lakes Councillor and board member Tracy Richardson voted against the merger.
It’s being billed as a “voluntary merger” but boards were told by the Ministry of Health that they would get reduced funding in the coming years if they did not merge.
Officials say the goal of the merger is to sustain and improve the delivery of public health programs and services across the City of Kawartha Lakes, the County of Haliburton, Northumberland County, Hiawatha First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, Alderville First Nation, Peterborough County and the City of Peterborough, although there has been no evidence that this will be the case.
The merger will be supported through an investment of $10.1 million from the Province of Ontario to support both the merger directly, catch-up activities, and service improvements to strengthen public health for this region according to health officials.
“This is an important milestone bringing both public health units together to form one new organization,” said David Marshall, Board Chair for the HKPR District Health Unit. “Our dedicated and now combined employees of more than 300 public health professionals will continue to work with our communities, partners and stakeholders to protect and promote health and prevent disease within our combined areas to keep our residents healthy.”
In August 2023, the Ministry of Health announced it was offering one-time funding, resources and supports to local public health agencies that voluntarily merged by January 1, 2025. In response to the announcement, the HKPR District Health Unit and PPH Boards of Health engaged the consulting firm Sense and Nous to conduct a feasibility study on a potential merger. Both Boards then voted to move forward with the merger process in February 2024 and a voluntary merger proposal and budget was submitted to the Ministry of Health on April 2, 2024.
The new Board of Health will meet for the first time in the new year. The Ministry of Health has assured the public health unit that the government commits to 100 per cent provincial funding support for this merger with no fiscal impacts to municipalities and First Nations as a result of this merger, and in principle also commit to funding eligible merger expenses in subsequent years.
Membership of the new Board of Health will include 9 municipal representatives (two from the County of Northumberland, two from the City of Kawartha Lakes, one from the County of Haliburton, two from the County of Peterborough, and two from the City of Peterborough). In addition, the new Board of Health intends to have section 50 representation as currently exists (one member from Curve Lake First Nation and one from Hiawatha First Nation). The new Board of Health will also include provincial appointees, as outlined in the Health Protection and Promotion Act, and these members are yet to be confirmed.
A new organizational structure and leadership team for the merged public health unit will be announced at a later time. Both current public health units will remain operational, with no immediate impact on programs and services provided to the public. A new identity and brand will be launched in early 2025.
Further communication will be released once the new health unit launches its official business name and new logo. It is unclear what will happen to local offices and staff.
