June 24, 2026
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
The Honourable David McGuinty
Minister of National Defence
The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree
Minister of Public Safety
Dear Ministers McGuinty and Anandasangaree:
Re: Protecting Canadians from Biological and Cybersecurity Risks: An Opportunity to Collaborate with Local Public Health
On behalf of the Board of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts, we congratulate the government on achieving NATO’s 2% defence spending target as you pursue an ambitious plan to rebuild and invest in defence and national security. We write to offer our assistance in helping to better protect Canadians from biological threats and the health impact of emergencies, and to highlight a cybersecurity vulnerability within institutions that do this critical work.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is a local public health agency in Ontario that protects the local population from infectious and health threats including pandemics, the health impacts of community-wide emergencies, and potential bioterrorism.
Your government’s defence and security build-up reflects a more dangerous world, in which Canada will need independent and broad capabilities to defend itself. That includes capabilities to defend against conventional military threats across land, maritime, and air domains. But unconventional threats from asymmetric actors are perhaps more likely given our geography: bioterrorist attacks, cyber attacks, or mass poisoning events (e.g. the 2021 cyberattack that attempted to disrupt water treatment in Florida). Natural events can also pose great risk to our security, as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
These risks underscore that capabilities beyond conventional military functions are needed for Canada’s security. Enhanced local capabilities—particularly within local public health—could strengthen early detection of infectious agents, resilience to their illnesses, and minimize their ability to spread widely. Strengthened local institutions would ensure continuity of essential health services and infrastructure subsequent to an event. More generally, broad infrastructure investments could decrease vulnerability to airborne biological pathogens, whether bioterrorist or natural in origin.
Recent federal strategies appropriately emphasize safeguarding civilian systems that are fundamental to community safety, continuity of services, and public trust. Local public health agencies maintain and protect large volumes of sensitive health data, deliver essential services that must remain operational during emergencies, and serve as frontline infrastructure for preparedness and response to complex public health, environmental, and security-related threats.
As public health systems become increasingly digital, cybersecurity and system resilience become core public safety and national resilience issues. Several cyber incidents across Canadian public sector institutions, including local public health agencies, underscore the growing risk landscape and the importance of proactive investment in robust, well‑defended civilian infrastructure.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts serves a region of strategic importance to Canada’s economic and national resilience, including critical mineral production and transportation networks. Disruptions to public health capacity during emergencies—whether biological, cyber, or environmental in nature—would have implications well beyond local boundaries. Strengthening the resilience of public health systems is therefore of broader national interest.
The Board of Health wishes to highlight the opportunity for local public health agencies to play a part in the government’s defence and security build-up by expanding the capabilities that protect Canadians and ensuring civil preparedness. To this end, we request that
- local public health be included as a contributor to biodefence capabilities in federal defence and security planning
- local public health be explicitly designated as critical infrastructure, and
- local public health be eligible for federal cybersecurity funding streams.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts would welcome dialogue with federal partners regarding recognition, engagement, and potential future partnership opportunities to advance shared national security objectives.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Signoretti
Chair, Board of Health
Public Health Sudbury & Districts
cc: The Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health
The Honourable Shafqat Ali, President of the Treasury Board
Dr. Joss Reimer, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Ontario
The Honourable Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament, Sudbury
Jim Belanger, Member of Parliament, Sudbury East, Manitoulin and Nickel Belt
France Gélinas, Member of Provincial Parliament, Nickel Belt
Jamie West, Member of Provincial Parliament, Sudbury
Bill Rosenberg, Member of Provincial Parliament, Algoma – Manitoulin
Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Ontario
Dr. Kate Bingham, Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, Ontario
Dr. M. Mustafa. Hirji, Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer
Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa)
Ontario Boards of Health Shared Services Canada
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security