Community Support
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By: A local resident whose professional standing requires them to remain anonymous
Hello, Doug Ford. In reference to the attached letter from Mayor Drew Dilkens and Warden Tom Bain, I want you to be absolutely clear that their decision in no way represents my interests in practical health care system issues as a Windsor citizen. I am opposed to the rezoning of the Sandwich South lands in order to facilitate the development of the proposed WRH Mega Hospital. I am certainly not alone in opposing the problematic decision making surrounding this initiative and am sure you have received the CAMPP critique of the planning practices that led to this bamboozle of an outcome. In the process of key public meetings, the majority of council, the Mayor and key administrators continually professed to have nothing to do with the choice of property and yet they were and are prepared to bypass appropriate consultation and rational critique, with barely a sideways glance, and poorly concealed bias and involvement. They have purportedly offloaded their responsibility for the inappropriate and disproportionately expensive location choice onto the plural and autonomous trust of the hospital board which has also refused to respond to citizen critique and requests for better planning for our region. This is a glaring imbalance of power invested in an appointed board facilitated by the CEO of WRH. I sincerely hope that in September you will order your new Minister of Health and Longterm Care to put a halt to this problematic planning exercise and work with the citizens of the region to create a genuine consultative process to create an improved and rational plan to deliver heath care services through a better over all hospital system with equitable, accessible locations for the citizens. Minister Elliott was able to clearly see the value of the work done in the Muskoka Region to steer toward this quality of outcome. With proper representation from elected representatives responding appropriately to citizen concerns, I am sure your government will be much prouder of the outcome of the healthcare system redesign, if the project is suspended at least until the municipal election is done on October 22. Local residents are very disconcerted by the current disrespect, lack of transparency or proper engagement that current elected and appointed representatives have displayed throughout this hospital planning process. Please, Doug Ford, intervene to save precious resources and help create a better plan for Windsor and Essex county residents' healthcare. Thank you! By Mitch Oncea
Ward 6 Dear Councillor Gignac. After watching the city council discussion this past Monday, September, 18, 2017, I was quite taken aback by your statement regarding citizens connecting storm water mitigation and the proposed mega hospital. You stated that you don’t understand how or why your constituents can make a connection between the two. I fail to see how you cannot see the connection. The proposed hospital at County Road 42 lies at the head of the Little River water basin. I`m not sure how up to date you are on the hospital consultant studies, but at the last information session, the consulting engineers wholeheartedly admitted that storm water management is a huge concern. One of their preliminary solutions is to add approximately 235 acres to the site requirements to mitigate downstream flooding. The question is at what cost. The city of Windsor Chief Administrative Officer has already indicated that the cost of infrastructure to service this green field site to be in the $300,000,000.00 range. That`s on top of the $100,000,000.00 taxpayer contribution the proposed hospital itself. So what is the additional cost to mitigate more flooding? Not just the cost to construct but the fact that this money must come from somewhere. This city already has an infrastructure deficit of $300,000,000 to $1,000,000,000.00 depending on the source. By investing in this greenfield site are we not taking away from deficit situations? Or does this city suddenly have nearly half a billion extra dollars? In my humble opinion there are better ways to spend taxpayer dollars and still maintain and upgrade existing infrastructure and have a new hospital. Firstly, and most importantly, build the new hospital on an existing brown or grey field site. Invest the hundreds of millions which you are apparently willing to spend on a green field hospital on existing city needs, ie. The vista project which includes sewer and storm water updates and bike lanes, fix the Dougall Ave death trap, pumping stations capacity, sewage treatment capacity and invest in parks and the list goes on. These are things taxpayer need now, not a new green field hospital at the expense of needed investments in the city. To summarize, I am deeply disappointed that you and most of your fellow councillors are unable to connect the dots. Building on green field is ill advised. It goes against Ontario Planning Policy and Climate Change Initiatives. It will likely lead to increased flooding downstream or cost a huge amount of taxpayer dollars to mitigate. The greenfield hospital will exacerbate the existing infrastructure deficit even further by taking needed dollars to pay for a green field site. As a self-proclaimed fiscally responsible city councilor, I truly hope that you can see the connection. There are things this city needs now and to invest nearly half a billion dollars in an inappropriately selected green field site is not one of them. By Mary Jacko
Ward 4 Dear Dr. Hoskins, Please add my name to the growing list of citizens in the Windsor Ontario Community who oppose the location of the proposed new Mega Hospital on County Road. Others before me have either written or spoken against this plan. What this plan will ultimately accomplish is the destruction of the inner core of the City of Windsor. Why this parcel of land, far removed from the city's core, and which has none of the amenities required for the construction of a mega hospital was chosen is anyone's guess. Many have voiced the opinion that sums of money with the favor of politics is highly likely. The City of Windsor is still home to the majority of people residing in Essex County. The City of Windsor must be maintained to its fullest capacity and must be given the opportunity to grow within its present core. Re-location of present medical facilities to a far off County Road would lead to the inconvenience of medical as well as non-medical employees. The elderly and incapacitated citizens would definitely suffer. To demolish the two remaining hospitals with only 2 ER facilities to provide medical attention is a ludicrous plan and one must wonder who came up with that idea. This whole plan totally destroys the core of Windsor and that is totally unacceptable. The outcry of citizens who live beyond the City of Windsor and who favor the new site is quite contrary. It was their choice to move out of Windsor to the suburbs because it was/is fashionable. Did they, at that time, not consider that there was no hospital close by. Now, Windsor citizens are expected to pay for a hospital far from its core. Let those communities demand a state-of-the art hospital in the suburbs and/or county. Mega Hospital in Windsor.....................YES Mega Hospital on County Road............NO The Mega-Plan as decided by a Committee which promotes urban expansion to the detriment of the City of Windsor must be reviewed. Alternate locations within the City of Windsor must be explored. More thought must be given to a new plan with transparency to all citizens of Windsor/Essex! Thank you for your attention to this very important message. Yours respectfully, MARY H. JACKO By James Coulter
Ward 6 Good Day, I have written to you before, requesting your assistance in getting a better hospital plan for Windsor and Essex County. I am writing to you again asking for that assistance. Since the hospital announced their plan a group of ordinary citizens has campaigned and advocated for a hospital solution that will provide the region with modern facilities in a location that makes sense to the taxpayers that are going to support it and the public that it will serve. We were promised an open, transparent site selection process. It was not. The process only became public knowledge after its completion and only as the result of an access to information request. We were promised that the final selection of the proposed site would not be determined by cost. It was and that decision was not only flawed it has been challenged by the very engineer that assessed the two short-listed sites. The hospital spokespeople will not engage this citizens group in a respectful dialogue. Instead they disparage, obfuscate and otherwise deflect any criticism or line of inquiry. The latest instance of this was an article published by Blackburn News on November 4th. In it David Musyj, CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital, repeats a common line, that we are “competing” for a new hospital with other jurisdictions and the article states that “He feels there is a vocal minority that continually comes up with misleading and incorrect information about the new hospital plan.” In the same article, he also contends that city residents will have “emergency room” service at a downtown urgent care centre. By definition an urgent care centre is not an emergency room. In the last twenty years we have gone from four functioning hospitals to two and by the proposed plan down to one. I cannot fathom how a city of more than 200,000 people is supposed to be properly serviced by their plan, let alone a regional population approaching 400,000 people. The “vocal minority” that Mr. Musyj, derides as unfortunate and generally negative (in the same article), are advocating not just for their city but, for the best possible outcome for the whole region. The Windsor-Essex region needs a strong urban economy and the jobs that it attracts and a strong city needs services and to be sustainable. A single hospital, in the shadow of an airport, on active agricultural land, literally miles from any existing city neighbourhood, without transit, hydro, water, gas or urban arterial road access is a mistake. It’s a mistake for a city with hundreds of acres of fully serviced brown-field sites and infill properties. It’s a mistake for a city with a large infrastructure maintenance deficit to build out into undeveloped, un-serviced land. There are alternatives. There are better ways of using $2 billion to develop new medical infrastructure in a modern, economic, environmentally responsible way for Windsor-Essex. The Liberal government wants cities to grow responsibly, to improve and maximize transit and to minimize identifiable causes of climate-change. We want those things for our city. As a member of that vocal minority I ask that you tell the Windsor Regional Hospital to re-think its hospital plan and to finally and fairly address the concerns of the citizens advocating for our region. By Denis Dent
Ward 7 Dear Dr. Hoskins I have a real safety concern as to the location of the proposed Mega-Hospital in Windsor, Ontario. At the end of the day, we would have ONE 24-7 full service Hospital. The remaining two full service hospitals will have been completely demolished. I am not against the Mega-Hospital. Just the location. Thus, my correspondence to your attention. I have served in the RCAF. Thus my safety concerns have been listed below for your review. *In the late 50s’ military jet was refueled at the Windsor airport with gasoline not kerosene. The jet blew up over North Talbot Road. This is in the vicinity of the proposed mega-hospital. How do I remember this….Stepping on the human remains of what looked like a finger. * Sitting in my front yard watching aircraft participating in the last air show at the Windsor Airport. I viewed aircraft that looked to be a USAF C130 was on final approach. At the same time a commercial airline was flying over my house at a right angle approaching the C130. It appeared that this aircraft wanted to follow in behind the AC130 on its final approach. Wake turbulence from the C130 and maintaining distance must have become a consideration. Immediately the commercial airline made a hard bank to the left. * What appears Military fighter jets practicing – touch and goes - at Windsor Airport * After reviewing the summary of 2015 from Transport Safety Board of Canada, one might take pause as to the choice of this location * No contingency plan to potential disaster. * Is this creating a soft target at this proposed location. The choice of weapons for terrorists has become aircraft. We would not ever want to have a legacy of putting our citizens at risk. Let’s find a new location for the Mega Hospital. Your comments would be appreciated. Regards By Kathryn Tisdale
Ward 4 As a resident, I am excited at the prospect of an investment in new hospital facilities but not if it does more harm than good as the current proposed plan is sure to do. I am a life-long Windsor resident and a descendant of some of Essex County's earliest settlers. I am both emotionally and financially invested in this area. We are a city struggling to regain our urban vibrancy and we cannot do that if we lose our two remaining acute care hospitals from core neighbourhoods. I founded a crowd-sourced project to document the vacancies in Windsor where sadly, some of our neighbourhoods look essentially abandoned. We have a group of almost 500 people with dozens of volunteer photographers contributing to the project. If you'd like to see for yourself, visit https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1-8m_zgGj463WKLvsCCEirNWPSiU&ll=42.29666833667013%2C-83.00994756616211&z=13 There is more information at vacantwindsor.weebly.com Every bit as concerning is the hardship to our most vulnerable residents if this project goes ahead as proposed. Most of the people in W-E who do not have cars reside in Windsor's downtown and west end neighbourhoods. How are they supposed to get to a location that clearly requires a car reach it? Bus service to remote sites is never as good as promised, it is simply too expensive to operate. Are you aware that the proposed site is more 20% farther away on average for its potential users? This is NOT a more accessible site despite repeated claims that it is. I am sure if we truly wanted the best plan we could develop one that serves both the city and county without turning our backs on either. W-E needs a Re-Think. I've written to you before expressing my concerns but you didn't publish my letter. Perhaps after the recent rash of favourable letters you have published by friends and colleagues of the hospital Steering Committee, you'll be willing to offer some balance by publishing letters by bonafide concerned citizens. By Michelle Oncea
Ward 4 Dear Dr. Hoskins, I know that you've heard the arguments for and against the mega hospital proposal in Windsor. I know you're aware of the glowing letters of support from organizations and individuals claiming to speak for all residents of Windsor. They don't. I am a member of CAMPP so you know where I stand. I've spent countless hours talking to people, delivering our ReThink signs, getting petitions signed and handing out our information flyers. Windsor Regional Hospital will tell you WEareready and that the majority of residents are in favour of the location of the proposed mega hospital. I can tell you it's not true. I can also tell you they don't speak for many of their own employees who are afraid to speak out publicly. I can tell you people don't want their hospitals demolished and have one hospital and Emergency Department built to replace them in the outskirts of the city. I can also tell you the consolation prize of an urgent care centre is not fooling too many people. I can tell you that ReThink means many things, like a new, better plan, there are so many other options that make more sense. The WEareready people are trying to put a bad light on CAMPP, however in reality we only want what is best for Windsor and Essex County. We are asking for one thing only, a transparent, unbiased and thorough hospital system planning process. For the best possible solution regarding our healthcare in Windsor-Essex, we need: * an independent third party to step in * independent public consultations * series of well-publicized, readily accessible town hall meetings * input and involvement from experts in their fields - frontline healthcare workers, urban planners, architects, environmentalists, infrastructure specialists, community organizers, as well as the general public. I support a plan that helps the city, not rips its heart out. By Nestor Chyz,
Ward 4 Mayor Dilkens, you have spoken about the Mega Hospital in glowing terms, but, you haven't addressed the future development of the Met site. What do you plan to do to replace the vacant doctors' offices in the core & how do plan on replacing the lost tax $? How are you going to fund the needed infrastructure for the Mega Hospital? How are you going to fund the extra buses that will be necessary? How is Enwin going to pay for the necessary hospital sub station? How are you going to fund capital improvements in the rest of the city? How are you going to attract businesses to the core? How are you going to clear up congested Walker Rd? How can you justify unnecessary development in Sandwich South? How are you going to explain to people in the core that the only emergency room in Windsor is 12 km away? Why, for $2 billion are we only getting 500 beds & no additional services? Why are you ignoring good urban planning & infill? How is the Mega Hospital strategically located & accessible for all citizens? How is the Mega Hospital compatible with an airport & a jail? How will pedestrian & cycling access be accommodated in a safe convenient manner? How does the Mega Hospital facilitate its integration with the surrounding neighbourhood where the surrounding neighbourhood is farm land? How is the Mega Hospital optimal use of existing infrastructure? How does the Mega Hospital promote a land use policy that reduces vehicle trips? How does the Mega Hospital increase cycling & walking? How does the Mega Hospital provide for a more compact urban form? How does the Mega Hospital minimize vehicle trips & travel distances? Has there been a traffic impact study done to support the Mega Hospital proposal? Why are you allowing a regional institutional centre to be built in a regional commercial centre as designated by the City's Official Plan? When discussing the Central Box Study, CAO Onorio Colucci said it was important for the politicians to “control expectations” & that the public needs to be aware that there's “competition for scarce resources” & that it would likely take “A long period of time to complete all the recommendations.” Why aren't you heeding his words in regards to the mega hospital ? My 20 Year Vision has always included a hospital in the core, Why doesn't yours? By Dr. Lee Rodney,
Resident of Windsor Ward 4, and Associate Professor, Media Art History, University of Windsor Dear Premier Kathleen Wynne, Dr. Eric Hoskins, Dr. Bob Bell, Mr Jeff Yurek, Glen Murray, Ted McMeekin, Laurie LeBlanc, City of Windsor Councilors and Mayor Dilkens, I am writing you today as Windsor resident and environmentally concerned citizen. I am very upset by the Erie -St. Clair Local Health Integrated Network’s (LHIN) proposal for the new Mega-Hospital and more specifically, the closure and demolition of Windsor Metropolitan Hospital in my neighborhood. I am also concerned by what I feel is a grievous failure of the political process at the municipal and provincial levels. I was disturbed to only learn about the closure of both downtown hospitals through a privately sponsored billboard that caught my attention. Like most working people in Windsor, I have not had time to closely follow the process or debates. I have been busy with my job and taking care of my husband who was diagnosed with cancer last year, undergoing major surgery and treatment. So my awareness of this grim situation with the Met Hospital closure issue is only recent and hits home very hard. We may be forced to leave the region entirely if LHIN’s proposal for the new facility goes forward as slated. Not only will we lose access to a cancer treatment centre close by, but our Walkerville neighbourhood will be decimated by another vacant brownfield site in close proximity to the recently razed former GM plant. On my block alone, there are 3 people currently undergoing treatment for advanced and serious forms of cancer: they are treated at Windsor Metropolitan Hospital (2) and Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital (1). I chose to move to Walkerville when I arrived in Windsor 12 years ago for a number of reasons, cultural values and environmental concerns chief among them. But as I age within this community, I took some comfort knowing we had good access to a local Canadian hospital that has seen major improvements over the last decade. When I learned recently about LHIN’s plan to decommission and demolish that hospital completely I felt completely betrayed by a city that I am deeply invested in--professionally, economically and personally--for nearly half of my adult life now. I think at this critical time we might need to see this issue more plainly for what it is: a closed-door decision making process, lack of information and public consultation within Windsor. While I’m all for a new facility on brownfield redevelopment near EC Row or another central location, the implications of the message has been obfuscated and muddled in the media. LHIN clearly has a lot of financial support from outside sources and they have good spin doctors. I have only been able to find out information about the process through CAMPP, a small, grassroots organization that has been campaigning to inform Windsor citizens about the problems with the planning process, from site selection to new taxes that will be levied on Windsor residents who will continue to experience declining property values while paying for a hospital that effectively will be in another municipal jurisdiction. Most people I’ve spoken with at the University and in my neighborhood do not know the details of the proposed plan, nor do people realize that a fully functioning central hospital will be shut down to appease powerful developers who have no interest in the economic sustainability of our city. This is an issue of utmost economic urgency in our region and the long term health of our city depends upon it more than anything else right now. The proposed plan includes the closure of two major inner-city hospitals and represents a bad deal for the city of Windsor. It is a slap in the face to the vast majority of Windsor residents, nearly 200 000 people, mostly low and middle income, living in the older neighborhoods of Windsor, from Sandwichtown to Downtown, Walkerville (North and South), Ford City and Riverside, areas that have paid into the tax base for at least 50 years longer than the new developments on the periphery. It is these taxpayers (the people who can least afford it) who be soaked for years to come from the lack of access to health care services and the further environmental degradation of our city if the Windsor Metropolitan Hospital is closed down in the name of “development.” I sincerely hope our political representatives can see this as a very bad plan for the region and can act swiftly to reconsider the plans on the table. Thank you for your time and support. Lee Rodney |
Links to letters residents have sent to the Alzheimer Society of Windsor-Essex County, in response to a letter of support to the Minister of Health and Long-term Care:
Lori Hill Michelle Oncea Stephen Pender, PhD Beverley Van Sickle Holmes Philippa von Ziegenweidt Links to letters residents have sent to Stantec, in response to the proposed Secondary Plan and By-Law amendments:
Doug Charles James Coulter Bert Harris Kathryn Tisdale Jeffery Williams 
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By Nestor Chyz
Windsor resident
In regards to the mega hospital site, who speaks for the disenfranchised population of the city?
