May 31, 2007


PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BUSINESS

VAUGHAN HOSPITAL

Mr. Ernie Hardeman (Oxford): I am pleased to rise today and speak to the resolution brought forward by the member from Thornhill. I understand how important a new hospital can be to a community and why the member from Thornhill would bring this resolution forward. But I think this resolution is a symptom of something that is wrong with our health care system and the present government.

It seems our health care system is so unresponsive to the needs of the community that this is the third member to bring forward a resolution like this in the last six weeks. The member from Burlington brought forward a resolution asking the McGuinty government to put the Burlington project on the Ministry of Health capital projects priority list and then release the $40 million needed for the Joseph Brant hospital renewal project.

I understand from the member that there is a great staff at Joseph Brant Memorial but their ability to deliver health care is hampered by the fact that they are waiting for a much-needed addition. The hospital addition will let them properly serve the 13,800 people admitted to Joseph Brant every year. Currently at Joseph Brant hospital, an average of 20 admitted patients are sleeping in hallways because there aren't any available beds.

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The member for Simcoe-Grey brought forward a resolution asking the minister to provide $1.4 million a year to reopen the birthing unit at Stevenson Memorial Hospital. Since December last year, expectant mothers in his area are forced to drive at least 45 minutes to reach another hospital in Orangeville, Barrie or Newmarket.

The Liberal members opposite used their majority to vote down both of these resolutions. In fact, the Minister of Health even came into the House to vote against the resolutions.

Members have a responsibility to bring forward the concerns of their constituents. However, it seems that with this government there is a constant need for members to not just tell the minister and the ministry but to bring forward resolutions and read petitions over and over again because their needs are being ignored. To me, that signals that there is a problem with the Ministry of Health or that the Minister of Health just isn't listening. The fact that someone from the minister's own party is now bringing forward a resolution asking the government to support their local need for a hospital indicates that the minister isn't even listening to his own colleagues.

I know the frustration from experience. In December 2000, our then Minister of Health, Elizabeth Witmer, and the Progressive Conservative government announced a new hospital in Woodstock, and I was pleased to be a part of that announcement. I was also pleased to be able to follow it up with an announcement of $12 million for a design study to start the process going. Since that time, the hospital foundation and many volunteers have been working hard to raise our community portion of the capital funding. I'm proud to say that they have done an incredible job and they are ready. I want to commend them for all their hard work. The volunteers have spent many hours organizing fundraising events. Our local schools have had fundraising campaigns. Members of our community and local businesses have made generous donations. It really has been a community effort.

The community is ready, but it seems that since 2003 the new government was dragging its feet on building the new hospital. I asked the minister questions in the Legislature, we talked to the minister's office and the Ministry of Health, but that wasn't enough. Like the member from Thornhill, the member from Burlington and the member from Simcoe-Grey, we couldn't get any action to address the community needs.

In December 2005, we had two busloads-80 people and two cows-come to the Legislature to ensure that our hospital was not forgotten. They brought with them 20,000 postcards signed by residents of Oxford asking the government to get moving.

Finally, in April 2006, we had the announcement that the hospital would be moving forward. Several ministers came to Woodstock and did a ceremonial groundbreaking, but so far that's the only shovel that's gone into the ground.

I understand that to get this hospital built we're going to have to get money through alternative financing and procurement, so the money will come from the private sector and be repaid by the government in the future. What I'm having trouble understanding is that if we don't need government money, why can't we get the hospital started? Things are moving, and we're going to continue to watch closely to make sure that the hospital stays on track, and keep pushing to get those shovels into the ground.

Given what we are going through in our own community, I am pleased to be able to support this resolution this morning. I understand that Vaughan is the largest urban centre in the nation without a hospital. I know that building a hospital is not an easy process, and I want to wish them luck with their efforts.