Midhurst/August 27, 2026 – We support and respect our employees’ right to voice their concerns and will continue to listen to staff feedback and we will continue to make adjustments where appropriate.
While the union has raised concerns about staffing levels, families and the public should rest assured the County continues to meet or exceed all legislated direct care requirements and have very competitive compensation and benefit packages, with increases each year. The issue at the centre of this matter, we believe, is the union’s efforts to increase available overtime hours. The public should not be misled about the quality of residents’ well-being and care to meet union objectives.
We understand that the union would prefer a return to staffing practices that were supported by temporary pandemic-era requirements and associated funding. Those funding levels are no longer available, and like hospitals and other publicly funded healthcare organizations, we must operate within current funding realities while continuing to provide safe, high-quality care, and being responsible to taxpayers. As we’ve communicated to the union, changes would require difficult trade-offs elsewhere in the finite workforce budget.
~ Statement provided by Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke
About the County of Simcoe
County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.
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