Certainly not the provincial Liberal government. Their policies, i.e. Infrastructure Ontario stress new buildings on huge sites & P3 financing.
Once upon a time, the New Democrats used to, now, Percy Hadfield is on board & Lisa Gretzky is quiet.
Councillor John Elliot says urban sprawl is the future.
Bob Renaud, member of the steering committee said "It was never one of the criteria. There was never one suggestion made that we had to consider hollowing out the urban core."
Ann Jarvis is in favour of the site.
Gord Henderson is ambivalent.
Ken Lewenza Sr. says we are ready.
Why haven't any members of Unifor's leadership spoke out against this decision?
The city of Windsors' 20 year vision states that council should be making infrastructure decisions to improve quality of life. Yet, Council led by the mayor voted 9-1 for the levy.
There are contradictions galore from the city. We welcome refugees, but, are going to make life difficult for them in the future.
The city is conducting a downtown survey to make improvements but, endorses the mega hospital.
Developers come first.
To quote Martin Luther King Jr "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Windsor resident
In regards to the mega hospital site, who speaks for the disenfranchised population of the city?
Certainly not the provincial Liberal government. Their policies, i.e. Infrastructure Ontario stress new buildings on huge sites & P3 financing.
Once upon a time, the New Democrats used to, now, Percy Hadfield is on board & Lisa Gretzky is quiet.
Councillor John Elliot says urban sprawl is the future.
Bob Renaud, member of the steering committee said "It was never one of the criteria. There was never one suggestion made that we had to consider hollowing out the urban core."
Ann Jarvis is in favour of the site.
Gord Henderson is ambivalent.
Ken Lewenza Sr. says we are ready.
Why haven't any members of Unifor's leadership spoke out against this decision?
The city of Windsors' 20 year vision states that council should be making infrastructure decisions to improve quality of life. Yet, Council led by the mayor voted 9-1 for the levy.
There are contradictions galore from the city. We welcome refugees, but, are going to make life difficult for them in the future.
The city is conducting a downtown survey to make improvements but, endorses the mega hospital.
Developers come first.
To quote Martin Luther King Jr "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
By Lee Rodney,
Ward 4 Resident
Dear Councillor Holt,
I am writing you today as a neighbour and concerned citizen. I feel very upset by the late breaking news about the deleterious effects that the Erie-St. Clair LHIN’s proposal will have in our Ward and our City, specifically the closure and demolition of Windsor Metropolitan Hospital. I am also concerned by what I feel is a grievous failure of the political process at the municipal and provincial levels.
Yes, to reply to your tweet, CAMPP did form over two years ago as a private, grassroots organization. What has been lost in the debates, however is that we in Ward 4 will lose our hospital to another empty demolition site.
I have not been involved with CAMPP until recently as during the past 18 months I have been taking care of my husband who lives in Ann Arbor and has cancer. He had major surgery at the University of Michigan Hospital to remove a 10-inch tumour last July and much of my time has been spent with him there in addition to my already busy schedule at the University. So my awareness of this grim situation with the Metropolitan Campus Hospital closure/demolition is only recent and hits home very hard. We are extremely fortunate that, for the moment, my husband’s job in the US provides access to good healthcare. However, we would both like to reside in Windsor more permanently (he is currently a US citizen applying for Canadian residency) but we may be forced to leave the region entirely if LHIN’s proposal for the new facility goes forward as slated.
On my block of Windermere alone there are 3 people currently undergoing treatment for advanced and serious forms of cancer: they are treated at Windsor Metropolitan Hospital (2) and Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital (1). I chose to move to Walkerville when I arrived in Windsor 12 years ago for a number of reasons, cultural values and environmental concerns chief among them. But as I age within this community, I took some comfort knowing we had good access to a local Canadian hospital that has seen major improvements over the last decade. When I learned just last week about LHIN’s plan to decommission and demolish that hospital completely I felt completely betrayed by a community that I am deeply invested in--professionally, economically and personally--for nearly half of my adult life now.
I think at this critical time we might need to see this issue more plainly for what it is: a closed-door decision making process, lack of information and public consultation within Windsor. While I’m all for a new facility on brownfield redevelopment near EC Row or another central location, the implications of the message has been obfuscated and muddled in the media. LHIN clearly has a lot of financial support from outside sources and they have good spin doctors. CAMPP is a small, grassroots organization doing what they can against LHIN’s powerful campaign. However, this is the most serious civic issue that directly affects Ward 4 in a long time, and we need to know how this will affect us. I am not alone here. Many people I’ve spoken with at the University and in my neighbourhood do not know the details of the proposed plan, nor do people realize that a fully functioning central hospital will be shut down to appease powerful developers who have no interest in the economic sustainability of our city.
So I am asking you to bring these concerns forward to City Council as an issue of utmost economic urgency, the long term health of our community depends upon it more than anything else right now. The proposed plan represents a bad deal for all of Windsor. It is a slap in the face to the people living in the older neighbourhoods of Windsor, from Sandwichtown to Downtown, Walkerville (North and South), Ford City and Riverside, areas that have paid into the tax base for at least 50 years longer than the new developments on the periphery. Windsor taxpayers will be soaked for years to come from the lack of access to health care services and the further environmental degradation of our city if the Windsor Metropolitan Hospital is closed down in the name of “development.”
I sincerely hope that City Council hears this emergency and acts soon to reconsider the plans on the table.
Ward 4 Resident
Dear Councillor Holt,
I am writing you today as a neighbour and concerned citizen. I feel very upset by the late breaking news about the deleterious effects that the Erie-St. Clair LHIN’s proposal will have in our Ward and our City, specifically the closure and demolition of Windsor Metropolitan Hospital. I am also concerned by what I feel is a grievous failure of the political process at the municipal and provincial levels.
Yes, to reply to your tweet, CAMPP did form over two years ago as a private, grassroots organization. What has been lost in the debates, however is that we in Ward 4 will lose our hospital to another empty demolition site.
I have not been involved with CAMPP until recently as during the past 18 months I have been taking care of my husband who lives in Ann Arbor and has cancer. He had major surgery at the University of Michigan Hospital to remove a 10-inch tumour last July and much of my time has been spent with him there in addition to my already busy schedule at the University. So my awareness of this grim situation with the Metropolitan Campus Hospital closure/demolition is only recent and hits home very hard. We are extremely fortunate that, for the moment, my husband’s job in the US provides access to good healthcare. However, we would both like to reside in Windsor more permanently (he is currently a US citizen applying for Canadian residency) but we may be forced to leave the region entirely if LHIN’s proposal for the new facility goes forward as slated.
On my block of Windermere alone there are 3 people currently undergoing treatment for advanced and serious forms of cancer: they are treated at Windsor Metropolitan Hospital (2) and Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital (1). I chose to move to Walkerville when I arrived in Windsor 12 years ago for a number of reasons, cultural values and environmental concerns chief among them. But as I age within this community, I took some comfort knowing we had good access to a local Canadian hospital that has seen major improvements over the last decade. When I learned just last week about LHIN’s plan to decommission and demolish that hospital completely I felt completely betrayed by a community that I am deeply invested in--professionally, economically and personally--for nearly half of my adult life now.
I think at this critical time we might need to see this issue more plainly for what it is: a closed-door decision making process, lack of information and public consultation within Windsor. While I’m all for a new facility on brownfield redevelopment near EC Row or another central location, the implications of the message has been obfuscated and muddled in the media. LHIN clearly has a lot of financial support from outside sources and they have good spin doctors. CAMPP is a small, grassroots organization doing what they can against LHIN’s powerful campaign. However, this is the most serious civic issue that directly affects Ward 4 in a long time, and we need to know how this will affect us. I am not alone here. Many people I’ve spoken with at the University and in my neighbourhood do not know the details of the proposed plan, nor do people realize that a fully functioning central hospital will be shut down to appease powerful developers who have no interest in the economic sustainability of our city.
So I am asking you to bring these concerns forward to City Council as an issue of utmost economic urgency, the long term health of our community depends upon it more than anything else right now. The proposed plan represents a bad deal for all of Windsor. It is a slap in the face to the people living in the older neighbourhoods of Windsor, from Sandwichtown to Downtown, Walkerville (North and South), Ford City and Riverside, areas that have paid into the tax base for at least 50 years longer than the new developments on the periphery. Windsor taxpayers will be soaked for years to come from the lack of access to health care services and the further environmental degradation of our city if the Windsor Metropolitan Hospital is closed down in the name of “development.”
I sincerely hope that City Council hears this emergency and acts soon to reconsider the plans on the table.
By Lori Hill, Windsor resident
Hon. Dr. Eric Hoskins
In reviewing the decision on moving the hospital system forward to Phase II development in Windsor ON, I’m sure that as a responsible government you make these decisions within the guidelines set out in the Provincial Planning Act. It is my understanding that as a segment of this Act, the Provincial Policy Statement is used in the consideration for land use planning and links economic, social and environmental factors resulting in an integrative and thorough process.
There are many aspects of Windsor Regional Hospital’s Hospital System Proposal that contravene the Vision for Ontario’s Land Use Planning System. Here in Windsor, we deserve the right to be part of the progressive movement in achieving what our government values and sets forth in policy. We deserve to be a contributor to the positive changes and achievement of goals that other cities provincially, federally and globally are a part of. We expect that our government will overlook and ensure that this vision is upheld in every decision that is made.
The following are aspects of the hospital proposal that do not align with Ontario’s vision for land use planning and for these reasons this proposal requires serious review.
The hospital system will have a presence in the core but the demolition of two full service hospitals in the core and the removal of access to 24 hour emergency service, hospital beds and modern hospital services such as day surgeries, clinics, cancer treatment and specialist follow-ups cannot be replaced by an Urgent Care Centre and a Mental Health/Chronic Disease Management Centre. It is socially unjust, irresponsible, poorly planned and simply wrong. It negatively affects too many people and too many aspects of our quality of life here in Windsor which is already in a jeopardized state at the moment.
We have had the bad fortune, in that, our municipal council is very keen and has been for many years (for reasons that remain unexplained especially given the state of our downtown core) to develop these lands at the edge of the city limits. After having agreed to finance our portion of the project, it has since been reported in the media that there are many developers passing through the mayor’s office. If this is true, we are seriously insulted as citizens as we have not been afforded a response to letters of concern we have sent to his office and council members. Having asked no critical questions of the Steering Committee, conducted no consultation with its citizens and having been presented with a slate of concerns that went unacknowledged our city agreed whole heartedly that this proposal is in fact the best solution for a hospital system here in Windsor.
This is a vital decision for the health and prosperity of this city for generations. Clearly, this process has raised too many concerns and as the government that will be financing the bulk of the project and has policy to ensure that the directives are followed for the wellbeing of society, a decision to review and hopefully restart this process would prove most valuable and would most importantly guide our city and region into greater health and prosperity. Windsor Regional Hospital took on this selection process for the hospital system and it was an enormous effort but certainly not without fault. The selection process would not be completely lost and there has been much learned from it that can be carried over into a review.
Our city, our province, our country and our PLANET deserve this consideration from our democratically elected representatives and sincerely hope to hear that this is the direction that will be taken.
Lori Hill
Hon. Dr. Eric Hoskins
In reviewing the decision on moving the hospital system forward to Phase II development in Windsor ON, I’m sure that as a responsible government you make these decisions within the guidelines set out in the Provincial Planning Act. It is my understanding that as a segment of this Act, the Provincial Policy Statement is used in the consideration for land use planning and links economic, social and environmental factors resulting in an integrative and thorough process.
There are many aspects of Windsor Regional Hospital’s Hospital System Proposal that contravene the Vision for Ontario’s Land Use Planning System. Here in Windsor, we deserve the right to be part of the progressive movement in achieving what our government values and sets forth in policy. We deserve to be a contributor to the positive changes and achievement of goals that other cities provincially, federally and globally are a part of. We expect that our government will overlook and ensure that this vision is upheld in every decision that is made.
The following are aspects of the hospital proposal that do not align with Ontario’s vision for land use planning and for these reasons this proposal requires serious review.
- The selected site for the Acute Care Facility in Windsor on County Road 42 is a greenfield site. It is zoned agricultural and is situated across from the south east corner of Windsor Airport, 12.5 km from Windsor City Hall. It will result in the loss of an extremely valuable resource -viable farmland which is becoming increasingly scarce and threatens food security.
- It is land that is slated for future development as population warrants. We currently have a stagnant population with no increased projections for growth for decades. With no population growth this project is both irresponsible and promotes unsustainable development.
- Long established livable communities will face further disintegration with migration of residential and related business that will relocate in proximity to this hospital site on County Road 42. As previously stated, with no population growth this will be greatly detrimental to the existence and health of Windsor’s neighborhoods.
- Windsor’s economy in the core will suffer huge negative effects with the migration of business to the edge of the city limits slowly hollowing out the city centre.
- Building at County Road 42 promotes a development pattern that contrasts the government’s vision of urban intensification and contributes to unwarranted and unhealthy urban sprawl. Windsor currently has over 600 vacant properties. There are suitable brownfield sites in the core that would facilitate this project and the consideration of renovating and using existing facilities could combine to make a more efficient system.
- Acres of asphalt at the Acute Care Facility will greatly contribute to heat production, inhibit natural drainage and remove scarce habitat for wildlife adding much stress to an already compromised environmental region of Ontario.
- The distance of the Acute Care Facility from the city core results in very poor streamlining and coordination of services within the hospital system including integration with the medical school and programs through the college located in the downtown.
- The County Road 42 site promotes more driving as it is situated at such a great distance from the city’s core. This is counter-productive in terms of achieving climate change goals especially on the heels of the Liberal Party’s signing of the Paris Agreement just last month.
- Social impact is vast with accessibility greatly compromised by those who depend on public transportation and have mobility challenges. Our downtown and west end residents live in the most economically challenged wards in Windsor. These wards will be the most adversely affected in terms of distance to reach the Acute Care Facility on County Road 42.
- Public Safety is compromised as more people will have further to travel in emergency situations when time is critical and travel to a remote facility is increased.
- The proximity to an airport and a massive solar farm is not conducive to a hospital facility in terms of noise, safety and aesthetics.
- Cost to taxpayers for infrastructure that will support the hospital at County Road 42 will subsidize developers who are positioned to gain from this approved site. It is very clear that the hospital is being used as a project to stimulate development in this area of the city at extreme cost to the economic vitality of the city core and existing communities. This contravenes vision strategy of both municipal and provincial governments.
The hospital system will have a presence in the core but the demolition of two full service hospitals in the core and the removal of access to 24 hour emergency service, hospital beds and modern hospital services such as day surgeries, clinics, cancer treatment and specialist follow-ups cannot be replaced by an Urgent Care Centre and a Mental Health/Chronic Disease Management Centre. It is socially unjust, irresponsible, poorly planned and simply wrong. It negatively affects too many people and too many aspects of our quality of life here in Windsor which is already in a jeopardized state at the moment.
We have had the bad fortune, in that, our municipal council is very keen and has been for many years (for reasons that remain unexplained especially given the state of our downtown core) to develop these lands at the edge of the city limits. After having agreed to finance our portion of the project, it has since been reported in the media that there are many developers passing through the mayor’s office. If this is true, we are seriously insulted as citizens as we have not been afforded a response to letters of concern we have sent to his office and council members. Having asked no critical questions of the Steering Committee, conducted no consultation with its citizens and having been presented with a slate of concerns that went unacknowledged our city agreed whole heartedly that this proposal is in fact the best solution for a hospital system here in Windsor.
This is a vital decision for the health and prosperity of this city for generations. Clearly, this process has raised too many concerns and as the government that will be financing the bulk of the project and has policy to ensure that the directives are followed for the wellbeing of society, a decision to review and hopefully restart this process would prove most valuable and would most importantly guide our city and region into greater health and prosperity. Windsor Regional Hospital took on this selection process for the hospital system and it was an enormous effort but certainly not without fault. The selection process would not be completely lost and there has been much learned from it that can be carried over into a review.
Our city, our province, our country and our PLANET deserve this consideration from our democratically elected representatives and sincerely hope to hear that this is the direction that will be taken.
Lori Hill
By: Deborah Robinson, who identifies herself as a WestEnder
After attending the meeting on Monday, I cannot begin to express my disappointment, especially in WestEnd representative, John Elliott, whose address to us was particularly rude and condescending.
Despite his denial of the fact, Mr. Elliott is surely aware that Stats Canada sites his WestEnd Ward as being the most impoverished Ward in Essex County!
Council’s secret decision to push through the agenda to locate the hospital far from the people paying for it, was irresponsible. You deliberately robbed constituents of the opportunity to voice their concerns and you robbed yourselves of opportunities to gain valuable insight from the voters (who chose you to make good decisions on their behalf).
As ailing, ‘impoverished,’ non-driving WestEnders are about to find out, they will be in a real jam to find a way to transport themselves and family members safely to the hospital for ongoing cancer treatment appointments, to name just one. I live in the WestEnd (chosen specifically, to be near old Hotel Dieu as I suffer from Chronic Lung Diseases). Recently, I watched my dying sister’s ongoing struggle to find rides to nearby Windsor Regional Hospital Met Campus for regular treatment appointments. Having to worry about transportation greatly added to her distress. I can only imagine how not having money or even a credit card for cab fares of $50-70 plus, will affect the tens of thousands of cancer patients alone, in the coming years.
There are countless stories like the one shared by Lorena Shepley. Through tears she tried to get you to relate to her problem. Your token concern was fleeting Ms. Gignac but you quickly focused back on what you believe, is best for Windsorites.
