Tues Aug 19 – What's Happening In & Around Owen Sound

Plus: We ask readers in a community poll – do you agree with the province's decision to step in to control the local Public Health board, furloughing appointed and elected representatives?

👋 Welcome to The Owen Sound Current, your source for what’s happening in and around Owen Sound. Thank you to our Sustaining Supporters for funding contributor stories and keeping public notices and letters open to all! Upgrade to a full subscription to get the full picture with original reporting, events, curated stories, and full access to our local archives.

---

Summerfolk 50 is a wrap! Read more under Local News. Image source: Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival

Grey Bruce Public Health has faced years of ongoing scrutiny over unresolved leadership and governance challenges. The province has furloughed the local Board of Health, leaving Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health temporarily in charge.

But key questions remain unanswered. The ongoing dysfunction at Grey Bruce Public Health has taken place under the leadership of Dr. Ian Arra, who remains in his role as Medical Officer of Health and CEO. The province has not said how long its involvement will last, or whether its role is limited to appointing a new board or extends further.

For some, this intervention is welcome. It’s a chance to bring greater accountability and ensure frontline staff can focus on the vital work of protecting public health.

For others, it raises uncomfortable questions: Should local health services be steered by provincial direction? Are we losing local voice and control in the process? Are the root problems actually being addressed — and how will we know, if audits and assessments are withheld from public view?

At the centre of it all is a matter of credibility and trust. Residents rely on the health unit to safeguard community well-being, from infectious disease control to food safety to emergency response. But trust in leadership is fragile, and without transparency and accountability, it is hard to win back.

So we’re asking:

Read on for news updates on the GBPH board chair’s response to the province’s suggestion he vacated the board on his own; what local leaders plan to advocate for at the AMO conference this week; charges for a Sauble man after fleeing a RIDE check, and a lot more.

~ Miranda Miller, Editor

Public Notices

• Swimming Advisory Lifted for Southampton - Grey Bruce Public Health

• Notice of Sewer Flushing - Municipality of Meaford

Local News