Northwestern Health Unit Deficit

The Northwestern Health Unit is running a deficit of $172,000, only 5 months into the year.
Officials are blaming the ongoing hearings on whether a region-wide smoking ban should be implemented.
The Unit has spent $97,000 on legal costs.
Board Member Ingrid Parkes says they were promised finanical support to cover the cost of arguing for a workplace smoking ban.
She says the funding has not materialized and hearings are dragging on longer than expected.
Parkes says if there’s an emergency at the Health Unit, “we are in big-time trouble”.
The appeal of the smoking ban began back in February.
No new dates have been set but the hearing is expected to resume next month.