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economist sunsunfribune news saturday dec 202003 13 flaws in health system report from page 1 grams delivered by local units are funded entirely by the province to avoid the current patchwork of health services reducing the number of health units from 37 to about 20 and hiring more fulltime nurses the report was critical of leav- ingpublic health standards up to local communities that may not have the funding or political will to provide adequate services ms frustaglio couldnt agree more what the current system means is residents are totally at the mercy ofwhatever the public health agency in their communi ty can afford she said that is wrong public health should be accessible and accountable to residents regard less where they live she accused provincial and federal governments of ignoring public health for decades between the federal and provincial governments they have dropped the ball on public health ms frustaglio was impressed with the reports recommenda tion to establish a powerful ontario public health agency i think we need one here similar to the centers for disease control in atlanta she said why do we need to go to atlanta this is canada not a third world country why dont we have a centre like that here the report comes only two months after another prominent call to overhaul canadas public health system to control infec tious disease outbreaks why dont we have a centre like that here a federal advisory group headed by university of toronto dean of medicine dr david naylor handed down 75 recom mendations following an investi gation of how the sars crisis was handled the group suggested a new canadian agency for public health at the same time it demanded ottawa invest 700 million in new public health spending by 2007 dr naylors report found the health system response during sars was marred by political infighting lack of leadership and miscommunication it is long past the time for all levels of government to take action on these issues dr nayiorsaid there is no question our ability to manage this outbreak nationally was impeded by inter- provincial squabbling and a refusal to share data the recommendations released in october were applauded by two york region medical experts at the centre of the sars outbreak in the region dr richard schabas chief of staff and york central hospital and the regions associate med ical officer of health dr hanif kassam both urged politicians to move quickly to implement the report dr schabas wasnt surprised dr naylor found fundamental flaws in the health system during the sars crisis im not at all surprised he would find things to criticize the key weakness was a lack of strategic leadership he said when the report was released i think everybody involved tried their best mistakes were made but we can learn from them dr kassam said implement ing the recommendations would improve public health in canada but at the same time he cau tioned no strategy can guarantee an end to infectious diseases canada inc 14204 durham rd 30 stouffville tel 905 6403022 fax9056406812 notice of completion milliken go station kennedy road and steeles avenue city of toronto the study go transit the province of ontarios interregional public transit service for the greater toronto and hamilton areas has completed the class environmental assessment class ea of the milliken go station in the city of toronto this study is in support of a relocated station including a new platform station building commuter parking and a passenger pickupdropoff area the proposed site is southeast of the intersection of kennedy road and steeles avenue east see map and will include a realignment and southerly extension of redlea avenue as well as traffic signals at the intersection of steeles avenue and redlea avenue this project has been classified as a group b project according to go transits class ea document the environmental study report esr which documents the planning and design process for the environmental assessment will be filed on the public record for a 45day comment period from friday december 19 2003 to tuesday february 3 2004 the environmental study report may be viewed at the following locations city clerks office city of toronto milliken mills community library 7600 kennedy road unit 3 unionville on l3r 9s5 monthu 930 am 900 pm fri 930 am 500 pm sat 900 am 500 pm sun 100 pm 500 pm go transit 20 bay street suite b00 s toronto on m5j 2w3 monfri 900 am 400 pm for further information contact mr scott thorburn project manager urs canada inc 75 commerce valley drive east markham on l3t 7n9 9058824401 telephone 9058824399 facsimile email scottthorburnurscorpcom scarborough civic centre 150 borough drive 3rd floor toronto on m1p4n7 monfri 830 am 430 pm mrltgreg ashbee peng senior project engineer go transit 20 bay street suite 600 toronto on m5j 2w3 4168693600 ext 5211 telephone 4168691563 facsimile email gregagotransitcom your comments about the environmental study report may be forwarded to the two contacts listed above before tuesday february 3 2004 if you feel that serious environmental concerns exist you may write to the minister of environment 135 st clair avenue west 12th floor toronto ontario m4v 1p5 copy to go transit to request that the project be subject to a part ii order requiring an individual environmental assessment this may result in a formalgovernment review and process being undertaken tt transit 1 i 7 o f u i p itll nt