When West Windsor factory money was flowing, everyone partied. Now that the party’s over, it’s all too evident that many factory workers and West End residents suffer with severe asthma, COPD and Emphysema. Where is the support now for those who built this city on their backs?
An hour bus ride is not far for most, but as someone with Chronic Asthma/COPD (not from smoking), my disability pension would never afford the exorbitant taxi fares back and forth. Busing is unsafe (as in life-threatening), so for gasping lung disease patients, the idea of bus transportation is ludicrous. We can’t use urgent care as they cannot administer what we need! A large majority of ER visits are about asthma. How happy will the City be when ambulances are routinely called instead? Also, after their hospital admission, you are asking a still very sick patient to catch a bus home after being discharged? Nice.
Chronic lung disease aside, even with a direct bus route, very ill feeling individuals with cancers and pneumonias, are expected to stand in the heat/rain/cold, awaiting a bus, then travel for at least an hour (it presently takes nearly an hour to just Silver City). Meanwhile, during that hour, buses pick up pregnant mothers, babies and children, all of whom will potentially be exposed to extreme health risks such as pneumonia. (One more thing not yet considered).
Money taxpayers are being forced to pay aside, building any hospital without having fully explored the aspects of design is reckless business. Where are the itemized estimates of expected and unexpected expenditures? There are far more questions than answers and you know it.
I had to shake my head when Mr. David Musyj stated that many of the nurses and doctors are pleased with the new hospital location, as it will be closer to them. That certainly is important. It’s not true. Many are not in agreement with this location, for many reasons.
In closing, mark these words – real people, young and old will suffer needlessly and many will meet their demise prematurely because of decisions being made now. Not your problem? Sometimes, the popular vote is just plain wrong.
Signed,
Love my city and disappointed in Council
Deborah Robinson, WestEnder
After attending the meeting on Monday, I cannot begin to express my disappointment, especially in WestEnd representative, John Elliott, whose address to us was particularly rude and condescending.
Despite his denial of the fact, Mr. Elliott is surely aware that Stats Canada sites his WestEnd Ward as being the most impoverished Ward in Essex County!
Council’s secret decision to push through the agenda to locate the hospital far from the people paying for it, was irresponsible. You deliberately robbed constituents of the opportunity to voice their concerns and you robbed yourselves of opportunities to gain valuable insight from the voters (who chose you to make good decisions on their behalf).
As ailing, ‘impoverished,’ non-driving WestEnders are about to find out, they will be in a real jam to find a way to transport themselves and family members safely to the hospital for ongoing cancer treatment appointments, to name just one. I live in the WestEnd (chosen specifically, to be near old Hotel Dieu as I suffer from Chronic Lung Diseases). Recently, I watched my dying sister’s ongoing struggle to find rides to nearby Windsor Regional Hospital Met Campus for regular treatment appointments. Having to worry about transportation greatly added to her distress. I can only imagine how not having money or even a credit card for cab fares of $50-70 plus, will affect the tens of thousands of cancer patients alone, in the coming years.
There are countless stories like the one shared by Lorena Shepley. Through tears she tried to get you to relate to her problem. Your token concern was fleeting Ms. Gignac but you quickly focused back on what you believe, is best for Windsorites.
When West Windsor factory money was flowing, everyone partied. Now that the party’s over, it’s all too evident that many factory workers and West End residents suffer with severe asthma, COPD and Emphysema. Where is the support now for those who built this city on their backs?
An hour bus ride is not far for most, but as someone with Chronic Asthma/COPD (not from smoking), my disability pension would never afford the exorbitant taxi fares back and forth. Busing is unsafe (as in life-threatening), so for gasping lung disease patients, the idea of bus transportation is ludicrous. We can’t use urgent care as they cannot administer what we need! A large majority of ER visits are about asthma. How happy will the City be when ambulances are routinely called instead? Also, after their hospital admission, you are asking a still very sick patient to catch a bus home after being discharged? Nice.
Chronic lung disease aside, even with a direct bus route, very ill feeling individuals with cancers and pneumonias, are expected to stand in the heat/rain/cold, awaiting a bus, then travel for at least an hour (it presently takes nearly an hour to just Silver City). Meanwhile, during that hour, buses pick up pregnant mothers, babies and children, all of whom will potentially be exposed to extreme health risks such as pneumonia. (One more thing not yet considered).
Money taxpayers are being forced to pay aside, building any hospital without having fully explored the aspects of design is reckless business. Where are the itemized estimates of expected and unexpected expenditures? There are far more questions than answers and you know it.
I had to shake my head when Mr. David Musyj stated that many of the nurses and doctors are pleased with the new hospital location, as it will be closer to them. That certainly is important. It’s not true. Many are not in agreement with this location, for many reasons.
In closing, mark these words – real people, young and old will suffer needlessly and many will meet their demise prematurely because of decisions being made now. Not your problem? Sometimes, the popular vote is just plain wrong.
Signed,
Love my city and disappointed in Council
Deborah Robinson, WestEnder
By:
Anneke Smit
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
University of Windsor
Dear Windsor City Councillors,
I have been following closely the debates over the location of the proposed mega-hospital. I addressed Council as a delegate in the 21 December 2015 meeting during which council first voted on City of Windsor funding for this project. I am sorry not to be able to attend the meeting this evening (25 April 2016) in which you will consider a tax levy to pay for this hospital in its proposed location on County Road 42; however I write to you now to offer my comments.
I urge you in the strongest terms not to move forward with funding for the proposed site.
I am a transplant to Windsor who has lived here almost 9 years with my family including three children 11, 10 and 5. In the time that we have been here I have come to love this city and the surrounding area. My parents moved here almost 6 years ago from Edmonton to be with us, in part based on the exciting things they saw starting to happen in the city and its potential as a retirement destination.
And as someone who studies urban planning law and trends, I have been very encouraged by the recent signs of rebirth of this city's core: the move of several University of Windsor departments downtown, new businesses in Walkerville, Ottawa Street, downtown, and even in Sandwich; the growth of farmers' markets, the planning and promotion of events such as Open Streets Windsor and the growth of the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF), the opening of the Chimczuk Museum, the rise of a cycling culture in the city, and the Conference on New Urbanism's events in Windsor this June, to name a few. These are the things my law students, coming largely from other parts of Ontario and the country, comment on and enjoy about the city.
But the net effect of all of this on building a prosperous urban core - something which study after study tells us will improve the economy of the whole region, not just the centre - will not mitigate the hollowing-out of the city's core which will come from sending the mega-hospital investment into an as-yet undeveloped outskirts area.
Likewise, last week we saw photos and reports of the City taking the Bridge company to the Supreme Court of Canada, with City officials, including Mayor Dilkens, along for this ride to Ottawa. I know there were criticisms of the hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on litigation against the Bridge company to ensure the City maintains its ability to require the company to maintain the 114 houses in Sandwich that it has acquired in recent years. I support the money spent to fight this legal battle, and agree it is important that the City affirm its jurisdiction to act here. Yet the negative effect of removing the two hospital structures from the urban core - Hotel-Dieu and Met - with only a fraction of the new investment coming back into the core - can have a far greater negative impact on the economically-depressed Sandwich than the Bridge Company's antics. Other urban neighbourhoods - Glengarry, Walkerville, South Walkerville to name a few - will be similarly affected. It is not just about trips to the emergency ward. It is is about the number of visits of family members to the hospital and all the other backing and forthing when a patient is in the hospital. For folks from neighbourhoods like Sandwch, taxi rides will be unaffordable and I do not accept that reliable transit to the new greenfield hospital site will be in place by the time the hospital facility opened - if this were possible, our transit services would have been improved to a minimum standard a long time ago.
I agree that it is a great shame that years and millions of dollars that have been wasted getting to this current proposal. And I understand the issues surrounding provincial P3 funding structures that have led to communities across the province being stuck with such greenfield developments because they are easier for private P3-contracted companies to work with. But I do not agree that the appropriate response now is to push through this project in its current form, simply to get it done. Far more harm will come from that than from backing down, admitting the process and outcome are flawed despite the good intentions of participants, and beginning a process in which sustainable development strategies (and climate change considerations), anti-poverty concerns and the realities of accessible public transit in Windsor are properly considered.
Building on a greenfield site, when so much brownfield space is available, is irresponsible and is a decision our children will blame us for in years to come. And it is the kind of decision that will determine whether our children see Windsor as a progressive place of opportunity, in which they will stay or to which they will return, or a backwards, sprawl-focussed urban area from which they will flee in search of economic opportunity and an urban and sustainable lifestyle.
Yes, the county must be serviced as well But their economies will be also be bolstered by new development in Windsor's core, and their health needs will be better served by satellite services in their communities (with far shorter drives than currently proposed with the city rd 42 plan), feeding into a more centrally - but still conveniently - located hospital within the urban core of Windsor.
Windsorites seem to like to claim they are different - different from Toronto, even different from Detroit across the river. Some of this is surely true - Windsor is a quirky place, not quite like any of the other cities I've lived in my life. That uniqueness is part of what makes Windsor so endearing. But as a city we are not an island when it comes to climate change. Nor are we significantly different when it comes to economic development. The provincial policy statement on land use planning requires urban planning which is respectful of sustainable development goals for the whole province, and this includes Windsor. Our own official plan requires this too. The new federal government and municipal governments across Canada are publicly affirming the need to plan with principles of sustainability and urban density in mind. Likewise, Detroit's urban renewal has come largely because of an understanding that the core must be a focus, on which other development will follow, especially in a time of zero population growth as is the case in both Detroit and Windsor. This is not the time to build new subdivisions; it is the time to shore up the neighbourhoods, and business districts, we have.
Please take a principled stance for our future generations: please vote against funding a new mega-hospital on greenfield, undeveloped land.
Sincerely,
Anneke Smit
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
University of Windsor
By Timothy Dugdale:
Sprawl. It's a six letter word closely related to a four letter word: Land. Developers, real estate agents and contractors all love land and what they can do with it and to it. Windsor has a problem though. Our population is stagnant and will be for some time to come. The more people who move into sprawl, the fewer people will be in the core. And that brings into play another four letter word: Doom.
If Windsor does not increase its population in the core, there won't be any Windsor. This is a city that was created through amalgamation and evidence of that problematic stitching is everywhere. Back in the 1950's, the city developed a comprehensive plan to fully integrate its parts through the development of overpasses, underpasses and walkways. It never came to pass. To this day there is no pedestrian or bicycle pathway between the river and South Windsor, for example
Of far greater concern is economic development in the core. The university and the college are moving downtown and that will create some buzz. But if you look at their enrollment numbers and demographics, you can see that these schools are struggling as viable competitors in the academic marketplace. More and more they are relying on foreign students to shore up their revenues. This is fine if those students succeed in the STEM programs of the schools and put down roots in the community. But if they don't, what is the payoff?
The future of Windsor's economy, my friends, is in health care not automotive. Let's forget for a moment the contretemps about building a hospital in sprawl. That edifice may well come to pass and we will have to pay for it and live with it, for good or for ill. What we really need, what our economy really needs is a teaching hospital in the core, a facility that will act as a catalyst for research, education and professional exchanges. The Grace and Hotel Dieu sites are opportunities not to be lost. They may at this moment seem to be collateral “baubles” to the big deal but I suggest to you that they can be and should be the big deal. A teaching hospital with proper emergency room facilities in the core gives this city a better chance of not just survival but success in the 21st century than any car plant ever could. Health care is a knowledge-based industry with a bright future. If we properly invest in it, our citizens will become invested in their own health care. And that's saying something in a town where many people are ailing prematurely.
This council is voting on how it will spend taxpayer money. Please spend that money wisely. Spend the money where it will do the most good for the city. If you want to put your name to a legacy, make sure you are chasing fame not infamy.
Anneke Smit
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
University of Windsor
Dear Windsor City Councillors,
I have been following closely the debates over the location of the proposed mega-hospital. I addressed Council as a delegate in the 21 December 2015 meeting during which council first voted on City of Windsor funding for this project. I am sorry not to be able to attend the meeting this evening (25 April 2016) in which you will consider a tax levy to pay for this hospital in its proposed location on County Road 42; however I write to you now to offer my comments.
I urge you in the strongest terms not to move forward with funding for the proposed site.
I am a transplant to Windsor who has lived here almost 9 years with my family including three children 11, 10 and 5. In the time that we have been here I have come to love this city and the surrounding area. My parents moved here almost 6 years ago from Edmonton to be with us, in part based on the exciting things they saw starting to happen in the city and its potential as a retirement destination.
And as someone who studies urban planning law and trends, I have been very encouraged by the recent signs of rebirth of this city's core: the move of several University of Windsor departments downtown, new businesses in Walkerville, Ottawa Street, downtown, and even in Sandwich; the growth of farmers' markets, the planning and promotion of events such as Open Streets Windsor and the growth of the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF), the opening of the Chimczuk Museum, the rise of a cycling culture in the city, and the Conference on New Urbanism's events in Windsor this June, to name a few. These are the things my law students, coming largely from other parts of Ontario and the country, comment on and enjoy about the city.
But the net effect of all of this on building a prosperous urban core - something which study after study tells us will improve the economy of the whole region, not just the centre - will not mitigate the hollowing-out of the city's core which will come from sending the mega-hospital investment into an as-yet undeveloped outskirts area.
Likewise, last week we saw photos and reports of the City taking the Bridge company to the Supreme Court of Canada, with City officials, including Mayor Dilkens, along for this ride to Ottawa. I know there were criticisms of the hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on litigation against the Bridge company to ensure the City maintains its ability to require the company to maintain the 114 houses in Sandwich that it has acquired in recent years. I support the money spent to fight this legal battle, and agree it is important that the City affirm its jurisdiction to act here. Yet the negative effect of removing the two hospital structures from the urban core - Hotel-Dieu and Met - with only a fraction of the new investment coming back into the core - can have a far greater negative impact on the economically-depressed Sandwich than the Bridge Company's antics. Other urban neighbourhoods - Glengarry, Walkerville, South Walkerville to name a few - will be similarly affected. It is not just about trips to the emergency ward. It is is about the number of visits of family members to the hospital and all the other backing and forthing when a patient is in the hospital. For folks from neighbourhoods like Sandwch, taxi rides will be unaffordable and I do not accept that reliable transit to the new greenfield hospital site will be in place by the time the hospital facility opened - if this were possible, our transit services would have been improved to a minimum standard a long time ago.
I agree that it is a great shame that years and millions of dollars that have been wasted getting to this current proposal. And I understand the issues surrounding provincial P3 funding structures that have led to communities across the province being stuck with such greenfield developments because they are easier for private P3-contracted companies to work with. But I do not agree that the appropriate response now is to push through this project in its current form, simply to get it done. Far more harm will come from that than from backing down, admitting the process and outcome are flawed despite the good intentions of participants, and beginning a process in which sustainable development strategies (and climate change considerations), anti-poverty concerns and the realities of accessible public transit in Windsor are properly considered.
Building on a greenfield site, when so much brownfield space is available, is irresponsible and is a decision our children will blame us for in years to come. And it is the kind of decision that will determine whether our children see Windsor as a progressive place of opportunity, in which they will stay or to which they will return, or a backwards, sprawl-focussed urban area from which they will flee in search of economic opportunity and an urban and sustainable lifestyle.
Yes, the county must be serviced as well But their economies will be also be bolstered by new development in Windsor's core, and their health needs will be better served by satellite services in their communities (with far shorter drives than currently proposed with the city rd 42 plan), feeding into a more centrally - but still conveniently - located hospital within the urban core of Windsor.
Windsorites seem to like to claim they are different - different from Toronto, even different from Detroit across the river. Some of this is surely true - Windsor is a quirky place, not quite like any of the other cities I've lived in my life. That uniqueness is part of what makes Windsor so endearing. But as a city we are not an island when it comes to climate change. Nor are we significantly different when it comes to economic development. The provincial policy statement on land use planning requires urban planning which is respectful of sustainable development goals for the whole province, and this includes Windsor. Our own official plan requires this too. The new federal government and municipal governments across Canada are publicly affirming the need to plan with principles of sustainability and urban density in mind. Likewise, Detroit's urban renewal has come largely because of an understanding that the core must be a focus, on which other development will follow, especially in a time of zero population growth as is the case in both Detroit and Windsor. This is not the time to build new subdivisions; it is the time to shore up the neighbourhoods, and business districts, we have.
Please take a principled stance for our future generations: please vote against funding a new mega-hospital on greenfield, undeveloped land.
Sincerely,
Anneke Smit
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
University of Windsor
By Timothy Dugdale:
Sprawl. It's a six letter word closely related to a four letter word: Land. Developers, real estate agents and contractors all love land and what they can do with it and to it. Windsor has a problem though. Our population is stagnant and will be for some time to come. The more people who move into sprawl, the fewer people will be in the core. And that brings into play another four letter word: Doom.
If Windsor does not increase its population in the core, there won't be any Windsor. This is a city that was created through amalgamation and evidence of that problematic stitching is everywhere. Back in the 1950's, the city developed a comprehensive plan to fully integrate its parts through the development of overpasses, underpasses and walkways. It never came to pass. To this day there is no pedestrian or bicycle pathway between the river and South Windsor, for example
Of far greater concern is economic development in the core. The university and the college are moving downtown and that will create some buzz. But if you look at their enrollment numbers and demographics, you can see that these schools are struggling as viable competitors in the academic marketplace. More and more they are relying on foreign students to shore up their revenues. This is fine if those students succeed in the STEM programs of the schools and put down roots in the community. But if they don't, what is the payoff?
The future of Windsor's economy, my friends, is in health care not automotive. Let's forget for a moment the contretemps about building a hospital in sprawl. That edifice may well come to pass and we will have to pay for it and live with it, for good or for ill. What we really need, what our economy really needs is a teaching hospital in the core, a facility that will act as a catalyst for research, education and professional exchanges. The Grace and Hotel Dieu sites are opportunities not to be lost. They may at this moment seem to be collateral “baubles” to the big deal but I suggest to you that they can be and should be the big deal. A teaching hospital with proper emergency room facilities in the core gives this city a better chance of not just survival but success in the 21st century than any car plant ever could. Health care is a knowledge-based industry with a bright future. If we properly invest in it, our citizens will become invested in their own health care. And that's saying something in a town where many people are ailing prematurely.
