Northern municipal conference wraps up with discussions on doctor shortage, road safety

FONOM wraps up in Sudbury Wednesday was the final day of the FONOM annual conference in Sudbury.

The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities annual conference wrapped up in Sudbury on Wednesday.

The 63rd conference saw roughly 250 participants take part in three days of presentations on issues affecting northern communities.

A presentation by NOSM University began the morning, reflecting on the medical school's successes and its plans to address the doctor shortage.

Dr. Owen Prowse, NOSM’s vice-president of clinical partnerships and hospital relations, said 384 physicians are currently needed in northern Ontario.

"It would take five full medical classes to address the shortage," Prowse said during his presentation.

He said there is a need for family physicians and specialists such as psychiatrists, ob-gyns, pediatricians, emergency medicine and internal medicine.

"We're doing a great job training physicians and many are staying, but we need to do more, so the hope is that expansion will help to alleviate the shortage we see today," Prowse said.

Of NOSM's graduates, 54 per cent chose family medicine last year, above the national average of 30 per cent. Additionally, 50 per cent decided to stay in northern Ontario to practise medicine.

The medical school also sees the highest percentage of Indigenous graduates. Prowse said there are plans for expanding the program to address the shortage.

"We're hoping to double the size of the medical school class by 2028 and double the residency positions,” he said.

Ways to attract doctors

“Those are MDs that are now getting their training that can go into clinical practice.”

Prowse also spoke of the need for municipalities to make their communities more attractive to doctors.

"Things like daycare, jobs for their spouses, housing, lifestyle," he said.

Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis said more funding is needed to allow for more doctors to get their licences.

"There's over 1,800 applicants (at NOSM) and they only have room for 79 seats. That tells me there's plenty of people that want to be doctors," Politis said.

"It seems like the interest is there, but we don’t seem to have the programs in place both provincially and locally to manifest that into local dollars."

Politis said his community is seeing the impact of the physician shortage.

"Sixty per cent of the municipality is unrostered, so you have literally thousands of people without a doctor," he said.

"You have a doctor that’s ailing in our municipality that has double the rostering that he shouldn't have, so it's just not a good recipe."

Highway closures

Provincial police took the stage to give a presentation about factors that cause delays when there is a highway closure.

OPP Supt. Mike Maville said geography is the biggest factor in northern Ontario. Maville said debris, weather, investigations and responsibility to the family are factors that can extend a highway closure.

"I think a lot of municipalities are concerned because they get calls from constituents indicating the highways are closed for a long period of time or they don’t understand the reasons why the highways are closed for so long," he said.

"Whether it’s weather-related or a collision we're investigating, so we think it's important to give that information to municipalities so they can pass that info along to their community."

Amy Mazey, Mayor of Nairn and Hyman Township, recently saw Highway 17 closed on a weekend due to a fatal collision. Mazey said council petitioned the MTO to lower the speed limit.

"People race through there all the time," Mazey said.

"The traffic is so heavy, so fast, and it does seem very dangerous."

Wrapping up FONOM was a presentation about the Northern Rural Immigration Pilot Program, highlighting its success in Sudbury and North Bay.

Donna Backer from the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce, said the program was successful in increasing diversity in the city.

"It's changing the faces of our community," Backer said.

"It's more diverse, but it's also been allowing our employers to learn a little bit more about diversity training and changing as well. And also ensuring and reminding our employers that there's other pathways to fill their labour shortages."

Meredith Armstrong from the City of Greater Sudbury said since the program's inception, there have been 1,400 applicants and 2,700 newcomers, including families and spouses.

"We've had 95 per cent retention rate over the first few years, so the numbers speak for themselves," Armstrong said.

North Bay will host FONOM in May 2025.