'We shouldn't take it lying down' — board wants clarity on public health cut

Ottawa’s medical officer of health had no inkling the province intended to reduce the number of public health units in Ontario from 35 to 10.
But that doesn’t mean Dr. Vera Etches was shocked by the news in Thursday’s budget that public health agencies would be cut by $200 million, Etches told a member of the Ottawa board of health on Monday after she was asked if she had known its coming. Cuts have been considered before, Etches reminded the board members.
Coun. Theresa Kavana