Local officials want Waterloo region included in province's pandemic funding for marginalized communities

Waterloo region's board of health wants the province to give it a high-priority designation so it can access pandemic funding to help marginalized communities. 

The decision on Tuesday comes after two delegates shared concerns regarding a lack of support for people disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including Black and racialized community members.

The region said it's introduced a safe COVID-19 isolation site and mobile testing to help community members.

Now, the board wants a "high priority community" designation, which would give the region an opportunity to be included in a provincial program that's funding supports for marginalized communities, including community outreach, increased access to testing, and wraparound supports.

The province has earmarked $12.5 million in funding to support partners in 15 priority communities in Durham, Peel, Toronto, York and Ottawa.    

"The strategies identified by Ontario's high priority community strategy are in line for what Waterloo Region needs more support for," said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region's medical officer of health.

In November, the region released local data suggesting the pandemic is disproportionately affecting Black people, visible minorities, lower income earners and people whose first language is not English or French.

Community engagement

Lang Ncube, who is part of the African, Caribbean and Black Network of the Waterloo Region, was one of the delegates on Tuesday.

She said public health officials must work with Black, Indigenous and racialized communities to build trust and ensure they are included in the vaccine distribution effort.

"There's a long history of medical distrust in Black and Indigenous communities based on poor practices in medical research, horrific experimentation of Indigenous people and lack of care in our communities during times of crisis," Ncube said to the board of health members.

"As history tells, if there is no intentionality with the strategy to distribute this vaccine, we ultimately know which communities will be served first and which communities will be ignored."

Officials, including Dr. Wang, acknowledged the concerns and mentioned work being done by the community engagement and outreach working group as part of vaccine rollout.

Shirley Hilton, deputy chief for the Waterloo Regional Police Service and head of the region's immunization distribution task force, said the group is reaching out to leaders with organizations and communities serving marginalized populations.

"[The group was] established … to support smooth and rapid vaccine to all residents in Waterloo region in a safe and equitable manner, but this also includes building trust and confidence in the vaccine itself … also on implementation of the vaccine distribution in ways that will meet the needs, and then hopefully assist in overcoming some barriers faced by priority populations," said Hilton.