October 23, 2026
Dr. Joss Reimer
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
CPHOCorrespondence@phac-aspc.gc.ca
Hon. Marjorie Michel
Minister of Health, Health Canada
hcminister.ministresc@hc-sc.gc.ca
Hon. Lena Metlege Diab
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
lenametlege.diab@parl.gc.ca
Dear Dr. Reimer and Honourable Ministers:
RE: Ensuring Federal Ebola Border Measures Remain Evidence-Based and Proportionate
The Board of Health for Lakelands Public Health appreciates the national coordination and critical public health work that the Public Health Agency of Canada and federal government lead to protect the health of Canadians, including the Ebola outbreak in Eastern Africa.
We are writing today to respectfully request a review of the federal border measures currently in place in response to the 2026 Ebola disease outbreak.
The Board fully supports Canada's commitment to protecting the public from emerging infectious disease threats and recognizes that precautionary measures may be appropriate during periods of uncertainty. At the same time, public health interventions should be continuously reassessed to ensure they remain evidence-based, proportionate to risk, and attentive to potential unintended consequences.
As international and domestic public health authorities have gained a better understanding of the current outbreak, there is an opportunity to align federal measures more closely with present epidemiologic realities. In particular, jurisdictions that are not experiencing active transmission, such as South Sudan and Uganda, may warrant a different approach than the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where transmission is ongoing.
The Board is concerned that broad quarantine requirements for asymptomatic travellers without known exposure may impose substantial personal, social, and economic burdens while providing limited additional public health benefit. Public health measures are most effective when they are targeted, transparent, proportionate, time-limited, and supported by current evidence.
We therefore encourage the Government of Canada to review existing requirements and consider a risk-based framework that focuses enhanced measures on individuals with higherrisk exposures, while reducing restrictions on travellers whose risk of infection is demonstrably low.
Such an approach would maintain Canada's strong commitment to protecting public health while upholding the principle that public health interventions should be no more restrictive than necessary to achieve their intended purpose.
Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. We appreciate the leadership shown by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the federal government in responding to international public health threats and look forward to continued evidence-informed decisionmaking.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Deputy Mayor Ron Black
Chair, Board of Health
/ag
cc: Local MPs
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health
Ontario Boards of Health
Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa)