First off, I apologize that its been so long in between posts. I need to get back into the swing of it all, as the old saying goes, and post here on a regular basis. Between the late nights with 6 month old baby girl, a federal election campaign (which thankfully is over) and working at HSBC…its been difficult to find the time to update the blog and site.
Now with that election over and done with, I can concentrate on my greater love…this town. Its been hard keeping up on local issues the past little while but Im going to do my best to get back on track. Possible changes with the wards, potential tax increases at both the region and the town of Milton are amongst the pressing issues for our area.
Flipping through the Milton Canadian Champion and the Toronto Star I noticed one issue that did stand out. Gary Carr, the Regional Chair for Halton, along with Ted Chudleigh MPP for Halton have expressed concerns about the amount of development in our area compared to improvements to infrastructure. One of the areas of concerns is the hospital. Milton for example is growing closer and closer to 80,000 residents while not one major improvement has been made to our hospital. That hospital was designed for a town of 35,000 residents and as the years go by, Milton will approach 100,000 and no plans in sight to expand or improve the hospital.
The hospital has made some improvements. With the help and generosity of the public and other individuals and companies, Milton Hospital now has the CT scanner that was so badly needed. Now Milton Hospital needs more than that to adapt to the changes in the region. With Mattamy Homes pumping out new homes by the day and hundreds of moving trucks bringing the belongings of many happy families, excited with the opportunity to share with us, the beauty and the wonderful community we call home, something has to be done with our hospital.
For months Ted Chudliegh has been fighting with the Provincial Government to get this problem noticed by Premier Dalton McGuinty but so far nothing has happened. Everything seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.
What do our local leaders need to do to fix the problem? To date we’ve really heard nothing from Town Council. I know its not their area of responsibility but they do speak for the people. Our municipal leaders are on the the closest to the residents. Many times you can pick up the phone and give them a call to let them know how you feel. Some chose to respond quickly and others chose not to. I know that after talking with many of you during the last municipal election and afterwards, the hospital is a vitally important issue for many of you. As the town and the region grows, so should its infrastructure.
The only problem is our municipal leaders dont seem to have a vision for the future. There doesn’t seem to be a five, ten or twenty year plan on the horizon. Maybe at best a one year plan, and then a plan for re-election. In Milton, we see daily the result of decisions that were made in the past with no foresight as evidenced in their decision to close off 4th Line before they opened up James Snow Parkway a few years back.
They should have realized by now that is a growing problem that wont go away. This is what our leaders at all levels; from the member of parliament for Halton, to Ted Chudleigh, to Milton Town Council and to the Region of Halton; should be talking about endlessly to the provincial government.
It seem though that Gary Carr, the Regional Chair, is taking it to the next step. At a recent meeting of the Region of Halton, Gary Carr is threatening to not approve any future developments until there is a plan in place to address the regions hospitals, mainly Oakville and Milton. More on that here in a Toronto Star editorial of Oct 24th.
“In threatening to freeze local development, including approval for 40,000 new homes, Halton Region is considering a strategy that’s in equal parts a pressure tactic and a cry for help. Burdened by massive infrastructure needs and the unfair downloading of provincial costs, Halton is serving notice that it can’t afford to grow any further. Queen’s Park would be well-advised to take the region seriously. Its plight is by no means an isolated problem.
“Growth is not paying for itself,” region chair Gary Carr explained. “And we have the means to stop growth until (improved funding) has been put in place.”
Halton’s official plan and previous agreements with developers and the province include special wording that allows the region to refuse sewer and water services to new developments “until there’s a financial plan in place acceptable to council,” Carr said. Next month, a council committee is to consider invoking that clause to block 40,000 residences planned for construction over the next several years.
Those new homes would bring another 120,000 people to Halton at a time when the province isn’t paying its share to support residents who are already there. Growth would proceed only if Queen’s Park and developers more effectively cover the cost of municipal expansion, Carr said. The province can’t have it both ways.