This council is voting on how it will spend taxpayer money. Please spend that money wisely. Spend the money where it will do the most good for the city. If you want to put your name to a legacy, make sure you are chasing fame not infamy.
By Bob Taylor
To the Honourable Mayor and members of Windsor City Council.
I am writing this letter as I feel the need to get my voice heard at the special council meeting being held on Monday April 25th of 2016 with regards to the Acute Care Hospital plans and tax levy. Unfortunately, due to health issues I will not be able to make the meeting.
There has been so much debate going on and so many things being revealed that I strongly feel the need for us as a group to revisit the entire plan. I am not opposed to a new Acute facility, but I am strongly opposed to the location that has been put on the table. Many have said that all of this was discussed and planned long ago, and it is no longer something to be discussed. I ask council.. When was there a public hearing or open public discussion on the final location?
Through many conversations with the general public I have come to learn and feel that the public is not even closely aware of all the ramifications that this new hospital will bring. We have all been made aware of the modern facility and all of its state of the art processes, but we have not touched on the losses this city will absorb once this project is completed. The public is generally under the impression that Met hospital and Hotel Dieu hospitals will remain. Even now, after so many months, the public is not clearly aware that the city of Windsor and its core will lose the only two ER departments it presently has. The west end population is lead to believe that a new facility will be built on the old Grace site. However, their knowledge of what to expect is far different than what is actually on the table. In talking with about one hundred different citizens on the west end, each of them had no idea that there would no longer be an ER department at the new UCC being developed. None of them even realized that there will no longer be an ER department other than at the location of the new facility on the proposed County rd. 42 site. Statements that have been made about how the new UCC being built on the west end of town will take some of the burden away from the new ER wait times, This is hardly factual and can not possibly be something that could be proven until after the fact. One thing for sure however, is members of our city, and those residents on the west end of town will go to the new UCC with life threatening and emergency issues. They are not being properly educated on what the new UCC will provide. Because of this, our residents will go to the UCC and learn there that they need to be transported to the new Mega Hospital. Will this extra stop along the way cost valuable time and possible lives? Adding to the above question, the west end of town faces some serious issues with low income, lower transportation availability and will have the added burden of paying extreme fairs for cabs or buses to get out to the new Acute facility. I would assume that no person with an emergency will take a bus however, and speaking from my own experience, hospitals in the city will not discharge you unless you have a ride home. They will not accept you taking a taxi home. Now we are asking the west end residents to find private transportation to and from the hospital? Or do we expect our EMS services to take care of that? Of course, EMS sends you a bill afterwards if it is deemed not a life threatening emergency.
The site selection committee has brought forth the final plans for this location on County rd, 42. We have been told that we as Windsor residents will be responsible for approximately 105 million dollars as our portion of the new hospital plans. We have also been informed that a tax levy may be put into place to pay our portion of this new facility. As a Windsor resident I feel it is my right to voice my opinion on something I am being told I will be paying for. I will not have a choice as a tax payer once this decision is made. With that being said, I strongly believe that I, along with every other citizen in this city should have a voice when it comes to when, where and how much will be spent out of our pockets. Not only do we need a clear and concise public explanation of all costs involved in the building of this hospital, we also need to have a voice on where we feel it would best suit all of OUR needs. We do not want this project to become something that has been laid out in a manner that will provide easier development for other businesses along County rd 42. Since the present hospital location will be on an undeveloped parcel of land, Windsor tax payers will also be responsible for approx. 250 million dollars in infrastructure upgrades. Our Honourable mayor has said this will also provide the final network needed to open the remaining land for development of businesses. In my eyes, this tells me we will move out to the new location with the hospital and develop the land. Hospitals are not responsible for infrastructure development fees. This would be a grand plan for offering new business incentives having the land already developed so that new businesses may move in without paying development fees at Windsor tax payers expense.
Windsor has hundreds of vacant buildings and lots and that number is growing. The original site selection included brownfield lands that would not cost the tax payers 250 million more dollars. Moving out to County rd 42 will see the migration of several hospital support businesses and offices move out to the county area as well. This of course will create even more urban decay, and will provide even less services within the core of our city. Windsors population is not growing and has not been growing in a decade. Previous forecasts used for this hospital development are no longer valid as our growth has not even come close to those original forecasts.
In closing I would like to add that once again, I am strongly in favour of our city looking into the development of a modern Acute Care facility. With everything that is becoming more and more clear I urge that council seek to have this entire process looked at. I urge that we not vote on something that has not been properly voiced and laid out in full detail to the public, and I urge that each councillor look into locations that would provide proper feasible and strong vibrant healthcare to the entire city. I would ask that the city hold town hall meetings and discuss openly all of the nuts and bolts of this plan and provide full detailed descriptions of both the gains and losses this new project may result in. I urge that the city reconsider some of the brownfield lands that would be much more accessible to all.
Thank-you
Bob Taylor
Windsor Resident
.
To the Honourable Mayor and members of Windsor City Council.
I am writing this letter as I feel the need to get my voice heard at the special council meeting being held on Monday April 25th of 2016 with regards to the Acute Care Hospital plans and tax levy. Unfortunately, due to health issues I will not be able to make the meeting.
There has been so much debate going on and so many things being revealed that I strongly feel the need for us as a group to revisit the entire plan. I am not opposed to a new Acute facility, but I am strongly opposed to the location that has been put on the table. Many have said that all of this was discussed and planned long ago, and it is no longer something to be discussed. I ask council.. When was there a public hearing or open public discussion on the final location?
Through many conversations with the general public I have come to learn and feel that the public is not even closely aware of all the ramifications that this new hospital will bring. We have all been made aware of the modern facility and all of its state of the art processes, but we have not touched on the losses this city will absorb once this project is completed. The public is generally under the impression that Met hospital and Hotel Dieu hospitals will remain. Even now, after so many months, the public is not clearly aware that the city of Windsor and its core will lose the only two ER departments it presently has. The west end population is lead to believe that a new facility will be built on the old Grace site. However, their knowledge of what to expect is far different than what is actually on the table. In talking with about one hundred different citizens on the west end, each of them had no idea that there would no longer be an ER department at the new UCC being developed. None of them even realized that there will no longer be an ER department other than at the location of the new facility on the proposed County rd. 42 site. Statements that have been made about how the new UCC being built on the west end of town will take some of the burden away from the new ER wait times, This is hardly factual and can not possibly be something that could be proven until after the fact. One thing for sure however, is members of our city, and those residents on the west end of town will go to the new UCC with life threatening and emergency issues. They are not being properly educated on what the new UCC will provide. Because of this, our residents will go to the UCC and learn there that they need to be transported to the new Mega Hospital. Will this extra stop along the way cost valuable time and possible lives? Adding to the above question, the west end of town faces some serious issues with low income, lower transportation availability and will have the added burden of paying extreme fairs for cabs or buses to get out to the new Acute facility. I would assume that no person with an emergency will take a bus however, and speaking from my own experience, hospitals in the city will not discharge you unless you have a ride home. They will not accept you taking a taxi home. Now we are asking the west end residents to find private transportation to and from the hospital? Or do we expect our EMS services to take care of that? Of course, EMS sends you a bill afterwards if it is deemed not a life threatening emergency.
The site selection committee has brought forth the final plans for this location on County rd, 42. We have been told that we as Windsor residents will be responsible for approximately 105 million dollars as our portion of the new hospital plans. We have also been informed that a tax levy may be put into place to pay our portion of this new facility. As a Windsor resident I feel it is my right to voice my opinion on something I am being told I will be paying for. I will not have a choice as a tax payer once this decision is made. With that being said, I strongly believe that I, along with every other citizen in this city should have a voice when it comes to when, where and how much will be spent out of our pockets. Not only do we need a clear and concise public explanation of all costs involved in the building of this hospital, we also need to have a voice on where we feel it would best suit all of OUR needs. We do not want this project to become something that has been laid out in a manner that will provide easier development for other businesses along County rd 42. Since the present hospital location will be on an undeveloped parcel of land, Windsor tax payers will also be responsible for approx. 250 million dollars in infrastructure upgrades. Our Honourable mayor has said this will also provide the final network needed to open the remaining land for development of businesses. In my eyes, this tells me we will move out to the new location with the hospital and develop the land. Hospitals are not responsible for infrastructure development fees. This would be a grand plan for offering new business incentives having the land already developed so that new businesses may move in without paying development fees at Windsor tax payers expense.
Windsor has hundreds of vacant buildings and lots and that number is growing. The original site selection included brownfield lands that would not cost the tax payers 250 million more dollars. Moving out to County rd 42 will see the migration of several hospital support businesses and offices move out to the county area as well. This of course will create even more urban decay, and will provide even less services within the core of our city. Windsors population is not growing and has not been growing in a decade. Previous forecasts used for this hospital development are no longer valid as our growth has not even come close to those original forecasts.
In closing I would like to add that once again, I am strongly in favour of our city looking into the development of a modern Acute Care facility. With everything that is becoming more and more clear I urge that council seek to have this entire process looked at. I urge that we not vote on something that has not been properly voiced and laid out in full detail to the public, and I urge that each councillor look into locations that would provide proper feasible and strong vibrant healthcare to the entire city. I would ask that the city hold town hall meetings and discuss openly all of the nuts and bolts of this plan and provide full detailed descriptions of both the gains and losses this new project may result in. I urge that the city reconsider some of the brownfield lands that would be much more accessible to all.
Thank-you
Bob Taylor
Windsor Resident
.
I would like to share some ideas about the site selection for a future WRDH (Windsor Regional District Hospital)
Firstly, I would suggest that the current site of the Ford Foundry/Casting plant would be ideal for a number of reasons:
1. Ford will not need this plant in the near (2 year) future and it might be possible to persuade then to donate the site to WRDH. They would avoid having to pay taxes for many years on a site that has limited industrial appeal. They might also be induced by some incentives to expand work and production at their Essex Engine Plant on Lauzon Road.
2. The site has adequate size to meet the needs of a moderately large hospital. There would even be enough space for a helicopter pad.
3. The site is next to the Bert Weeks water treatment plant giving it secure access to high quality water.
4. The site is next to two electrical power generation plants. One being the Ford facility and the other being the Co-generation plant next door.
5. Additionally, a power substation was installed not far away for GM Transmission plant at Walker and Seneca which could be tapped into.
6. The Ford Test Track park currently used for soccer fields could be used for parking. I envisage a raised rail (monorail?) or 'Disney style' tram crossing Seminole to transport staff and patient's family.
7. There are many roads that service this site and access to/from them could be enhanced easily: Think of: Walker, Seminole, Wyandotte, George, Drouillard, and Tecumseh.
8. Old and existing rail properties could be re-purposed for single-lane one-way emergency ambulance runs to the hospital. I imagine one from Tecumseh at Manning road down the Via track parallel to National Street. Another could come from the 401 near Walker up beside the airport and under the ECRow to Chrysler and Drouillard Road. Other routes might be explored.
9. The site is central to the population of Windsor and accessible from the County.
10. Windsor Bus lines already run on: Wyandotte, Ottawa, Tecumseh and 'Central 3' could have their routes diverted to stop at the new WRDH's doors.
11. The patients and staff who work there could walk, ride their bikes, or bus when they live in Walkerville or Riverside and even the larger Windsor community.
12. Reuse of 'brownfield' property is a prudent action that will enhance Windsor and prevent the type of 'desertification' that we see in Detroit. Recycle and Reuse. Such use will enhance the property values of nearby communities.
13. Does this area of town have the sewage infrastructure? Probably cheaper to upgrade than a new side say near the airport, jail, or out in Essex County.
14. The rail line that bisects the property would have to be re-routed up the west side. But it is just used for shunt access and possibly could remain. This needs research.
I have searched for a location that would have the above feature and cannot find an equal All come up lacking on a number of factors.
This letter is not private and may be used by you in any way that you feel appropriate.
I have been a patient a WRH several times and am impressed with the loving care and quality of service I receive. Let's work to move WRDH into the 21st Century.
Edgar Scrutton
Windsor
Firstly, I would suggest that the current site of the Ford Foundry/Casting plant would be ideal for a number of reasons:
1. Ford will not need this plant in the near (2 year) future and it might be possible to persuade then to donate the site to WRDH. They would avoid having to pay taxes for many years on a site that has limited industrial appeal. They might also be induced by some incentives to expand work and production at their Essex Engine Plant on Lauzon Road.
2. The site has adequate size to meet the needs of a moderately large hospital. There would even be enough space for a helicopter pad.
3. The site is next to the Bert Weeks water treatment plant giving it secure access to high quality water.
4. The site is next to two electrical power generation plants. One being the Ford facility and the other being the Co-generation plant next door.
5. Additionally, a power substation was installed not far away for GM Transmission plant at Walker and Seneca which could be tapped into.
6. The Ford Test Track park currently used for soccer fields could be used for parking. I envisage a raised rail (monorail?) or 'Disney style' tram crossing Seminole to transport staff and patient's family.
7. There are many roads that service this site and access to/from them could be enhanced easily: Think of: Walker, Seminole, Wyandotte, George, Drouillard, and Tecumseh.
8. Old and existing rail properties could be re-purposed for single-lane one-way emergency ambulance runs to the hospital. I imagine one from Tecumseh at Manning road down the Via track parallel to National Street. Another could come from the 401 near Walker up beside the airport and under the ECRow to Chrysler and Drouillard Road. Other routes might be explored.
9. The site is central to the population of Windsor and accessible from the County.
10. Windsor Bus lines already run on: Wyandotte, Ottawa, Tecumseh and 'Central 3' could have their routes diverted to stop at the new WRDH's doors.
11. The patients and staff who work there could walk, ride their bikes, or bus when they live in Walkerville or Riverside and even the larger Windsor community.
12. Reuse of 'brownfield' property is a prudent action that will enhance Windsor and prevent the type of 'desertification' that we see in Detroit. Recycle and Reuse. Such use will enhance the property values of nearby communities.
13. Does this area of town have the sewage infrastructure? Probably cheaper to upgrade than a new side say near the airport, jail, or out in Essex County.
14. The rail line that bisects the property would have to be re-routed up the west side. But it is just used for shunt access and possibly could remain. This needs research.
I have searched for a location that would have the above feature and cannot find an equal All come up lacking on a number of factors.
This letter is not private and may be used by you in any way that you feel appropriate.
I have been a patient a WRH several times and am impressed with the loving care and quality of service I receive. Let's work to move WRDH into the 21st Century.
Edgar Scrutton
Windsor
Good Morning,
I am writing this to follow-up on my previous e-mail of Sunday, February 7, 2016.
This week it was reported that the Ottawa Hospital will not be building their new facility on an experimental farm, they acknowledge their poor choice and they will review other potential sites. The CEO and President of the Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Jack Kitts says he wants to keep the hospital in the core and that makes perfect sense.
This news has been greeted by Windsor Regional Hospital officials with derision. We are told the land purchase is a “done deal” but, that’s what the people of Ottawa had been told too.
Our leaders say they are sticking to their plan to build the Windsor Region’s new “Mega-Hospital” on sub-serviced, agricultural land outside of the city’s built foot-print.
As I pointed out in my previous e-mail there are opportunities to build in Windsor, within the existing built foot print. These sites are better serviced, more accessible to the city’s populations-at-risk and will be less costly in terms of capital dollars to make them viable.
Once more I am asking for your help. The people of Ontario need changes to the wrongheaded practice of large-scale, green-field development that the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is pushing on many communities. In 2016 we know that urban intensification is successful and promotes cultural and economic advancement. The people of Ottawa made it clear that they want a better decision made on the site of their future hospital. Every Ontario citizen should applaud their success.
As a society we should be acting more responsibly and taking advantage of every opportunity to make our cities stronger and to protect our environment. We should be making the best choices, not the easiest ones, to give ourselves and our children the brightest future possible.
Respectfully,
James Coulter
Windsor, Ontario
I am writing this to follow-up on my previous e-mail of Sunday, February 7, 2016.
This week it was reported that the Ottawa Hospital will not be building their new facility on an experimental farm, they acknowledge their poor choice and they will review other potential sites. The CEO and President of the Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Jack Kitts says he wants to keep the hospital in the core and that makes perfect sense.
This news has been greeted by Windsor Regional Hospital officials with derision. We are told the land purchase is a “done deal” but, that’s what the people of Ottawa had been told too.
Our leaders say they are sticking to their plan to build the Windsor Region’s new “Mega-Hospital” on sub-serviced, agricultural land outside of the city’s built foot-print.
As I pointed out in my previous e-mail there are opportunities to build in Windsor, within the existing built foot print. These sites are better serviced, more accessible to the city’s populations-at-risk and will be less costly in terms of capital dollars to make them viable.
Once more I am asking for your help. The people of Ontario need changes to the wrongheaded practice of large-scale, green-field development that the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is pushing on many communities. In 2016 we know that urban intensification is successful and promotes cultural and economic advancement. The people of Ottawa made it clear that they want a better decision made on the site of their future hospital. Every Ontario citizen should applaud their success.
As a society we should be acting more responsibly and taking advantage of every opportunity to make our cities stronger and to protect our environment. We should be making the best choices, not the easiest ones, to give ourselves and our children the brightest future possible.
Respectfully,
James Coulter
Windsor, Ontario
Dear Mr. Hatfield, Mr. Natyshak, and Ms. Gretzky:
I am responding to your public letter on City of Windsor, County of Essex letterhead to the Minister of Health, Eric Hoskins regarding a new hospital for the Windsor-Essex Region. Though it is imperative that we always move forward in a progressive and timely manner in delivering healthcare to the residents of Ontario and the constituents you represent in Windsor and Essex County, it is imperative when we embark on “major surgery” to health care and how it will be delivered to our region for the foreseeable future that we do it with community involvement, input, all the options available, the long term goals and outcomes, and have it done in an accountable transparent manner. This has not and did not happen, when citizens have to invoke the “Freedom of Information Act” to obtain criteria for the site selection process, I don’t know about you, but the “bells and whistles” start going off for me.
