Statement by the Green Party Leader on the gutting of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health

Fredericton – Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South, David Coon says that Health Minister Victor Boudreau is gutting the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and undermining its ability to promote and protect public health.

Yesterday, in a news release, the Minister of Health announced that the Healthy Environments Branch, the Public Health Practice and Population Health Branch and public health inspectors would be removed from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and transferred to other Departments.

“These changes will decimate the Office of our Chief Medical Officer of Health, removing expertise and resources essential to the effective practice of public health medicine in New Brunswick,” said the Green Party leader. “Now if the Liberals make good on their promise to make the Chief Medical Officer of Health independent of government, they will lack the resources to do their job effectively.”

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