Not every politician in the region is opposed to an appeal of the location for the new mega hospital.
Windsor councillor Chris Holt says he supports the appeal from the Citizens for an Accountable Mega-Hospital Planning Process or CAMPP.
The group is opposed to building the new acute care hospital at County Road 42 and the 9th concession near the Windsor airport.
Holt says those opposed to the location aren't against getting a new hospital, as suggested by some municipal leaders.
Fellow city councillor Fred Francis and Amherstburg Deputy Mayor Leo Meloche have said the appeal may jeopardize funding for the $2-billion hospital.
But Holt tells CTV Windsor he's just fighting for the proper land use and transportation planning in the community.
“Saying something as pedestrian as you're either for the hospital or you're against the hospital, that distills it down to a level of simplicity that just does not help the situation,” says Holt. “I disagree that you're either for the hospital or against the hospital."
There’s people casting shade on the folks brave enough 2 stand up 2 the status quo & question the LOCATION of the proposed consolidated hospital site by saying we don’t want improved health care in #WindsorEssex. Plz disregard them as desperate #YQG #WindsorHospitalAppeal
— Chris Holt (@ChrisHoltDOTca) February 11, 2019
CAMPP says renowned planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who also ran for mayor of Toronto, will give expert evidence as an independent expert witness supporting their case.
In a news release, Keesmaat says that sprawling land use planning has implications and that directing growth to existing serviced areas prior to building new infrastructure is the foundation of the responsible use of land in the Provincial Policy Statement.
A case management conference is scheduled for March 20 in Windsor.
The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care says the new facility will serve more than 400,000 people in the region, providing advanced acute care services designed to meet the changing health care needs of local residents.
It will cost an estimated $2-billion.
Infrastructure Ontario has been appointed to lead the procurement process for construction of the new hospital. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is scheduled to be issued in 2021, but that is subject to change.