For you to assert that you have communicated with thousands of Windsor-Essex residents on the face is a bold face lie, and by the way the only “town hall” meeting was arranged by the Windsor Downtown Business Association in November 2015, at which Mr. Musyj, Mr. Cook, Mr. Switzer and Ms. Kauffer begrudgingly attended with no one present from the NDP. I also did an unscientific survey of residents in my area no one had heard a word from our representative Mr. Hatfield or the Provincial NDP, statements like, “we have communicated with thousands…….” that are at best very troubling, and quite frankly not what I thought the NPD are all about.
On Monday, and by the way “Family Day” a provincial holiday, Windsor Regional Hospital will formally giving lay-off notices to 169 Registered nurses, the very backbone of our healthcare system, just disgraceful and the NDP supports building a hospital in a “bean field,” with a significant cost to the citizens of Windsor to supply the infrastructure at an estimated cost of in excess of $300 million dollars.
I have supported the NDP both provincially and federally, financially and on the ground, your alignment with this flawed process the new hospital is irresponsible and not the way myself and other supporters of the NDP expect you to represent your constituents.
As a lifelong supporter it troubles me immensely that your signing that letter does not represent my values, or what I thought the values of the NDP, if it does I have been truly misled and betrayed.
I implore you to reconsider your anti-people, anti-democratic position on the new hospital and rethink the long-term ramifications of your actions effecting health care and whether I along with other NDP supporters will continue to support you in Windsor and Essex County.
Yours, very truly,
John S. Holmes
I am responding to your public letter on City of Windsor, County of Essex letterhead to the Minister of Health, Eric Hoskins regarding a new hospital for the Windsor-Essex Region. Though it is imperative that we always move forward in a progressive and timely manner in delivering healthcare to the residents of Ontario and the constituents you represent in Windsor and Essex County, it is imperative when we embark on “major surgery” to health care and how it will be delivered to our region for the foreseeable future that we do it with community involvement, input, all the options available, the long term goals and outcomes, and have it done in an accountable transparent manner. This has not and did not happen, when citizens have to invoke the “Freedom of Information Act” to obtain criteria for the site selection process, I don’t know about you, but the “bells and whistles” start going off for me.
For you to assert that you have communicated with thousands of Windsor-Essex residents on the face is a bold face lie, and by the way the only “town hall” meeting was arranged by the Windsor Downtown Business Association in November 2015, at which Mr. Musyj, Mr. Cook, Mr. Switzer and Ms. Kauffer begrudgingly attended with no one present from the NDP. I also did an unscientific survey of residents in my area no one had heard a word from our representative Mr. Hatfield or the Provincial NDP, statements like, “we have communicated with thousands…….” that are at best very troubling, and quite frankly not what I thought the NPD are all about.
On Monday, and by the way “Family Day” a provincial holiday, Windsor Regional Hospital will formally giving lay-off notices to 169 Registered nurses, the very backbone of our healthcare system, just disgraceful and the NDP supports building a hospital in a “bean field,” with a significant cost to the citizens of Windsor to supply the infrastructure at an estimated cost of in excess of $300 million dollars.
I have supported the NDP both provincially and federally, financially and on the ground, your alignment with this flawed process the new hospital is irresponsible and not the way myself and other supporters of the NDP expect you to represent your constituents.
As a lifelong supporter it troubles me immensely that your signing that letter does not represent my values, or what I thought the values of the NDP, if it does I have been truly misled and betrayed.
I implore you to reconsider your anti-people, anti-democratic position on the new hospital and rethink the long-term ramifications of your actions effecting health care and whether I along with other NDP supporters will continue to support you in Windsor and Essex County.
Yours, very truly,
John S. Holmes
I want to applaud the province for making land available for both Humber & Oakville hospitals.These types of decisions are necessary & prudent.
Addressing the needs of a Windsor mega hospital is one that requires more scrutiny.The committee has chosen to spend $100,000 per acre for land on the outskirts of the city. Their proposed budget is $ 2 billion for the mega hospital.
I agree that the county should have access to a regional hospital, but, in choosing their site, the committee is doing a disservice to the core of the city. Would it not be more prudent to invest money to improve Hotel Dieu,Met, & Leamington hospitals?
Would a new hospital (250 beds) serving Lakeshore, Tecumseh & LaSalle not make more sense?
The committee has not considered the effects to the core city when arriving at this decision. There is a proposed urgent care building at the old Grace site in the plan.
Most urban areas are trying to shrink their footprint & make their cities more pedestrian friendly.
In addition to the $2 billion, the city will be spending $46 million to upgrade Cabana Rd & an estimated $200 million to improve Hwy 42.
There are unknown costs in respect to the demolition of Met & portions of Hotel Dieu, the upgrades for hydro necessary for mega hospital,Walker Rd improvements,new Bus service,new ambulance, fire, & police service .
What is the mega hospital going to do do to address the issue of nursing home beds? Not demolishing Met should be a consideration. Another concern is what happens if there is an infectious outbreak at our only hospital?
The province should consider less expensive alternatives to health care in Windsor & Essex County.
Bricks & mortar do not deliver better health care.
Respectfully,
Nestor Chyz
Addressing the needs of a Windsor mega hospital is one that requires more scrutiny.The committee has chosen to spend $100,000 per acre for land on the outskirts of the city. Their proposed budget is $ 2 billion for the mega hospital.
I agree that the county should have access to a regional hospital, but, in choosing their site, the committee is doing a disservice to the core of the city. Would it not be more prudent to invest money to improve Hotel Dieu,Met, & Leamington hospitals?
Would a new hospital (250 beds) serving Lakeshore, Tecumseh & LaSalle not make more sense?
The committee has not considered the effects to the core city when arriving at this decision. There is a proposed urgent care building at the old Grace site in the plan.
Most urban areas are trying to shrink their footprint & make their cities more pedestrian friendly.
In addition to the $2 billion, the city will be spending $46 million to upgrade Cabana Rd & an estimated $200 million to improve Hwy 42.
There are unknown costs in respect to the demolition of Met & portions of Hotel Dieu, the upgrades for hydro necessary for mega hospital,Walker Rd improvements,new Bus service,new ambulance, fire, & police service .
What is the mega hospital going to do do to address the issue of nursing home beds? Not demolishing Met should be a consideration. Another concern is what happens if there is an infectious outbreak at our only hospital?
The province should consider less expensive alternatives to health care in Windsor & Essex County.
Bricks & mortar do not deliver better health care.
Respectfully,
Nestor Chyz
Mr. James Coulter
Windsor, Ontario
I am writing this letter to express my contempt for the irresponsible, restrictive, unsustainable and destructive site criteria the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is demanding for new hospital facilities. Local hospital committees are being directed to contravene the Provincial Policy Statement (2014), the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights (1994) and local Official Plans to select green-field sites outside of established communities and built environments.
I live in Windsor, Ontario and the Windsor Regional Hospital is currently in the process of applying for funding for a new “Mega-Hospital”. This process will merge two, century old campuses into one site. Both campuses have become integral to their surrounding neighbourhoods. Medical offices and labs have long been established in the areas adjacent to these campuses and they are well served by city buses and easily accessed by alternative transportation. The site selection committee evaluated many sites in Windsor and Essex County. They chose a green-field site, outside of the city’s built foot print. It is a site that has been criticized by architects, planners and politicians. It is difficult to fathom how four, urban infill and/or brown-field sites that are ready for redevelopment were somehow found to be unsuitable for a new hospital. It is impossible to understand how a larger, fully serviced, shovel-ready site that is accessible by an established arterial road network and alternative transportation modes could be rejected in favour of a bean field that lacks sufficient services or arterial road access and will require hundreds of millions of dollars to be made viable.
Windsor, Ontario is a city at risk. The most recent census data (2011) indicates that the regional population is in decline and that the city’s population is shrinking at a faster rate than that of Essex County. Once the “Automotive Capital of Canada” it is now a city devastated by factory closures and the relocation of many good paying jobs to other jurisdictions. We were, at one time, a city that donated more than any other Canadian city, per capita, to the United Way and many other service groups and charities benefitted from the donations from unions and factories and by well employed individuals. Those charitable donations are much smaller now and the need for them has increased. Windsor’s unemployment rate is structural, consistently reported at or near 10%. Large segments of the population are suffering a litany of social and health problems associated with the lowered standard-of-living being imposed upon us. In 2010 Windsor had one methadone clinic, today there are four. Our food banks struggle to provide for their clients and the local health unit reports above-average cancer rates and below-average survival rates from those cancers.
This region would certainly benefit from new medical infrastructure and I support that initiative. However, it would also benefit greatly by redeveloping its urban neighbourhoods. If the Windsor Regional Hospital committee were to follow Provincial Policy Statement (2014), the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights (1994) and local Official Plans - standards that demand redevelopment, infill and environmental stewardship they would be able to help the city by reusing abandoned factory sites or infilling established commercial and residential areas. Reusing or intensifying the use of established commercial and/or industrial zones would also reduce the cost of the project to the Ontario government and the City of Windsor and the County of Essex.
The following sites were among those evaluated by the site selection committee for a new Windsor Region “Mega-Hospital”.
Please consider:
Site ‘V’, 6770 Tecumseh Road East, Windsor, Ontario – This site was ranked first among all sites evaluated after the first phase of the site selection process. It is 77 acres and supported by established commercial and residential development. This site is accessible by two arterial roads, Tecumseh Road and Lauzon Road, via Catherine Street. The site is currently serviced by Transit Windsor route 1C which crosses the city from the far west end to Forest Glade. It makes 70 round trips each week day. The site is less than 1km from Tecumseh Mall’s transit transfer point that would connect it to three other city routes and transit service from the neighbouring Town of Tecumseh. The site has all services available at the present time, including redundancies. This site would require very little cost to the City of Windsor as it is currently accessible by established arterial roads and transit. It would infill a large parcel of vacant land and would encourage intensification of local commercial development. It would reduce travel distances relative to existing hospital sites for the fast-growing municipalities to the east of Windsor.
Site ‘K’, 1550 Kildare Road, Windsor, Ontario – This is the site of the now closed and demolished General Motors Transmission Plant. This site is 46 acres and fully serviced, including redundancies. It is supported by commercial and residential areas and is only three blocks from the existing Windsor Regional Hospital’s Metropolitan Campus. Access to this site is virtually the same as the existing hospital site, by arterial routes and transit. What should make this site viable is its proximity to an established hospital campus with new structures like our Regional Cancer Centre and other services developed only within the last 10 years at a cost of over $100 million. These newer facilities could be maintained as a satellite campus given the very short distance. As well, there are already ancillary medical services established within this area. Should the Metropolitan Campus close all these offices and specialty services will, very likely close and relocate closer to where ever the new “Mega-Hospital” is built. This exodus would exacerbate the blight of vacant lots and buildings the City of Windsor is already struggling with. This site would require very little cost to the City of Windsor as it is currently accessible by established arterial roads and transit. It would infill a large parcel of brown-field land and would encourage intensification of local commercial development. Travel times and distances to this site would change very little relative to the existing hospital site for the regional population.
Site ‘N’, County Road 42 at the 9th Concession (60 acres) was the site that was chosen and reflects everything that is wrong with the site criteria established by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. This site is located 12.5km from Windsor City Hall and within 1km of a take-off and landing corridor of the Windsor International Airport. The frontage road is a two lane rural cross-section road. There is not adequate water service and no electrical service as identified by the site selection committee’s own consultant. The closest transit route is 2.5km away. Currently the site is a farm field within the City of Windsor’s agricultural transition zone. This area was annexed from the neighbouring Town of Tecumseh to be held in reserve for future use when population and development demands would require the City of Windsor to expand its built foot print. As noted previously, Windsor’s population is in decline and there is plenty of vacant land to develop and build on. To make this site viable City of Windsor engineers have indicated it will require up to $300 million dollars in capital costs to upgrade transportation and utility infrastructure. An important fact that is pertinent is that in 2014 it was reported that the City of Windsor was facing an infrastructure maintenance deficit of nearly $400 million. Expanding the city onto green-field, reserve lands at this time is unsustainable with no real growth expected for at least 25 years. The combined expense of the upgrades and the city’s share of the new hospital cost will be a burden on the City of Windsor’s finances and its tax payers.
I have attached some documents and included some web links at the bottom of this letter to highlight the City of Windsor’s challenges as it relates to my arguments of land use and site selection. Other areas currently being considered for amalgamated health care or for future areas of consideration will have their own local concerns but in the cases of hospitals recently built (e.g. North Bay or Barrie) and those currently being evaluated (e.g. Windsor or Collingwood) the site selection criteria established by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care violates the core requirements of modern city planning and results in hospitals that are not located where the people already live and have ready access. We are being forced by the Ontario health care system to choose new hospital facilities over sustainable urban development. To anyone with any sense of civic responsibility and stewardship this demand is unacceptable.
Whatever capacity you are in, I have sent this to you as a plea for help. The people of Ontario need to change this wrongheaded practice of large-scale, green-field development that the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has resurrected from the 1960’s. In 2016 we know that agricultural land and green space needs to be conserved and that denser urban sites are more successful and do more to promote cultural and economic advancement. As a society we should be acting more responsibly and taking every advantage we can to make our cities stronger and protect the environment by acting in ways that demonstrate moral and ethical responsibility for our neighbours and the places we live, work and grow.
Respectfully,
James Coulter
This was widely distributed to local, provincial and federal politicians and parties, media outlets, citizen's groups, individuals, professional organizations and university faculty. My hope is that someone will see how harmful the MoHLTC's plans are and that we can find some voices with the ability to advocate for all regions that are being affected by these "Mega-Hospitals"
Windsor, Ontario
I am writing this letter to express my contempt for the irresponsible, restrictive, unsustainable and destructive site criteria the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is demanding for new hospital facilities. Local hospital committees are being directed to contravene the Provincial Policy Statement (2014), the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights (1994) and local Official Plans to select green-field sites outside of established communities and built environments.
I live in Windsor, Ontario and the Windsor Regional Hospital is currently in the process of applying for funding for a new “Mega-Hospital”. This process will merge two, century old campuses into one site. Both campuses have become integral to their surrounding neighbourhoods. Medical offices and labs have long been established in the areas adjacent to these campuses and they are well served by city buses and easily accessed by alternative transportation. The site selection committee evaluated many sites in Windsor and Essex County. They chose a green-field site, outside of the city’s built foot print. It is a site that has been criticized by architects, planners and politicians. It is difficult to fathom how four, urban infill and/or brown-field sites that are ready for redevelopment were somehow found to be unsuitable for a new hospital. It is impossible to understand how a larger, fully serviced, shovel-ready site that is accessible by an established arterial road network and alternative transportation modes could be rejected in favour of a bean field that lacks sufficient services or arterial road access and will require hundreds of millions of dollars to be made viable.
Windsor, Ontario is a city at risk. The most recent census data (2011) indicates that the regional population is in decline and that the city’s population is shrinking at a faster rate than that of Essex County. Once the “Automotive Capital of Canada” it is now a city devastated by factory closures and the relocation of many good paying jobs to other jurisdictions. We were, at one time, a city that donated more than any other Canadian city, per capita, to the United Way and many other service groups and charities benefitted from the donations from unions and factories and by well employed individuals. Those charitable donations are much smaller now and the need for them has increased. Windsor’s unemployment rate is structural, consistently reported at or near 10%. Large segments of the population are suffering a litany of social and health problems associated with the lowered standard-of-living being imposed upon us. In 2010 Windsor had one methadone clinic, today there are four. Our food banks struggle to provide for their clients and the local health unit reports above-average cancer rates and below-average survival rates from those cancers.
This region would certainly benefit from new medical infrastructure and I support that initiative. However, it would also benefit greatly by redeveloping its urban neighbourhoods. If the Windsor Regional Hospital committee were to follow Provincial Policy Statement (2014), the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights (1994) and local Official Plans - standards that demand redevelopment, infill and environmental stewardship they would be able to help the city by reusing abandoned factory sites or infilling established commercial and residential areas. Reusing or intensifying the use of established commercial and/or industrial zones would also reduce the cost of the project to the Ontario government and the City of Windsor and the County of Essex.
The following sites were among those evaluated by the site selection committee for a new Windsor Region “Mega-Hospital”.
Please consider:
Site ‘V’, 6770 Tecumseh Road East, Windsor, Ontario – This site was ranked first among all sites evaluated after the first phase of the site selection process. It is 77 acres and supported by established commercial and residential development. This site is accessible by two arterial roads, Tecumseh Road and Lauzon Road, via Catherine Street. The site is currently serviced by Transit Windsor route 1C which crosses the city from the far west end to Forest Glade. It makes 70 round trips each week day. The site is less than 1km from Tecumseh Mall’s transit transfer point that would connect it to three other city routes and transit service from the neighbouring Town of Tecumseh. The site has all services available at the present time, including redundancies. This site would require very little cost to the City of Windsor as it is currently accessible by established arterial roads and transit. It would infill a large parcel of vacant land and would encourage intensification of local commercial development. It would reduce travel distances relative to existing hospital sites for the fast-growing municipalities to the east of Windsor.
Site ‘K’, 1550 Kildare Road, Windsor, Ontario – This is the site of the now closed and demolished General Motors Transmission Plant. This site is 46 acres and fully serviced, including redundancies. It is supported by commercial and residential areas and is only three blocks from the existing Windsor Regional Hospital’s Metropolitan Campus. Access to this site is virtually the same as the existing hospital site, by arterial routes and transit. What should make this site viable is its proximity to an established hospital campus with new structures like our Regional Cancer Centre and other services developed only within the last 10 years at a cost of over $100 million. These newer facilities could be maintained as a satellite campus given the very short distance. As well, there are already ancillary medical services established within this area. Should the Metropolitan Campus close all these offices and specialty services will, very likely close and relocate closer to where ever the new “Mega-Hospital” is built. This exodus would exacerbate the blight of vacant lots and buildings the City of Windsor is already struggling with. This site would require very little cost to the City of Windsor as it is currently accessible by established arterial roads and transit. It would infill a large parcel of brown-field land and would encourage intensification of local commercial development. Travel times and distances to this site would change very little relative to the existing hospital site for the regional population.
