📣 Let MPPs know you want funding for Ontario’s wastewater monitoring program to continue
✉️ Send letters to MPPs to voice your support for wastewater monitoring. Use our online tool to send emails.
Why take action? Wastewater monitoring is an essential public health tool that provides insights into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in Ontario’s communities.
Effective July 31, the Ontario government is planning to shut down the province’s extensive wastewater monitoring network, with 58+ stations providing coverage for 34 public health units. In its place, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will have stations in just five cities. The federal government is not planning to take over the existing program, with experienced researchers at 13 universities who have pioneered the development of wastewater monitoring. PHAC does not provide daily wastewater data, and the scope of its monitoring is very limited — it does not track levels of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mpox and other viruses. People with disabilities, the immunocompromised, and other equity-denied groups rely on daily wastewater data to time risky activities such as medical appointments.
Please take a moment to voice your support for Ontario’s wastewater monitoring program!
- Make sure your email application is active (e.g. Outlook).
- Click on one (or all) of the buttons below. It will create an email using the message template.
- Customize your email. Don’t forget to add your name and email address, and modify the wording of the message if you like.
- Click send — and repeat! It won’t take long to go through the list.
📣 More ways to take action
✉️ Use our online tool to send emails to municipal councillors in Ottawa or Waterloo Region.
📱 After you’ve sent the emails, you can call MPPs to make sure they get the message!
To:
List of contacts
Cc:
- Marit Stiles, Leader, Official Opposition, MStiles-QP@ndp.on.ca
- Bonnie Crombie, Leader, Ontario Liberal Party, info@ontarioliberal.ca
- Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario, mschreiner@ola.org
- Joel Harden, MPP, Ottawa Centre, jharden-co@ndp.on.ca
- Chandra Pasma, MPP, Ottawa West–Nepean, CPasma-CO@ndp.on.ca
Subject: Protect our health — save Ontario’s wastewater monitoring!
Message template:
Wastewater monitoring is an essential public health tool that provides insights into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in Ontario’s communities. Unfortunately there are reports that the Ontario government will axe funding for Ontario’s Wastewater Surveillance Initiative. Without funding, we will lose important information about the prevalence of COVID-19 infections and the spread of new variants.
Ending funding for Ontario’s wastewater surveillance network will have dangerous consequences. We will no longer have a reliable early warning system to inform everyone about the spread of emerging SARS-CoV-2 subvariants and new threats such as avian flu. Without advance warning, hospitals may be completely overwhelmed when new hyperinfectious subvariants emerge and spread exponentially.
Please act now to ensure that Ontario’s Wastewater Surveillance Initiative is supported with stable, enhanced funding. Ontario’s researchers have pioneered the development of a world-class wastewater surveillance system. We should support their efforts. Our health depends on access to timely, accurate information about the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Wastewater surveillance is an essential tool in the public health toolbox. Monitoring for SARS-CoV-2, influenza, avian flu, RSV, mpox, and other viruses helps decision-makers and the general public make choices informed by science.
Cc:
Marit Stiles, Leader, Official Opposition; Bonnie Crombie, Leader, Ontario Liberal Party; Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario; Joel Harden, MPP Ottawa Centre; Chandra Pasma, MPP, Ottawa West–Nepean.
Sincerely,
[Your name and email address]