Supporting local health care

My answer

This is an important conversation for our community and one that is very close to my heart.

I spent 10 years working with the Marathon Family Health Team, from 2014 to 2024, before opening my own psychotherapy practice here in Marathon. Over those years, I worked alongside health-care professionals and community partners and saw firsthand both the strengths of rural health care and the challenges that come with delivering care in Northern Ontario.

One thing I learned very clearly is that strong local health care does not happen in isolation.

While health care is primarily a provincial responsibility, municipalities absolutely have a role to play — through housing, recruitment and retention, recreation, childcare, infrastructure, community development, partnerships and, importantly, advocacy.

For me, this comes back to something I have said throughout my campaign: Know what we control. Be responsible with what we control. Advocate fiercely for what we don’t.

If elected to Town Council, I would bring both my health-care experience and my understanding of community systems to the Council table. That does not mean pretending the Town can solve provincial health-care challenges.

It means understanding where municipal decisions can make a difference, listening to the people doing the work, building strong relationships with our hospital, Family Health Team, neighbouring First Nations and community partners, and advocating effectively when decisions need to be made beyond our municipal boundaries.

Housing is a good example. If physicians, nurses, locums, learners and other professionals cannot find appropriate housing, recruitment becomes much more difficult. The same is true of childcare, recreation, infrastructure and the overall quality of life we offer professionals and their families.

Strong communities support strong health care — and strong health care helps keep communities strong.