Site ‘N’, County Road 42 at the 9th Concession (60 acres) was the site that was chosen and reflects everything that is wrong with the site criteria established by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. This site is located 12.5km from Windsor City Hall and within 1km of a take-off and landing corridor of the Windsor International Airport. The frontage road is a two lane rural cross-section road. There is not adequate water service and no electrical service as identified by the site selection committee’s own consultant. The closest transit route is 2.5km away. Currently the site is a farm field within the City of Windsor’s agricultural transition zone. This area was annexed from the neighbouring Town of Tecumseh to be held in reserve for future use when population and development demands would require the City of Windsor to expand its built foot print. As noted previously, Windsor’s population is in decline and there is plenty of vacant land to develop and build on. To make this site viable City of Windsor engineers have indicated it will require up to $300 million dollars in capital costs to upgrade transportation and utility infrastructure. An important fact that is pertinent is that in 2014 it was reported that the City of Windsor was facing an infrastructure maintenance deficit of nearly $400 million. Expanding the city onto green-field, reserve lands at this time is unsustainable with no real growth expected for at least 25 years. The combined expense of the upgrades and the city’s share of the new hospital cost will be a burden on the City of Windsor’s finances and its tax payers.
I have attached some documents and included some web links at the bottom of this letter to highlight the City of Windsor’s challenges as it relates to my arguments of land use and site selection. Other areas currently being considered for amalgamated health care or for future areas of consideration will have their own local concerns but in the cases of hospitals recently built (e.g. North Bay or Barrie) and those currently being evaluated (e.g. Windsor or Collingwood) the site selection criteria established by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care violates the core requirements of modern city planning and results in hospitals that are not located where the people already live and have ready access. We are being forced by the Ontario health care system to choose new hospital facilities over sustainable urban development. To anyone with any sense of civic responsibility and stewardship this demand is unacceptable.
Whatever capacity you are in, I have sent this to you as a plea for help. The people of Ontario need to change this wrongheaded practice of large-scale, green-field development that the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has resurrected from the 1960’s. In 2016 we know that agricultural land and green space needs to be conserved and that denser urban sites are more successful and do more to promote cultural and economic advancement. As a society we should be acting more responsibly and taking every advantage we can to make our cities stronger and protect the environment by acting in ways that demonstrate moral and ethical responsibility for our neighbours and the places we live, work and grow.
Respectfully,
James Coulter
This was widely distributed to local, provincial and federal politicians and parties, media outlets, citizen's groups, individuals, professional organizations and university faculty. My hope is that someone will see how harmful the MoHLTC's plans are and that we can find some voices with the ability to advocate for all regions that are being affected by these "Mega-Hospitals"
Dear Dr. Hoskins,
Tonight, my husband is at the hospital dealing with a man who accidentally lacerated five fingers after removing the guard of his saw. That’s what life brings to a plastic surgery household. It’s stressful for all of us, though of course the man who made a poor choice this afternoon is the one paying the real price.
I know the strain your Ministry’s budget is under. Being married to a physician, and given the nursing layoffs we’re seeing, I know what is going on, better than most residents. I can’t imagine it’s fun at the top right now.
You probably also read the article Dwight Duncan wrote this week on the state of Ontario’s finances. Mr. Duncan pointed out that interest on debt is rising 5.7% over the next three years – that’s about 3 times the rise in healthcare spending, and this in a time of record low interest rates! It’s no wonder he says we are ill-equipped to face the next economic downturn.
I can’t help agreeing with him. Ontario’s finances are very worrisome.
This is partly why I really object to being told Windsor Essex deserves a new $2 billion mega-hospital.
The way I see it, every single investment decision needs to be weighed very carefully.
Here in Windsor-Essex, our population has a higher percentage of seniors than you do in the GTA. It’s important not to underestimate our healthcare needs.
I’m convinced a $2 billion mega-hospital in a beanfield is just about the worst way to try to address those needs. Not when the system is laying off nurses to balance its budget. Not when we know things are likely to get worse when our debt crunch hits us hard, as it inevitably will. And not when seniors need their healthcare closer to home.
The plan Mr Musyj and Mr Cooke are pushing on our community is not smart. Honestly, I wish you could be a fly on the wall at one of their presentations. I was at one this morning. The atmosphere was openly hostile to any kind of constructive criticism. I asked whether we weren’t putting patient care at risk by borrowing even more to rebuild our hospitals. I nearly got my head bitten off for daring to raise this issue! (We deserve to get this hospital, I was reminded in no uncertain terms)
The man who cut his fingers this afternoon is paying for his own poor choices. Although I feel sorry for him, it wasn’t smart to take the safety guard off.
When it comes to Ontario’s healthcare decisions, we must keep the safety guard on, by asking all the hard questions upfront, and by being brutally honest about what’s best for the patients.
Ontario’s debt situation is risky as it is. But we can’t saddle our future generations with even more debt resulting from mediocre projects that use outdated car-centric models of sprawl development, especially in a time when our population isn’t growing.
As much as I hate the word, Windsor's sickest residents don’t deserve to have their access to hospital healthcare moved out beyond the airport. Future generations don’t deserve to be saddled with an astronomical debt in order to pay for it.
I am asking you to help Windsor-Essex make smarter choices. All Ontario residents need access to the same high-quality healthcare. It needs to be accessible and patient-centered, wherever we live.
At the same time, our new hospital must be in alignment with the vision of sustainable cities that brought the Wynne Government to power in the last election. Anything less will be a big mistake that will cost us and our future generations dearly.
Sincerely,
Philippa von Ziegenweidt
Tonight, my husband is at the hospital dealing with a man who accidentally lacerated five fingers after removing the guard of his saw. That’s what life brings to a plastic surgery household. It’s stressful for all of us, though of course the man who made a poor choice this afternoon is the one paying the real price.
I know the strain your Ministry’s budget is under. Being married to a physician, and given the nursing layoffs we’re seeing, I know what is going on, better than most residents. I can’t imagine it’s fun at the top right now.
You probably also read the article Dwight Duncan wrote this week on the state of Ontario’s finances. Mr. Duncan pointed out that interest on debt is rising 5.7% over the next three years – that’s about 3 times the rise in healthcare spending, and this in a time of record low interest rates! It’s no wonder he says we are ill-equipped to face the next economic downturn.
I can’t help agreeing with him. Ontario’s finances are very worrisome.
This is partly why I really object to being told Windsor Essex deserves a new $2 billion mega-hospital.
The way I see it, every single investment decision needs to be weighed very carefully.
Here in Windsor-Essex, our population has a higher percentage of seniors than you do in the GTA. It’s important not to underestimate our healthcare needs.
I’m convinced a $2 billion mega-hospital in a beanfield is just about the worst way to try to address those needs. Not when the system is laying off nurses to balance its budget. Not when we know things are likely to get worse when our debt crunch hits us hard, as it inevitably will. And not when seniors need their healthcare closer to home.
The plan Mr Musyj and Mr Cooke are pushing on our community is not smart. Honestly, I wish you could be a fly on the wall at one of their presentations. I was at one this morning. The atmosphere was openly hostile to any kind of constructive criticism. I asked whether we weren’t putting patient care at risk by borrowing even more to rebuild our hospitals. I nearly got my head bitten off for daring to raise this issue! (We deserve to get this hospital, I was reminded in no uncertain terms)
The man who cut his fingers this afternoon is paying for his own poor choices. Although I feel sorry for him, it wasn’t smart to take the safety guard off.
When it comes to Ontario’s healthcare decisions, we must keep the safety guard on, by asking all the hard questions upfront, and by being brutally honest about what’s best for the patients.
Ontario’s debt situation is risky as it is. But we can’t saddle our future generations with even more debt resulting from mediocre projects that use outdated car-centric models of sprawl development, especially in a time when our population isn’t growing.
As much as I hate the word, Windsor's sickest residents don’t deserve to have their access to hospital healthcare moved out beyond the airport. Future generations don’t deserve to be saddled with an astronomical debt in order to pay for it.
I am asking you to help Windsor-Essex make smarter choices. All Ontario residents need access to the same high-quality healthcare. It needs to be accessible and patient-centered, wherever we live.
At the same time, our new hospital must be in alignment with the vision of sustainable cities that brought the Wynne Government to power in the last election. Anything less will be a big mistake that will cost us and our future generations dearly.
Sincerely,
Philippa von Ziegenweidt
Once upon a time I was involved in a blog project that worked to bring issues of urban development, environment, economics of cities, etc. into the everyday discussion. I ended up overwrought.
Since then I have only given passing thought to those issues, hoping that through other media that the discussion was progressing and people were more informed.
And then along comes the regional hospital issue.
Son-of-a-bitch! This thing couldn't be more screwed up!
Seriously! This isn't just a new hospital - it's a complete, fucking, reboot of the entire regional health care model!
We should be striving for something better than what exists and we are not getting it by just about every basic metric:
More beds? - Nope.
A location that provides the lowest possible travel time/distance for the highest percentile of regional residents? - Nope.
A location that mitigates environmental impact and reduces the footprint of the built environment? - Nope.
A location that will burden the taxpayers of the host city with increased infrastructure, transit, policing and maintenance costs? - Yep.
A site that flies in the face of the Official Plan of the host city? - Yep.
A site that will increase the costs of transportation for non-government, social service providers with clients that require specialized medical care? - Yep.
But there will be a shit-ton of parking spaces!
What was the rush to select a site in the first place? The current hospitals are operational and in fact continue to be upgraded with additional services. I'm not even any kind of expert and I can come up with any number of issues that need to be considered before looking at potential sites. Such as: where do ER visits originate? What services are uniquely provided by the hospital for the entire region? Where do the people that rely on those specialists come to the hospital from? Is there a possibility
to leverage existing medical facilities? Are there services nearby that can benefit the hospital or its staff, visitors and patients?
Find the point on the map where all the demographic and transportation issues have a common point. Then look for the nearest place to put the damn thing. And, I know that people don't want to hear the word 'expropriation' but for a project of this magnitude, with such far-reaching consequences it should at least be and option on the table. We're not building an edifice to ego and/or expediency. It is integral to every aspect of the region's future potential.
We are talking about changing the entire hospital system for the region for not just today but for two, three or more generations to come.
We're fucked...
James Coulter
Since then I have only given passing thought to those issues, hoping that through other media that the discussion was progressing and people were more informed.
And then along comes the regional hospital issue.
Son-of-a-bitch! This thing couldn't be more screwed up!
Seriously! This isn't just a new hospital - it's a complete, fucking, reboot of the entire regional health care model!
We should be striving for something better than what exists and we are not getting it by just about every basic metric:
More beds? - Nope.
A location that provides the lowest possible travel time/distance for the highest percentile of regional residents? - Nope.
A location that mitigates environmental impact and reduces the footprint of the built environment? - Nope.
A location that will burden the taxpayers of the host city with increased infrastructure, transit, policing and maintenance costs? - Yep.
A site that flies in the face of the Official Plan of the host city? - Yep.
A site that will increase the costs of transportation for non-government, social service providers with clients that require specialized medical care? - Yep.
But there will be a shit-ton of parking spaces!
What was the rush to select a site in the first place? The current hospitals are operational and in fact continue to be upgraded with additional services. I'm not even any kind of expert and I can come up with any number of issues that need to be considered before looking at potential sites. Such as: where do ER visits originate? What services are uniquely provided by the hospital for the entire region? Where do the people that rely on those specialists come to the hospital from? Is there a possibility
to leverage existing medical facilities? Are there services nearby that can benefit the hospital or its staff, visitors and patients?
Find the point on the map where all the demographic and transportation issues have a common point. Then look for the nearest place to put the damn thing. And, I know that people don't want to hear the word 'expropriation' but for a project of this magnitude, with such far-reaching consequences it should at least be and option on the table. We're not building an edifice to ego and/or expediency. It is integral to every aspect of the region's future potential.
We are talking about changing the entire hospital system for the region for not just today but for two, three or more generations to come.
We're fucked...
James Coulter
I was quite disappointed (although not surprised) that the hospital site selection committee actually admitted that they took a narrow-minded approach to their process, and specifically did not consider factors such as degradation of the downtown core, and infrastructure requirements.
Since they limited the scope of their evaluation to ONLY the factors recently released under a FOI request, I would assume that they did not even take into consideration whether or not existing Federal regulations will allow for the construction of a 10 storey building at their chosen location which seems to fall within the Windsor Airport Zoning Regulations (C.R.C., c.123) ?
The full text may be found here -
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C.R.C.,_c._123.pdf
By sheer luck, they seem to have squeaked by the runway 12-30 approach zone requirements (section 5-b); however, depending upon the overall height of the structure, they may violate the 150 foot ceiling in this area (section 5-a).
As per the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat online calculator, a 10 storey building may range from 129 to 172 feet - and a link is provided here -
http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/HeightStatistics/HeightCalculator/OnLineCalculator/tabid/1068/language/en-GB/Default.aspx
I wonder what their reaction would be to the question of their awareness of the Federal Airport Zoning Regulations?
With so many other sites available, why even bother putting it near the airport where it may be a hazard to navigation, and most certainly during construction, will require special consideration due to cranes in excess of 150 feet in height?
As a concerned citizen, and Windsor taxpayer, I object to the further dismantling of our healthcare system, and do not buy the argument that we will be better off with one MegaSite instead of two (which are a downgrade from 4 fully functioning hospitals with separate ER's years ago). Getting rid of a spare "anything" is never the best idea. When things go wrong - and from time to time they do - and services are limited due to equipment failures, etc, we will all wish that there was a second location to pick up the slack - and it will then be too late.
As an aside - Glasgow, Scotland has just opened a 1600 bed Mega Hospital after the closure/ conversion of 4 older sites - the public refers to it as the "Death Star", and there are endless stories of problems such as a family calling in the police to find a missing patient within the building, patients waiting on stretchers in hallways, unacceptable wait times etc - all not solved by a shiny building, but by proper staffing levels - I'm sure we will have this to look forward to here as well.
Unfortunately, at the end of the day, none of the decision makers on this issue are accountable to the public - we do not have a chance to vote any one of the people who have chosen this site out of office, but it is one of the largest taxpayer funded expenditures Windsor has seen - when do we really get our say on this?
Thanks for fighting on our behalf !
Since they limited the scope of their evaluation to ONLY the factors recently released under a FOI request, I would assume that they did not even take into consideration whether or not existing Federal regulations will allow for the construction of a 10 storey building at their chosen location which seems to fall within the Windsor Airport Zoning Regulations (C.R.C., c.123) ?
The full text may be found here -
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C.R.C.,_c._123.pdf
By sheer luck, they seem to have squeaked by the runway 12-30 approach zone requirements (section 5-b); however, depending upon the overall height of the structure, they may violate the 150 foot ceiling in this area (section 5-a).
As per the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat online calculator, a 10 storey building may range from 129 to 172 feet - and a link is provided here -
http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/HeightStatistics/HeightCalculator/OnLineCalculator/tabid/1068/language/en-GB/Default.aspx
I wonder what their reaction would be to the question of their awareness of the Federal Airport Zoning Regulations?
With so many other sites available, why even bother putting it near the airport where it may be a hazard to navigation, and most certainly during construction, will require special consideration due to cranes in excess of 150 feet in height?
As a concerned citizen, and Windsor taxpayer, I object to the further dismantling of our healthcare system, and do not buy the argument that we will be better off with one MegaSite instead of two (which are a downgrade from 4 fully functioning hospitals with separate ER's years ago). Getting rid of a spare "anything" is never the best idea. When things go wrong - and from time to time they do - and services are limited due to equipment failures, etc, we will all wish that there was a second location to pick up the slack - and it will then be too late.
As an aside - Glasgow, Scotland has just opened a 1600 bed Mega Hospital after the closure/ conversion of 4 older sites - the public refers to it as the "Death Star", and there are endless stories of problems such as a family calling in the police to find a missing patient within the building, patients waiting on stretchers in hallways, unacceptable wait times etc - all not solved by a shiny building, but by proper staffing levels - I'm sure we will have this to look forward to here as well.
Unfortunately, at the end of the day, none of the decision makers on this issue are accountable to the public - we do not have a chance to vote any one of the people who have chosen this site out of office, but it is one of the largest taxpayer funded expenditures Windsor has seen - when do we really get our say on this?
Thanks for fighting on our behalf !
To Mayor Drew Dilkens:
My wife and I moved back to our hometown of Windsor and bought a house here a year and a half ago. My wife is a published writer; she has a PhD; and she teaches part time.
As for me, I have published 20 books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Before re-locating in Windsor, we had been residing in Toronto for the past two decades. Anyway, we both see this city as one big eyesore of abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Actually, it has become one of the ugliest cities in Canada. Are you really the mayor? I have it on the QT that you are a mouthpiece for your own interests. Now with this mega-hospital charade, that is a resounding laugh. Why build it by a busy airport and have the Coco family make millions doing the paving and infrastructure? I see kickbacks galore. What about the former GM plant at Walker and Seminole? What's going on with you people? Who's footing the 200 million plus enterprise? The Windsor taxpayers are. And then there's the Ojibway land. Hey, get with it. In the old days you'd be tarred and feathered and run out of town. I was born here in this city. The old landmarks are gone. I don't think you or those on your council have a clue what a city should be. Windsor's downtown is a disaster. No wonder people from Toronto and elsewhere regard this city as a joke.
Disgusted,
Len Gasparini
Sunday, December 20, 2015
We thank you for your work and service to the residents of this city. We appreciate the many hours involved in being mayor and city councillor in a dedicated effort to serve the public and reinvigorate our city. With that in mind we must express a serious and urgent concern.
