Good morning. Thank you, members of the committee, for the opportunity to present today.
I will be focusing largely on my experience as a medical officer of health for the Region of Peel. I'm also honoured to be joined today by my colleagues, Dr. Chris Mackie, Middlesex-London Health Unit, and Dr. Jennifer Loo, medical officer of health for Algoma Public Health. They will be able to complement my observations with their own experiences from other areas of Ontario.
Peel Region is one of 34 public health units in Ontario. It serves 1.5 million people in the cities of Brampton and Mississauga and in the Town of Caledon. As many of you on the committee likely know, Peel Region has been one of the regions most impacted by COVID-19 in Canada, due to population factors such as a large proportion of essential workplaces as well as socio-demographic and economic diversity. We are also home to the country's busiest international airport, which has been a source for introduction of variants of concern into our community.
Throughout the pandemic, local public health efforts are supported through ongoing collaboration with federal and provincial partners, our local municipalities and community partners. Some specific examples of the support we have received in Peel from the federal government include $6.5 million in funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to support voluntary isolation housing for residents who cannot self-isolate at home; $13.1 million in funding received through the reaching home program to make a meaningful impact on supporting some of our most vulnerable residents; and federal support for long-term care outbreak management from the Canadian Armed Forces to protect some of the most vulnerable seniors in our community.
We've greatly appreciated these and other supports we've received. We recognize there are other areas where collaboration can be strengthened.
In the short term, financial support from both the provincial and federal governments have aided our immediate pandemic efforts. In Peel, those efforts have entailed the redeployment of most of our staff, new hiring and suspension of most of our public health programs. We're grateful for this support.
However, looking to the longer term, the federal government could further assist Peel Public Health and public health units in Ontario by allocating public-health-specific funding in provincial transfers, as most health funding is traditionally used for health care provision. In addition, it could enhance the resources and governance of the Public Health Agency of Canada to better support a national response to infectious diseases, which would include the chief public health officer having the autonomy and authority to direct public health measures, including maintenance of international surveillance programs. It could also provide additional resources to address pre-existing, non-COVID public health crises such as the opioid epidemic, as well as those that will arise due to the delayed provision of public health services. We would be happy to expand upon key COVID issues faced by the public health sector during the question and answer session, as needed.
Another area for review would be outbreak management for first nations communities. My colleagues from Middlesex-London and Algoma who are with me on this call today have reported taking on a primary role at the local level in responding to what is a defined federal mandate. This may require supplementary support and resourcing.
The federal government can also support our pandemic response by enhancing travel and border control measures to further decrease the influx of variants of concern or interest from interprovincial and international destinations.
We support federal and provincial measures to restrict non-essential travel. To emphasize our level of concern, Peel regional council recently called for the suspension of all non-essential travel from interprovincial and international destinations to Toronto Pearson International Airport. As the international situation changes, prompt adjustments to travel restrictions should be implemented.
Dr. Loo will also speak to an additional point, regarding Algoma's experience with the land border. Their experience has underlined a desire for local input into any proposed restrictions that have an impact on our communities.
Parallel to this, it is also important to protect those who are vulnerable and impacted by restrictions. In Peel, this includes international students who arrive in Canada. Many of these individuals are targeted with marketing by unscrupulous landlords and are charged very high amounts to share inadequate living spaces during and after isolation. Support from the federal government could assist in providing arriving students with better information about their isolation options.
We also need to ensure that our workforce is protected. In Peel, an analysis of our large essential work sector found that 25% of work place outbreak cases had reported employees going to work even after symptom onset. Without proper sick leave, essential workers are often unable to isolate or stay home when ill or access vaccination in a timely manner. The previous enhancements to the Canada recovery sickness benefit and Ontario's new worker income protection benefit are steps in the right direction. However, further improvements could include minimizing interruption of individuals' income flow with timely release of funding and removing the the requirement to demonstrate a 50% loss of income prior to application. These changes would remove barriers and help to ensure that our workers can follow public health guidance when they're sick.
In Canada, public health is a shared responsibility between all levels of government. Coordination and collaboration are essential. Ensuring flexibility to meet local challenges is equally important. Moving forward support from multiple levels of government with local action is essential as we move out of the response and into recovery.
My colleagues and I are happy to answer any questions you may have.