Small Urban GTHA Mayors Hear from Deputy Premier & Minister of Health & Associate Minister of Mental Health & Addiction

*Please see below a statement from the Small Urban GTHA Mayors caucus.February 20, 2024On Friday, Feb. 16, the Small Urban GTHA Mayors welcomed the Honourable Sylvia Jones, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and the Honourable Michael A. Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, for a discussion on health care and mental health community-based supports. The meeting was held at the Town of Caledon’s Humber River Centre, a new community and business hub located in downtown Bolton. We spoke about various concerns, ranging from health care wait times and waitlists to attracting human resources and funding of medical schools and hospitals.The Honourable Sylvia Jones provided an overview of recent health care policy changes, and highlighted that Ontario is leading the pack when it comes to stabilizing recruitment; the province has experienced a two-year, historic high in the number of practicing nurses and is continually onboarding more nurses, lab technicians and physicians. Some of the change-affecting measures include: utilizing clinicians-in-training at colleges and universities, and enabling people to seek treatment for symptoms related to 19 different ailments at a pharmacy instead of visiting a doctor or hospital. We were encouraged to hear that plans are also underway for ‘as of right’ practice-ready assessments, which would remove equivalency barriers around internationally educated individuals.The Honourable Michael A. Tibollo spoke to the impact of mental health on communities, and the focus to build economical community-supports and alleviate the pressure off hospitals. One way in which the Province has made headway is by implementing youth wellness hubs, which is integral to early intervention. We were pleased to hear that the Province is working diligently to build a data-driven system to better provide access to treatment, therapies and after-care support services for individuals with anxiety, depression and addiction issues, in communities where they are most needed. This would support a healthy workforce and, over time, also help address homelessness.The Small Urban GTHA Mayors are appreciative of the Province’s efforts to provide quality health care to residents. We acknowledge the great advancements made towards mental health wrap-around services and community supports for youth, children and adults. However, we recognize that more work needs to be done, especially in regard to aftercare initiatives and building medical schools to accommodate residencies.We look forward to sharing our challenges and successes together and focus on keeping our populations both physical and mentally happyAbout Small Urban GTHA MayorsThe Small Urban GTHA Mayors caucus includes mayors of 13 Ontario urban towns with a population under 100,000 and chaired by Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas. The Small Urban GTHA Mayors advocate for issues and policies important to Ontario’s small urban municipalities.The current Chair for the Small Urban GTHA Mayors caucus is Township of King Mayor Steve Pellegrini.**Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward attends Small Urban GTHA Mayors caucus meetings as a liaison to larger municipalities in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area.