As residents of Windsor whom you serve, our household voices our strongest objection to the the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee. Were it not for the conscientious action of one councillor we, like most of the public would not be aware of this critical line item until it was too late.
We hereby express our strong objection to the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee.
We strenuously object to this action which can only appear to be a diversion to hide facts from the public and to push through what the mayor and city councillors must know is an action that has found great disfavour with an ever increasing number of Windsor taxpayers.
If the mayor and city councillors are sincere in their claims of transparency, public accountability and of being inclusive they will defer the presentation to a future Council meeting or listen carefully to the presentation and defer any decision on the subject until Council and taxpayers have had sufficient time, with proper public notice and discourse to carefully consider the costs and the issues related to the long term impact of this request and what other services and programs will have to be cut or reduced in order to meet the financial burden.
We voted for a mayor who along with his Council has made a pledge to me and my fellow citizens that you will be accountable, transparent and inclusive. We placed our trust in you. It is shameful to witness this trust being betrayed by rushing a decision, in a hidden manner, that will impact our City for many years to come without doing your due diligence.
Please speak for the residents when this issue comes up Monday evening and say no to rushing a decision that is not in the best interests of our city.
With respect,
Owen and Mary Beth Swain
Ward 4 Windsor
Mayor Dilkens, City Councillors,
I am writing to you to express my objection to the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee. Although the hospital group's written submission was not attached to the Council agenda, it is my understanding that they will request that Council formally support the Windsor-Essex Hospitals’ System Plan as originally introduced on July 16, 2015. May I remind you that we were told, until two days ago that nothing would happen until next Spring.
This submission provides the public with near to no notice and the way it happened made it impossible for concerned constituents to request to talk on Monday. Further, the presentation will take place at a Council meeting that has already a very heavy agenda on budget discussions.
I urge you to defer the presentation to a future Council meeting or defer any decision on the subject until constituents and advocacy groups have been heard.
This Council has made a pledge to Windsor citizens that you will be accountable, transparent and inclusive. So far, and contrary to what is being said by the Hospital Steering committee, the whole process has not involved any public consultation in any way shape or form at any point so far.
Respectfully,
Emmanuel Blaevoet
Dear Mayor Dilkens and Members of Council,
I am writing to ask you to have an authentic "transparent, inclusive and fulsome" engagement with the citizens of Windsor before voting on whether to support the proposed new acute hospital in the proposed location.
Please defer your discussion until you hear what your citizens have to say and until you have actual options for different sites to weigh and analyze.
Building in the proposed location will result in at least some of the additional development you are being promised, but that can only happen by emptying out established neighbourhoods. A blighted city with the empty core will be your legacy, a completely predictable and avoidable one.
The jobs you are being promised will still be created no matter where the hospital goes.
Don't rush this massive decision. Take your time, ask for help from experts in urban planning to find the ideal location. It won't be in a bean field.
Sincerely,
[Name wittheld to protect writer's privacy]
Hi John,
This email is in regards to council agenda for Dec.21 re a request from David Musyj to vote through a tax levy of not more than 200 million dollars in the budget meeting for the 10% of the 2 billion dollar megahospital.
I am asking that you vote to defer this decision till the new year. There has not been enough public input or council discussion regarding this huge increase in our municipal taxes.
There are a lot of Windsorites discussing this right now and it appears that this has been shuffled in last minute. The public was not notified of this in the Windsor Star. How can there be a proper open discussion regarding this very important matter if proper channels were not followed. I fear this will look very undemocratic and might even be construed as corrupt if council voted to put this through without thorough investigation into all the details of the cost of this megahospital and including the infrastructure needed to get to it, all appearing to go behind the publics back.
Thanks for hearing me out John. This is our city and our west end. I want what is in the best interest for our community with a full understanding of all it entails. I feel this has not happened yet.
[Name wittheld to protect writer's privacy]
Dear Mayor Dilkens and Ward Councillors
My name is Shane Mitchell, I am a ward 4 resident and as many of you know I am involved with the citizens group CAMPP. For the past 2 years I’ve been speaking publicly about the critical importance of the new hospital project to be located in the city centre. We have been writing you as a group requesting your time to hear our concerns, sadly we were never given the opportunity. Today I write to you personally.
My professional background is in architecture and development planning. I moved to Windsor nearly 10 years ago as I saw a city with great potential. Since coming I’ve spent most of my personal time advocating for positive change. When I discovered over 2 years ago that Windsor would be developing a new single site acute care hospital I immediately saw an opportunity. This project, as I wrote in my 2013 Windsor Star editorial could be a catalyst for change in a city too often seen as an underdog. As an architectural professional my education and years of experience have trained me to see opportunity, but also to know that the pattern of development we embrace today is not consistent with good city building.
I’ve decided to settle here in Windsor, not in Toronto, not in Calgary or Vancouver where work in my field is far easier to come along and often better paying. I have decided to raise my family in the heart of the city because I know Windsor could easily become one of the greatest cities in Canada, if only we start to focus our goals and build a place that retains and attracts residents and businesses. This hospital project is incredibly troublesome as it perpetuates suburban sprawl, urban abandonment and irresponsible land use. I’ve been disappointed in the city reaction to this project over the past year and today I write you asking, please make the right decision, defer the commitment being request this Monday.
Regardless of anyone’s option of this site, it’s not responsible to rush this discussion. We cannot make multi-million dollar decisions for our community without an in-depth discussion that includes public consultation. We must not rush this decision, as this hospital project will guide the direction in which our city grows over the next 50 to 100 years. If we work to find a site within an established neighbourhood this project will help Windsor grow in a progressive urban fashion. If we allow the hospital to be built on a bean field we will promote a development pattern of low quality places consistent with suburban sprawl.
Mr. Dilkens et al. I ask you today to defer the commitment until proper discourse can take place. I ask you not to rush a decision that could be seen as incredibly foolish and irresponsible a decade from now. Let’s build a great Windsor so that our children have every reason to want to be here. Let’s build a city that no longer struggles to attract residents or business. Let’s make environmentally and economically sound decisions for both Windsor and Essex County.
I know this city and region are as important to you as it is to me. Let’s take the time to make the right discussion and consider all the options.
Thank you for your time.
Shane Mitchell – Ward 4
Dear Mayor Drew Dilkens
City Counselors of Windsor
RE: Mega Hospital Discussion December 21, 2015
My name is Dr. Jennifer Willet. I am an Associate Professor at the University of Windsor, and a mother of twin girls living in Ward 4. I have lived in Windsor for eight years now, and I love this city. Windsor is the most warm hearted community I have ever lived in. I have lived and worked across Canada, and around the world, and I have never connected with a community like I have in Windsor.
That said, I am often bewildered by municipal politics and city planning policies enacted in the City of Windsor. As an engaged citizen I see the city making decisions that often prove unsuccessful - or poorly thought out - with little consultation to the citizens of Windsor. A good example of this is the aquatic centre downtown - that is far more expensive to operate then originally thought, prohibitively expensive for the general public to access, was designed with inadequate seating capacity for lucrative sporting events, and resulted in the closure of a number of other successful local pools.
I have participated in citizen consultation processes enacted by your organization, and am often left frustrated as the processes seem designed to sway or even block citizen participation. Public consultation events are too short in duration, and the city often presents completed plans to the public - rather then involving the public in the planning process. The 20 plan was already written, when the online survey was made available to the public. In this instance, I am unable to attend the city council meeting planned for Dec 21, 2015 to participate in discussion surrounding the proposed Mega Hospital site.
Most concerning to me is the proposed location put forward by the Mega Hospital planning committee. This committee (consisting of businessmen, and Health Care Professionals) has been given the task of making a decision that will affect the City of Windsor for at least 100 years into the future. It is astonishing to me that no city officials sat on this committee, and that no professional architects or city planners sat on this committee. The online consultation survey did not allow for citizens to participate in the selection process in a meaningful way. This decision is central to our local healthcare, local business, but also our community, transportation, municipal infrastructure, and environmental issues. Additionally, the affiliated expenses linked to building a new hospital (and new neighbourhoods, and businesses) at the very edge of city limits will trickle down to city council and local tax payers - when we had little to no involvement on the decision of where to locate the new hospital.
The proposed location of the new Mega Hospital is in direct contradiction to the City of Windsor’s commitment to revitalize the downtown core, develop fiscally and environmentally responsible public transport, the Environmental Master Plan, and contradicts our city’s commitment to David Suzuki's Blue Dot Movement. If allowed to stand this decision will indicate to the citizens of Windsor that published policies committing to building a more liveable community are of little consequence - and that 'business as usual' is what we can expect throughout the tenure of your service to our community.
I am calling on the new City Council of Windsor to reject the proposed location for the Mega Hospital. I am calling on you to strike a new committee that involves a diverse membership (including women and diverse ethnic backgrounds) that includes business and medical professionals as well as city officials, architects and municipal planners, and engaged citizens to enact a fair process that will benefit all steak holders.
I think that if we look to our new Government of Canada we will see that sustainability is going to become a very important factor in federal and provincial decision making processes. Canadian municipalities will play a key role in in acting these new policies. I would love to see the City of Windsor anticipate and become a leader in these changes.
I will also write to government officials at the provincial and federal level in regards to this decision. I will be sure to cc’ you all in any correspondence.
Thank you for your time and attention. And thank you for your hard work and service to the citizens of Windsor.
Best Wishes,
Jennifer Willet.
Dear Mayor Drew Dilkens and Windsor City Councillors
RE: Mega Hospital Discussion December 21, 2015
We are writing to you today to ask that you reject the late addition presentation to council by David Musyi and the Hospital Steering Committee on Monday evening. That the hospital group's written submission was not attached to the Council agenda is troubling, and we understand that they will be requesting Council to formally support the Windsor-Essex Hospitals’ System Plan which commits city taxpayers to providing a proportionate share of the capital project costs.
We are appalled that this has been added to an already loaded agenda with almost no notification to the citizens of this city, and no opportunity for residents to participate in a healthy, democratic discussion. I’m sure we’re not the only residents who are unable to attend this council meeting four days before Christmas.
We are opposed to the proposed location put forward by a planning committee consisting of businessmen and current and former members of the hospital board. This handful of individuals who have absolutely no municipal planning expertise are making a decision that will affect our city for many decades to come. Planning for a project of this magnitude should absolutely include professionals in municipal planning, multi modal transportation, architecture and environmental issues. And the citizens of our city should be advised of ALL associated costs with this project.
Our municipal government totally screwed up the arena project, the aquatic centre project, the Norwich block project and now we’re on the brink of screwing up the hospital project. The decision to put a hospital in a green field on the edge of the city completely contradicts the city’s commitment to revitalize the downtown core, develop fiscally and environmentally responsible public transport, the Environmental Master Plan, and our commitment to David Suzuki's Blue Dot Movement. The affiliated expenses of gutting our current hospitals and building outside the core will be vastly higher than if we repurpose what we already have.
South Walkerville will be gutted and left with retail and commercial blight. Our vulnerable citizens living in our downtown core will lose access to healthcare services. Building a four-lane freeway through South Windsor to support people from Lasalle and Amherstburg getting to the new hospital site - with or without bike lanes and sidewalks - will hurt this residential neighbourhood as the new road will draw traffic from secondary roads. A three-lane with turning lanes would be more than sufficient. Progressive cities are putting their roads on diets, not expanding them.
We are calling on you to throw out this ill-conceived, unfairly reached plan and to start a fair and transparent process that includes professionals and engaged citizens. We’re tired of watching this city make bad decision after bad decision. When are we going to start leading rather than falling back on failed 1980’s ideas about city planning?
In closing, we sincerely thank you for your hard work and service to the residents of this city. We appreciate the long hours that goes with being a city councillor. Please speak for the residents when this issue comes up Monday evening and say no to rushing a decision that is not in the best interests of our city.
Regards,
Lori Newton and Darren Winger
Dear Mayor and Councillors:
I am sure you are all well aware of the City’s mission Statement, which says the following:
CITY OF WINDSOR MISSION STATEMENT:
“Our City is built on relationships – between citizens and their government, businesses and public institutions, city and region – all interconnected, mutually supportive, and focused on the brightest future we can create together.”
Would you please forward to me at your earliest convenience what part of the City’s Mission statement do these shenanigans fall under?
Hospital Steering Committee
-David Musyj, CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital, Janice Kaffer, CEO Hotel-Dieu Grace
Hospital and Dave Cooke, co-chair of the Hospital Planning (Written submission enclosed)
On Friday, December 18, 2015, the agenda for Monday’s Council meeting was circulated. Item 8 includes a request from the Hospital Steering Committee which I assume is a request for a financial commitment from the City on behalf of its citizens towards the local component of the hospital construction cost(s).
The item refers to an attached report that is not included (as of Saturday afternoon) in the posted online documents on the City’s website, hard to have a relationship when the citizenry don’t know what they are talking about.
The last minute timing of Monday’s meeting wreaks political opportunism and a total disregard for the democratic process and sheer contempt for the Citizens of Windsor, plus scheduling the meeting in the afternoon precludes many from the opportunity to engage in any meaningful way on this complex and financially compromising initiative.
I as a citizen of Windsor am demanding that you immediately cancel this presentation so adequate, informed and meaningful dialogue can take place, anything less is an affront to the very foundation of municipal politics.
Yours very truly,
John S. Holmes
Mayor Dilkens and City Councillors,
I am writing to you to express my strong objection to the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee. Although the hospital group's written submission was not attached to the Council agenda, it is my understanding that they will request that Council formally support the Windsor-Essex Hospitals’ System Plan as originally introduced on July 16, 2015 and to commit to providing a proportionate share of the capital project costs to be raised by the community.
This submission provides the public with very little notice and makes it difficult for your constituents to provide you with any input. Further, the presentation will take place at a Council meeting that is already packed with marathon budget discussions.
I urge you to either; 1) defer the presentation to a future Council meeting or 2) listen carefully to the presentation and defer any decision on the subject until you and the taxpayers have had had the time to carefully consider the costs and the issues and to consider the impact of this request and what other services and programs will have to be cut or reduced in order to meet the financial burden.
This Council has made a pledge to me and my fellow citizens that you will be accountable, transparent and inclusive. Please don't betray my trust by rushing a decision that will impact our City for many years to come without doing your due diligence.
Jennifer Escott
My wife and I moved back to our hometown of Windsor and bought a house here a year and a half ago. My wife is a published writer; she has a PhD; and she teaches part time.
As for me, I have published 20 books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Before re-locating in Windsor, we had been residing in Toronto for the past two decades. Anyway, we both see this city as one big eyesore of abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Actually, it has become one of the ugliest cities in Canada. Are you really the mayor? I have it on the QT that you are a mouthpiece for your own interests. Now with this mega-hospital charade, that is a resounding laugh. Why build it by a busy airport and have the Coco family make millions doing the paving and infrastructure? I see kickbacks galore. What about the former GM plant at Walker and Seminole? What's going on with you people? Who's footing the 200 million plus enterprise? The Windsor taxpayers are. And then there's the Ojibway land. Hey, get with it. In the old days you'd be tarred and feathered and run out of town. I was born here in this city. The old landmarks are gone. I don't think you or those on your council have a clue what a city should be. Windsor's downtown is a disaster. No wonder people from Toronto and elsewhere regard this city as a joke.
Disgusted,
Len Gasparini
Sunday, December 20, 2015
We thank you for your work and service to the residents of this city. We appreciate the many hours involved in being mayor and city councillor in a dedicated effort to serve the public and reinvigorate our city. With that in mind we must express a serious and urgent concern.
As residents of Windsor whom you serve, our household voices our strongest objection to the the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee. Were it not for the conscientious action of one councillor we, like most of the public would not be aware of this critical line item until it was too late.
We hereby express our strong objection to the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee.
We strenuously object to this action which can only appear to be a diversion to hide facts from the public and to push through what the mayor and city councillors must know is an action that has found great disfavour with an ever increasing number of Windsor taxpayers.
If the mayor and city councillors are sincere in their claims of transparency, public accountability and of being inclusive they will defer the presentation to a future Council meeting or listen carefully to the presentation and defer any decision on the subject until Council and taxpayers have had sufficient time, with proper public notice and discourse to carefully consider the costs and the issues related to the long term impact of this request and what other services and programs will have to be cut or reduced in order to meet the financial burden.
We voted for a mayor who along with his Council has made a pledge to me and my fellow citizens that you will be accountable, transparent and inclusive. We placed our trust in you. It is shameful to witness this trust being betrayed by rushing a decision, in a hidden manner, that will impact our City for many years to come without doing your due diligence.
Please speak for the residents when this issue comes up Monday evening and say no to rushing a decision that is not in the best interests of our city.
With respect,
Owen and Mary Beth Swain
Ward 4 Windsor
Mayor Dilkens, City Councillors,
I am writing to you to express my objection to the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee. Although the hospital group's written submission was not attached to the Council agenda, it is my understanding that they will request that Council formally support the Windsor-Essex Hospitals’ System Plan as originally introduced on July 16, 2015. May I remind you that we were told, until two days ago that nothing would happen until next Spring.
This submission provides the public with near to no notice and the way it happened made it impossible for concerned constituents to request to talk on Monday. Further, the presentation will take place at a Council meeting that has already a very heavy agenda on budget discussions.
I urge you to defer the presentation to a future Council meeting or defer any decision on the subject until constituents and advocacy groups have been heard.
This Council has made a pledge to Windsor citizens that you will be accountable, transparent and inclusive. So far, and contrary to what is being said by the Hospital Steering committee, the whole process has not involved any public consultation in any way shape or form at any point so far.
Respectfully,
Emmanuel Blaevoet
Dear Mayor Dilkens and Members of Council,
I am writing to ask you to have an authentic "transparent, inclusive and fulsome" engagement with the citizens of Windsor before voting on whether to support the proposed new acute hospital in the proposed location.
Please defer your discussion until you hear what your citizens have to say and until you have actual options for different sites to weigh and analyze.
Building in the proposed location will result in at least some of the additional development you are being promised, but that can only happen by emptying out established neighbourhoods. A blighted city with the empty core will be your legacy, a completely predictable and avoidable one.
