Then, along came Doug Ford, and a great leap backwards. For someone who constantly proclaims that he heads a government for “all the people,” Premier Ford seems intent on doing harm to large numbers of “the people.” Among his actions in his short time in office:
- Cuts in funding for income assistance through the Ministry of Children’s and Social Services;
- Cuts in funding for autistic children;
- Cuts in funding for, and planned closure of, supervised drug sites; and
- Cuts in provincial funding for public health units. These cuts are breathtaking in their stupidity and capacity to cause harm, and a vivid illustration of the old saying that “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” To elaborate:
Consequences Are Predictable and Punitive
These ill-considered provincial actions will inevitably lead to a less healthy population and increased government expenditures for health care for those who suffer from the lack of preventive programs. Have we already forgotten the Walkerton water tragedy? Are we ignoring the return of various infectious diseases, once thought eradicated? At worst, the Ford Government is being pernicious and punitive; at best, it is boneheaded and ignorant of past evidence. One wonders what the Minister of Health’s views are as public health units are undermined. What is the logic in consolidating health units for supposedly greater efficiency, while simultaneously downloading more of the public health costs to the municipal level, which includes many small and financially weak municipalities? Apparently bigger is better except when it comes to who will pay?
Is there no one in the current Ontario Government with any knowledge of history, of public health, of the reality that cutting prevention means paying more for the resulting consequences? Must we all suffer from this willful stupidity?