October 31, 2025
Public Health Accountability Act gives independence to Ontario’s top doctor
QUEEN’S PARK –France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt and Dr. Robin Lennox, MPP for Hamilton Centre have brought forward a bill to make the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) an independent officer of the legislature. Currently, Ontario is the only province in Canada where the CMOH is accountable to the Legislative Assembly and an employee of the Minister of Health.
Honouring Dr. Sheela Basrur, The Public Health Accountability Act, if passed would make Ontario’s CMOH an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly and not an employee of the Minister of health anymore. During a public health emergency, the bill would create a select committee of the legislature for managing the emergency. The committee would allow elected officials to hear directly from the CMOH and allow the CMOH to answer questions without interference.
Dr. Michael Rachlis, a public health physician and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said that the proposed changes are needed. “The COVID crisis has demonstrated that Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health needs to be as independent of politics as possible. Additionally, mandating a select legislative committee to deal with public health emergencies would help to protect our health and our democracy,” said Dr. Rachlis.
The NDP tabled the bill to stress the importance of greater transparency and clearer communication from public health officials.
“During a public health emergency, Ontarians should have the opportunity to hear directly from the Chief Medical Officer of Health about the situation unfolding and about recommendations that will keep people safe,” MPP Gélinas said. “Public trust in health officials is a very valuable resource for controlling the spread of illness. Trust is earned by ensuring that the updates and recommendations the Chief Medical Officer of Health provides to the people of Ontario are delivered directly.”
Dr. Ross Upshur, the Division Head of Clinical Public Health at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is also in favour of the bill. “I am completely in support of anything that grants the CMOH more independence to speak and act in the best interests of public health,” said Dr. Upshur.
“In times of public health crisis, we need the public to have trust in their Chief Medical Officer of Health and to know that they are acting in the public’s best interest, not the interest of any political party or entity” stated MPP Lennox. “Ensuring this independence is essential to protecting the integrity of public health policy”
The bill is named in honour of Dr. Sheela Basrur, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic; she went on to became Ontario’s CMOH. Dr. Basrur passed away from cancer on June 2, 2008.
Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, past Medical Officer of Health for Public Health Sudbury and Districts, praised Basrur’s legacy of leadership and transparency. “Dr. Sheela Basrur’s enduring legacy for the province of Ontario is the high bar she set for transparency, accountability, and scientific rigour in public health leadership. Sheela was a remarkable collaborator, communicator, and systems thinker — able to bring disparate groups together to rally around common values — all for the betterment of the public health system and, ultimately, the health of all Ontarians,” said Dr Sutcliffe.
