Board of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts, April 16, 2026
Motion moved by Tessier- Noland
18-26 STRENGTHENING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH: SEEKING FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP ON AIRBORNE BIOLOGICAL AND CYBER RISK
MOTION:
WHEREAS the federal government is seeking credible, evidence based investments within defence and security related spending that advance national resilience objectives and align with NATO defence adjacent accounting frameworks; and
WHEREAS Public Health Sudbury & Districts can assist the federal government in identifying opportunities for investments such as maintaining essential health services during emergencies, safeguarding large volumes of sensitive health data, and supporting pandemic preparedness, biosecurity, and cybersecurity; and
WHEREAS public health is not routinely positioned as part of Canada’s critical infrastructure or resilience ecosystem within current federal funding frameworks, creating a risk that the protection of public health may be overlooked for relevant defence adjacent and resilience focused investments;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health write to the Minister of National Defense, Minister of Health, Minister of Public Safety, President of the Treasury Board, and the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada to highlight the opportunity to leverage local public health to advance national resilience and cybersecurity priorities under national security related funding programs;
AND FURTHER THAT the Board directs the Medical Officer of Health to issue a positioning letter to senior officials at Public Safety Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Shared Services Canada, and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, to signal the role of local public health within national resilience and cybersecurity priorities.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY