Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Chapter 5: Health
Recommendation 5-85: Work with the federal government on nutrition information and,
where appropriate, regulation.
If we apply the WHO population attributable risk estimates to Canadian mortality statistics,
nutrition-related chronic diseases now cause some 48,000 deaths annually in Canada and
perhaps some 16,000 deaths in Ontario. 69 If the federal government does not act in a timely
fashion, Ontario should act alone in areas such as restricting the amount of trans fat and
sodium permissible in restaurant and manufactured foods, and establishing a provincial
chronic disease prevention strategy, including nutrition, tobacco, alcohol and physical activity
measures.
Medical Schools/Training
Recommendation 5-86: Medical schools should educate students on “system issues,” so
they better understand how physicians fit into the health care system; for example, how to deal
with patient needs efficiently and effectively, but using fewer resources by connecting different
parts of the health care system.
Recommendation 5-87: Do a better job of flagging health professions and locations that are
currently in short supply or where shortages can be expected in the future.
The school system seems to be the right focal point for carrying out the task of labour supply
planning. Medical schools need to do their part to ensure an adequate supply of health care
professionals is able to care for the aging population.
Pharmaceuticals
Recommendation 5-88: Link the Ontario Drug Benefit program more directly to income.
Almost all of the cost of prescription drugs for seniors is now covered by the provincial
government. This is very expensive. Ontario needs to start having an open, honest discussion
about public coverage of health care costs, which includes the possibility of broader public
coverage of pharmaceutical costs and how it should be financed.
69 World Health Organization, “Global Health Risks: Mortality and Burden of Disease Attributable to Selected Major Risks,” 2009, W.H.O.
Geneva; see especially p. 17, downloaded from http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_full.pdf.
Statistics Canada, “Mortality, Summary List of Causes,” 2008, Ottawa. Catalogue no. 84F0209X, which indicates the total number of
deaths in 2008 was 238,617, 20% of which is 47,723; downloaded from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/84f0209x/84f0209x2008000-eng.pdf.
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