This doesn’t appear to be a bluff. A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs said Halton might well have the power to carry out its threatened development freeze, depending on the detailed wording of existing agreements and contracts. All this is a signal to Queen’s Park that despite its rising economic woes, the needs of cities will not disappear from the provincial agenda.”
And its not just Gary Carr. MPP Ted Chudleigh has been after the McGuinty government on the same issue and it looks like SOME progress is being made. Here’s the recent Milton Canadian Champion article by Melanie Hennessey.
Smitherman agrees to meeting
Halton MPP calls on minister to meet with regional chair over hospital woes
A provincial minister has agreed to meet with Regional Chair Gary Carr to discuss the urgent need for local hospital improvements.
The meeting with Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman comes as a result of Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh pushing the provincial government to take immediate action when it comes to hospital projects in Milton and Oakville.
Recently, Halton Healthcare Services learned that the Province is delaying the construction of the new Oakville hospital by 13 months.
Milton District Hospital (MDH) is also facing a capacity crisis and is waiting for provincial government approvals for its expansion.
Over the past few weeks, Chudleigh has been using Question Period to push the issue. During Thursday’s Question Period, he told Premier Dalton McGuinty that the health-care situation is Halton is dire.
“This problem is not going away. Milton and Oakville continue to grow. In fact, it’s getting worse,” he said. “Why are you treating the people of Halton like second-class citizens?”
McGuinty deferred to Smitherman to address the issue. The minister said it’s still the Liberal government’s plan to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the construction of the new Oakville hospital, but there’s just been a “short delay.”
“That project is still very much in our government’s sights,” he said. “We desire to make it happen with the good people of Halton as we recognize their needs must be met.”
Smitherman didn’t say anything about the Milton hospital in his statement.
Chudleigh went on to demand a meeting between the Province and the Region, and Smitherman said he’d be very happy to meet with the regional chair.
This came as welcome news to Carr.
“We’re pleased that he’ll be meeting with us,” he said. “I want to speak with him to tell him first hand about the challenges we have here.”
Carr said he wants to ask Smitherman why he expects the Region to pony up $2.5 billion for infrastructure within the next couple of years and $8.6 billion by 2021 at a time when the Province is pulling back on its spending.
“You expect us to do one thing when you’re doing a totally different thing at the Province?” he said.
The chair said Friday he’d like to wait to meet Smitherman until after the Province’s fall economic statement is delivered today to see what the financial state of the province is.
Carr recently tabled a motion that, if ultimately passed by council, could stop future development until the Province improves hospital capacity in Halton.
The motion was to be debated by the Region’s health and social services committee yesterday, but was deferred to November 13.
While Chudleigh said he’s also pleased the minister agreed to the meeting, he voiced disappointment with how it came about.
“I shouldn’t have to set up meetings during Question Period,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to stand here (in the Legislature) every day demanding adequate health care for the people of Halton.”
Chudleigh recently presented petitions to the Ontario legislature bearing thousands of signatures from Halton citizens who are calling for the immediate expansion of MDH and completion of the Oakville hospital.
The petitions can still be downloaded and signed at www.tedchudleigh.com .
“Until the Oakville hospital is complete and expansion in Milton has begun, I will not rest,” Chudleigh said. “Together with the Region, health-care organizations and the concerned citizens of Halton, we will show Premier McGuinty the meaning of the word tenacity.”
Melanie Hennessey can be reached at mhennessey@miltoncanadianchampion.com .
Go to the website…sign the petition and keep on our local leaders.
It’s good to finally see Halton politicians standing up for Halton’s interests!
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Maybe instead of Mattamy and other builders doing the planning (for profit, remember) we should let professional planners hired by the region and hopefully not in the developers pocket do the actually planning and infrastructure design/costing/etc. That way the region can develop at a pace that it can afford. Developers will develop at the fastest pace the economy will take, regardless of how much it will cost the taxpayer for the infrastructure. Remember, Milton’s water/sewer system was also funded by Oakville taxpayers as well.
Lance,
what you’re talking about is an issue for Dalton McGuinty. The town of Milton and the Region of Halton (unfortunately) have VERY little control over new residential planning; it’s all controlled by the province.