The Ontario Liberals are calling for urgent action from the Ford government to tackle an ongoing measles outbreak in the province as the number of recorded cases passes 1,000.
The latest data from Public Health Ontario shows the province has recorded 1,020 new measles since an outbreak began last October. The number is an increase of 95 cases compared to the previous week.
Many of the new cases continue to be reported in southwestern Ontario, and three-quarters of the total measles cases in Ontario have been infants, children and teens.
The health authorities said the outbreak continued to spread across parts of Ontario through people who have not been vaccinated against the contagious disease.
Ontario MPP and Liberal health critic Adil Shamji said the latest data was “staggering and catastrophic.” He called for urgent action from the provincial government.
Shamji said he wanted to see the government take five urgent actions: offer resources to public health units to catch up vaccinations; reverse spending cuts for public health units; consider new public health legislation; hold a public briefing on the measles outbreak; and launch a province-wide education campaign to encourage vaccination.
A spokesperson for the government said the Liberals, who ran their recent election campaign centred on health care promises, had pitched health suggestions which “resonated with absolutely no one.”
The Progressive Conservatives netted 43 per cent of the vote compared to 30 per cent for the Liberals, who came second based on popular vote in February’s election.
Shamji said policies under Premier Doug Ford had reduced the ability of local health units to properly handle smaller day-to-day tasks, an issue he said was manifesting in the measles outbreak.
To the east, Quebec — whose measles outbreak was linked to the same event as Ontario’s in October — declared its outbreak over this week. Shamji said that was because of better local funding.
“Once you have one of those well-funded, well-staffed public health units, the myriad small decisions that may not sound sexy, but make a difference in identifying index cases for measles, in identifying and tracking contacts, in making sure that people are adequately vaccinated,” he said,
“Those myriad decisions start to take care of themselves, but it depends on having a public health system that is adequately funded and staffed. And that is the singular thing that distinguishes our province from so many of the other ones.”
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said over the past year she had been ordering local public health units to “refocus” on vaccines for children, including a broader vaccination awareness campaign.
Her office said the government was emphasizing the importance of vaccination.
“We have been clear in our message to people across the province — vaccination is the most effective way to limit the spread of measles and protect yourself and your loved ones,” they said.
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, last issued a public statement about measles in March. He has not held a public availability or briefing since 2022, according to the government’s media site.
— with a file from The Canadian Press