Manitoba health inspectors dangerously overworked, internal report warns

Last Updated: Monday, October 30, 2006 | 7:43 PM CT

CBC News

Manitoba's public health inspectors and environment officers are chronically understaffed, boosting the risk of an emergency like the deadly E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, Ont., says a report obtained by CBC News.

But two years after the internal government report went to provincial officials, Manitoba has fewer health inspectors than it did then.

The internal government report, written by a committee of Manitoba Conservation's regional supervisors, was submitted in March 2004 but never released publicly.

The committee, which surveyed its own staff, advised the province to hire 29 more people — 15 public health inspectors and 14 environment officers — to meet basic program inspection duties.

They monitor restaurants, day cares, swimming pools and housing facilities, as well as conduct investigations into communicable diseases.

The report, entitled Environmental Programs: A Road Map to Sustainable Program Delivery, concludes they have insufficient resources, especially staff, to do their jobs properly.

"Inspections are not being performed at the appropriate frequency as required by legislation, licenses, permits or orders for many programs," the report read.

To do nothing to remedy the situation could lead to staff burnout and "the greater potential of a situation resulting in adverse impacts to the environment or public health [e.g. Walkerton]," the report warns.

In the Walkerton tragedy, which was Canada's worst E. coli case, seven people died and 2,300 became ill after the town's water supply became contaminated with manure spread on a nearby farm. A public inquiry laid part of the blame for the disaster on cutbacks ordered by the Conservative government of Mike Harris — including staff cutbacks at the provincial Environment Ministry.

8 of 30 posts vacant

Earlier in October, CBC News reported that eight of the province's 30 health inspector positions are vacant, including both the jobs that monitor northern Manitoba from Thompson and The Pas. The last inspector left The Pas more than 2½ years ago.

Northern mayors warned that the province's current backup system, in which inspectors are rotated into those communities once every five weeks, was not practical or safe.

By comparison, there were 38 public health inspectors in 2004. The report recommended hiring 15 more, adding up to a targeted total of 53 public health inspectors.

'We have to do more. I'm not ever going to deny that.'—Conservation Minister Stan Struthers

Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said he was not happy with the overall picture with regards to health inspections.

"I'm not happy with the overall context, the overall picture of inspections in this province," Conservation Minister Stan Struthers told CBC News.

"We have to do more. I'm not ever going to deny that. We have to put more people in place and we have to have more supports for those people."

'Something has to be done': retired inspector

One retired health inspector said he hopes the province will act soon to follow some of the recommendations in the 2004 report, and said his existing co-workers are doing the best they can in the meantime.

"Something has to be done. The public health inspector program has really gone down hill," said Bernie Chrisp, who worked as a Manitoba public health inspector from 1967 to 2003.

Chrisp said he's seen a decline in the number of inspectors across the province over the years, with some going to the federal government and others moving to other provinces that pay better salaries.

Conservation minister promises change

Struthers said he wants to change the situation "as soon as possible" by, among other things, increasing the salaries of health inspectors and reducing their clerical workload.

"We're going to get as close as we possibly can, with bursary programs and with enhancing the salary and the benefits for public health inspectors," Struthers said.

The province's bursary program, launched in 2005, paid for the training of four new public health inspectors — two of whom immediately paid off their debts and left the province.

Struthers said he is already planning on improving the bursary system.

"We're not going to turn away a single one. We're going to try to get every single public health inspector that we can in place, with supports, so that they can do the good job that they want to do."