TORONTO, April 17, 2024 – OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and members working at Public Health Ontario (PHO) Labs were at Queen’s Park today to sound the alarm about the potential closure of six (6) out of 11 PHO labs in Ontario, and the risk it poses for all Ontarians – especially rural families and communities.

“If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that public health should never be taken for granted,” said Hornick. “Like many choices made by this government, if Premier Ford decides to shutter the doors of these 6 labs it will be short-sighted and dangerous.”

PHO currently has a plan to close the laboratory sites in Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Orillia, Hamilton, Kingston, and Peterborough as part of its ‘modernization plan’. In December 2023, the Auditor General endorsed this plan and recommended that the labs be closed within 12 months.

Combined, these labs collect and process thousands of water samples and time-sensitive medical tests each day. They are integral to our public health infrastructure in Ontario.