Despite a call from 10 former health ministers to reverse cuts, Health Minister Christine Elliot is rejecting the advice.
The six Liberals, three New Democrats and a former member of the Bill Davis Conservative government say in an open letter to Elliot that the "drastic cuts" in public health spending are putting work such as preventing disease outbreaks at risk.
They cite the 2003 SARS epidemic, which killed 44 people in Toronto, as evidence of the "devastating impact of failing to invest in public health."
The Doug Ford government has has notified municipal public health units that it will reduce its cost-sharing levels in a move to save $200 million a year by 2021-22.
The former ministers also say that if the Ford government wants to end hallway medicine, it should be increasing funding for public health instead of cutting it.
The cost-sharing changes are expected to cost municipalities $200-million a year by 2021-2022 but Elliott says she believes they can find those savings if they concentrate on the priorities of public health.
— With files from The Canadian Press