The jobs you are being promised will still be created no matter where the hospital goes.
Don't rush this massive decision. Take your time, ask for help from experts in urban planning to find the ideal location. It won't be in a bean field.
Sincerely,
[Name wittheld to protect writer's privacy]
Hi John,
This email is in regards to council agenda for Dec.21 re a request from David Musyj to vote through a tax levy of not more than 200 million dollars in the budget meeting for the 10% of the 2 billion dollar megahospital.
I am asking that you vote to defer this decision till the new year. There has not been enough public input or council discussion regarding this huge increase in our municipal taxes.
There are a lot of Windsorites discussing this right now and it appears that this has been shuffled in last minute. The public was not notified of this in the Windsor Star. How can there be a proper open discussion regarding this very important matter if proper channels were not followed. I fear this will look very undemocratic and might even be construed as corrupt if council voted to put this through without thorough investigation into all the details of the cost of this megahospital and including the infrastructure needed to get to it, all appearing to go behind the publics back.
Thanks for hearing me out John. This is our city and our west end. I want what is in the best interest for our community with a full understanding of all it entails. I feel this has not happened yet.
[Name wittheld to protect writer's privacy]
Dear Mayor Dilkens and Ward Councillors
My name is Shane Mitchell, I am a ward 4 resident and as many of you know I am involved with the citizens group CAMPP. For the past 2 years I’ve been speaking publicly about the critical importance of the new hospital project to be located in the city centre. We have been writing you as a group requesting your time to hear our concerns, sadly we were never given the opportunity. Today I write to you personally.
My professional background is in architecture and development planning. I moved to Windsor nearly 10 years ago as I saw a city with great potential. Since coming I’ve spent most of my personal time advocating for positive change. When I discovered over 2 years ago that Windsor would be developing a new single site acute care hospital I immediately saw an opportunity. This project, as I wrote in my 2013 Windsor Star editorial could be a catalyst for change in a city too often seen as an underdog. As an architectural professional my education and years of experience have trained me to see opportunity, but also to know that the pattern of development we embrace today is not consistent with good city building.
I’ve decided to settle here in Windsor, not in Toronto, not in Calgary or Vancouver where work in my field is far easier to come along and often better paying. I have decided to raise my family in the heart of the city because I know Windsor could easily become one of the greatest cities in Canada, if only we start to focus our goals and build a place that retains and attracts residents and businesses. This hospital project is incredibly troublesome as it perpetuates suburban sprawl, urban abandonment and irresponsible land use. I’ve been disappointed in the city reaction to this project over the past year and today I write you asking, please make the right decision, defer the commitment being request this Monday.
Regardless of anyone’s option of this site, it’s not responsible to rush this discussion. We cannot make multi-million dollar decisions for our community without an in-depth discussion that includes public consultation. We must not rush this decision, as this hospital project will guide the direction in which our city grows over the next 50 to 100 years. If we work to find a site within an established neighbourhood this project will help Windsor grow in a progressive urban fashion. If we allow the hospital to be built on a bean field we will promote a development pattern of low quality places consistent with suburban sprawl.
Mr. Dilkens et al. I ask you today to defer the commitment until proper discourse can take place. I ask you not to rush a decision that could be seen as incredibly foolish and irresponsible a decade from now. Let’s build a great Windsor so that our children have every reason to want to be here. Let’s build a city that no longer struggles to attract residents or business. Let’s make environmentally and economically sound decisions for both Windsor and Essex County.
I know this city and region are as important to you as it is to me. Let’s take the time to make the right discussion and consider all the options.
Thank you for your time.
Shane Mitchell – Ward 4
Dear Mayor Drew Dilkens
City Counselors of Windsor
RE: Mega Hospital Discussion December 21, 2015
My name is Dr. Jennifer Willet. I am an Associate Professor at the University of Windsor, and a mother of twin girls living in Ward 4. I have lived in Windsor for eight years now, and I love this city. Windsor is the most warm hearted community I have ever lived in. I have lived and worked across Canada, and around the world, and I have never connected with a community like I have in Windsor.
That said, I am often bewildered by municipal politics and city planning policies enacted in the City of Windsor. As an engaged citizen I see the city making decisions that often prove unsuccessful - or poorly thought out - with little consultation to the citizens of Windsor. A good example of this is the aquatic centre downtown - that is far more expensive to operate then originally thought, prohibitively expensive for the general public to access, was designed with inadequate seating capacity for lucrative sporting events, and resulted in the closure of a number of other successful local pools.
I have participated in citizen consultation processes enacted by your organization, and am often left frustrated as the processes seem designed to sway or even block citizen participation. Public consultation events are too short in duration, and the city often presents completed plans to the public - rather then involving the public in the planning process. The 20 plan was already written, when the online survey was made available to the public. In this instance, I am unable to attend the city council meeting planned for Dec 21, 2015 to participate in discussion surrounding the proposed Mega Hospital site.
Most concerning to me is the proposed location put forward by the Mega Hospital planning committee. This committee (consisting of businessmen, and Health Care Professionals) has been given the task of making a decision that will affect the City of Windsor for at least 100 years into the future. It is astonishing to me that no city officials sat on this committee, and that no professional architects or city planners sat on this committee. The online consultation survey did not allow for citizens to participate in the selection process in a meaningful way. This decision is central to our local healthcare, local business, but also our community, transportation, municipal infrastructure, and environmental issues. Additionally, the affiliated expenses linked to building a new hospital (and new neighbourhoods, and businesses) at the very edge of city limits will trickle down to city council and local tax payers - when we had little to no involvement on the decision of where to locate the new hospital.
The proposed location of the new Mega Hospital is in direct contradiction to the City of Windsor’s commitment to revitalize the downtown core, develop fiscally and environmentally responsible public transport, the Environmental Master Plan, and contradicts our city’s commitment to David Suzuki's Blue Dot Movement. If allowed to stand this decision will indicate to the citizens of Windsor that published policies committing to building a more liveable community are of little consequence - and that 'business as usual' is what we can expect throughout the tenure of your service to our community.
I am calling on the new City Council of Windsor to reject the proposed location for the Mega Hospital. I am calling on you to strike a new committee that involves a diverse membership (including women and diverse ethnic backgrounds) that includes business and medical professionals as well as city officials, architects and municipal planners, and engaged citizens to enact a fair process that will benefit all steak holders.
I think that if we look to our new Government of Canada we will see that sustainability is going to become a very important factor in federal and provincial decision making processes. Canadian municipalities will play a key role in in acting these new policies. I would love to see the City of Windsor anticipate and become a leader in these changes.
I will also write to government officials at the provincial and federal level in regards to this decision. I will be sure to cc’ you all in any correspondence.
Thank you for your time and attention. And thank you for your hard work and service to the citizens of Windsor.
Best Wishes,
Jennifer Willet.
Dear Mayor Drew Dilkens and Windsor City Councillors
RE: Mega Hospital Discussion December 21, 2015
We are writing to you today to ask that you reject the late addition presentation to council by David Musyi and the Hospital Steering Committee on Monday evening. That the hospital group's written submission was not attached to the Council agenda is troubling, and we understand that they will be requesting Council to formally support the Windsor-Essex Hospitals’ System Plan which commits city taxpayers to providing a proportionate share of the capital project costs.
We are appalled that this has been added to an already loaded agenda with almost no notification to the citizens of this city, and no opportunity for residents to participate in a healthy, democratic discussion. I’m sure we’re not the only residents who are unable to attend this council meeting four days before Christmas.
We are opposed to the proposed location put forward by a planning committee consisting of businessmen and current and former members of the hospital board. This handful of individuals who have absolutely no municipal planning expertise are making a decision that will affect our city for many decades to come. Planning for a project of this magnitude should absolutely include professionals in municipal planning, multi modal transportation, architecture and environmental issues. And the citizens of our city should be advised of ALL associated costs with this project.
Our municipal government totally screwed up the arena project, the aquatic centre project, the Norwich block project and now we’re on the brink of screwing up the hospital project. The decision to put a hospital in a green field on the edge of the city completely contradicts the city’s commitment to revitalize the downtown core, develop fiscally and environmentally responsible public transport, the Environmental Master Plan, and our commitment to David Suzuki's Blue Dot Movement. The affiliated expenses of gutting our current hospitals and building outside the core will be vastly higher than if we repurpose what we already have.
South Walkerville will be gutted and left with retail and commercial blight. Our vulnerable citizens living in our downtown core will lose access to healthcare services. Building a four-lane freeway through South Windsor to support people from Lasalle and Amherstburg getting to the new hospital site - with or without bike lanes and sidewalks - will hurt this residential neighbourhood as the new road will draw traffic from secondary roads. A three-lane with turning lanes would be more than sufficient. Progressive cities are putting their roads on diets, not expanding them.
We are calling on you to throw out this ill-conceived, unfairly reached plan and to start a fair and transparent process that includes professionals and engaged citizens. We’re tired of watching this city make bad decision after bad decision. When are we going to start leading rather than falling back on failed 1980’s ideas about city planning?
In closing, we sincerely thank you for your hard work and service to the residents of this city. We appreciate the long hours that goes with being a city councillor. Please speak for the residents when this issue comes up Monday evening and say no to rushing a decision that is not in the best interests of our city.
Regards,
Lori Newton and Darren Winger
Dear Mayor and Councillors:
I am sure you are all well aware of the City’s mission Statement, which says the following:
CITY OF WINDSOR MISSION STATEMENT:
“Our City is built on relationships – between citizens and their government, businesses and public institutions, city and region – all interconnected, mutually supportive, and focused on the brightest future we can create together.”
Would you please forward to me at your earliest convenience what part of the City’s Mission statement do these shenanigans fall under?
Hospital Steering Committee
-David Musyj, CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital, Janice Kaffer, CEO Hotel-Dieu Grace
Hospital and Dave Cooke, co-chair of the Hospital Planning (Written submission enclosed)
On Friday, December 18, 2015, the agenda for Monday’s Council meeting was circulated. Item 8 includes a request from the Hospital Steering Committee which I assume is a request for a financial commitment from the City on behalf of its citizens towards the local component of the hospital construction cost(s).
The item refers to an attached report that is not included (as of Saturday afternoon) in the posted online documents on the City’s website, hard to have a relationship when the citizenry don’t know what they are talking about.
The last minute timing of Monday’s meeting wreaks political opportunism and a total disregard for the democratic process and sheer contempt for the Citizens of Windsor, plus scheduling the meeting in the afternoon precludes many from the opportunity to engage in any meaningful way on this complex and financially compromising initiative.
I as a citizen of Windsor am demanding that you immediately cancel this presentation so adequate, informed and meaningful dialogue can take place, anything less is an affront to the very foundation of municipal politics.
Yours very truly,
John S. Holmes
Mayor Dilkens and City Councillors,
I am writing to you to express my strong objection to the late addition of a presentation by David Musyj and the Hospital Steering Committee. Although the hospital group's written submission was not attached to the Council agenda, it is my understanding that they will request that Council formally support the Windsor-Essex Hospitals’ System Plan as originally introduced on July 16, 2015 and to commit to providing a proportionate share of the capital project costs to be raised by the community.
This submission provides the public with very little notice and makes it difficult for your constituents to provide you with any input. Further, the presentation will take place at a Council meeting that is already packed with marathon budget discussions.
I urge you to either; 1) defer the presentation to a future Council meeting or 2) listen carefully to the presentation and defer any decision on the subject until you and the taxpayers have had had the time to carefully consider the costs and the issues and to consider the impact of this request and what other services and programs will have to be cut or reduced in order to meet the financial burden.
This Council has made a pledge to me and my fellow citizens that you will be accountable, transparent and inclusive. Please don't betray my trust by rushing a decision that will impact our City for many years to come without doing your due diligence.
Jennifer Escott
Letter by Voices Against Poverty expressing Concern about Public Statements regarding Greenfield Site and lack of Consultation with People in Need
Steering Committee – Single Site Acute Care Hospital
Attention: David Musyj and Dave Cooke (Co-chairs)
June 24, 2014
Dear Mr. David Musyj, Mr. Dave Cooke, Mr. Robert Renaud, Mr. Martin Girash, Mr. Ralph Ganter, and Mr. Gary Switzer:
Voices Against Poverty is a grassroots organization made up of people with lived experience of poverty. We formed this organization to advocate for the humane treatment of people living in poverty in the Windsor Essex region. As a local organization, we are dedicated to telling the stories of people living in poverty, and advocate for the elimination of poverty in Canada.
As a group we have been keeping our ears open about the planned construction of Windsor’s megahospital. We understand that the Steering Committee, in partnership with various community stakeholders, is currently forming a site selection committee to oversee the site-selection process. According to resources and information we have obtained, there is preliminary consideration to build the megahospital outside the City of Windsor on a so-called ‘Greenfield’ site.
We understand that there are multiple factors to consider when deciding on the best location for the Windsor megahospital. We also understand, as you do as well, the need to build public medical facilities in locations that offer the most accessibility. This requires conducting meaningful consultations with people who will be most affected by the construction of the megahospital—namely, people living in poverty.
At VAP, we are concerned about what appears to be a general lack of public consultation over this proposed hospital, especially as it pertains to those who live in poverty. We are struck by, according to what can be gleaned from the “Windsor Hospitals Study—Final Report: A Public Conversation on the Future of Hospital Services in Windsor Essex”—that there has been little authentic engage with public at-large, let alone people living in poverty. Inadequate consultations may have the unwanted effect of perpetuating the exclusion of those who live in poverty.
We suggest that the steering committee take the following steps before making any decisions regarding the construction of the megahospital:
1. Gather demographic data by neighbourhood to determine the distribution of the patient population of Windsor's two hospitals, and the frequency and nature of hospital visits. This information should be carefully studied before finalizing the site selection criteria. A high percentage of people in poverty live in the downtown core and in the west end. Many of them do not drive and the cost of taxis to get them to a remote hospital location will be prohibitively expensive for them. It will be helpful to the community if this information is also shared on the website and in public meetings.
2. Do not proceed with the site selection process until a thorough public consultation has been completed, even if that means delaying the anticipated site selection date. Public consultation is a slow process, but it is an essential step in order to ensure public buy-in and trust.
We thank you in advance for taking the time to read and consider our letter. Voices Against Poverty is dedicated to building a Windsor Essex that is inclusive of all its residents. We believe that people living in poverty must be active participants in the future direction of our community. A concerted effort to include people living in poverty in the planning and decision-making process of the proposed megahostipal project would thus be a step in the right direction.
Sincerely,
Voices Against Poverty
Steering Committee – Single Site Acute Care Hospital
Attention: David Musyj and Dave Cooke (Co-chairs)
June 24, 2014
Dear Mr. David Musyj, Mr. Dave Cooke, Mr. Robert Renaud, Mr. Martin Girash, Mr. Ralph Ganter, and Mr. Gary Switzer:
Voices Against Poverty is a grassroots organization made up of people with lived experience of poverty. We formed this organization to advocate for the humane treatment of people living in poverty in the Windsor Essex region. As a local organization, we are dedicated to telling the stories of people living in poverty, and advocate for the elimination of poverty in Canada.
As a group we have been keeping our ears open about the planned construction of Windsor’s megahospital. We understand that the Steering Committee, in partnership with various community stakeholders, is currently forming a site selection committee to oversee the site-selection process. According to resources and information we have obtained, there is preliminary consideration to build the megahospital outside the City of Windsor on a so-called ‘Greenfield’ site.
We understand that there are multiple factors to consider when deciding on the best location for the Windsor megahospital. We also understand, as you do as well, the need to build public medical facilities in locations that offer the most accessibility. This requires conducting meaningful consultations with people who will be most affected by the construction of the megahospital—namely, people living in poverty.
At VAP, we are concerned about what appears to be a general lack of public consultation over this proposed hospital, especially as it pertains to those who live in poverty. We are struck by, according to what can be gleaned from the “Windsor Hospitals Study—Final Report: A Public Conversation on the Future of Hospital Services in Windsor Essex”—that there has been little authentic engage with public at-large, let alone people living in poverty. Inadequate consultations may have the unwanted effect of perpetuating the exclusion of those who live in poverty.
We suggest that the steering committee take the following steps before making any decisions regarding the construction of the megahospital:
1. Gather demographic data by neighbourhood to determine the distribution of the patient population of Windsor's two hospitals, and the frequency and nature of hospital visits. This information should be carefully studied before finalizing the site selection criteria. A high percentage of people in poverty live in the downtown core and in the west end. Many of them do not drive and the cost of taxis to get them to a remote hospital location will be prohibitively expensive for them. It will be helpful to the community if this information is also shared on the website and in public meetings.
2. Do not proceed with the site selection process until a thorough public consultation has been completed, even if that means delaying the anticipated site selection date. Public consultation is a slow process, but it is an essential step in order to ensure public buy-in and trust.
We thank you in advance for taking the time to read and consider our letter. Voices Against Poverty is dedicated to building a Windsor Essex that is inclusive of all its residents. We believe that people living in poverty must be active participants in the future direction of our community. A concerted effort to include people living in poverty in the planning and decision-making process of the proposed megahostipal project would thus be a step in the right direction.
Sincerely,
Voices Against Poverty
June 17, 2014
Good Day,
This letter is in reference to the proposed MegaHospital and the Steering Committee implementing the choice of location for said development.
The Downtown Residents Association (Windsor) (DRA) is a non profit organization representing 15,000+ residents who reside in the Windsor downtown. The DRA Board of Directors have reviewed the position of CAMPP (Citizens for an Accountable MegaHospital Planning Process).
The DRA Board endorses this position unanimously.
We believe that building the new hospital on a large parcel of greenfield land outside the heart of Windsor will increase unhealthy urban sprawl, undermine efficient access to medical services, and harm the local economy, all to the long term detriment of Windsor and Essex County residents.
Such development goes against all modern urban planning principles for creating the vibrant cities and healthy rural areas which are vital to our health, economy and quality of life.
For your information.
Mike Holdsworth, President
Downtown Residents Association (Windsor)
www.drawindsor.ca
