Ottawa board of health asking province for help in hiring more public health inspectors

A report prepared for Ottawa's Board of Health says it needs help from the provincial government to fill gaps in its roster of public health inspectors as the city population grows.

A report prepared for Ottawa's Board of Health says it needs help from the provincial government to fill gaps in its roster of public health inspectors (PHIs) as the city population grows.

The Board of Health meets Monday, April 15, and an item on the agenda calls on the chair of the board, Coun. Catherine Kitts, to write a letter to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones asking that the Ministry of Health institute permanent annual base funding for the Public Health Inspector practicum program.

The report notes that the number of facilities in Ottawa requiring inspection has grown by eight per cent in the last five years.

"As the population of Ottawa continues to grow, so does the number of facilities requiring inspection from 6,848 facilities in 2019 to 7,405 in 2024," the report says.

Changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are also having an effect, city staff say, including the shift to more home-based personal service and food businesses.

There were more than 8,000 inquiries to public health inspectors last year in Ottawa, with 3,600 requiring investigations, the report states.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has created 13 new permanent public health inspector positions but during a national recruitment drive last fall, only seven positions were filled. The report says there is a lot of competition for certified staff because of how they are educated.