EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been amended to clarify Clearview Mayor Doug Measure's role on the development committee for the Collingwood hospital.
A letter to the province, intended to bear the signatures of five area mayors, supporting the idea of a new hospital built on Poplar Sideroad has stirred up some heated debate after the mayor of Collingwood said she wouldn't be signing it.
Mayor Yvonne Hamlin confirmed she wasn't signing the letter following a closed council meeting on Feb. 27. At that time, she said it was because she already sent a letter to the province on her own to the health minister on Feb. 8, and didn't need to add her name to the joint letter signed by the mayors of Clearview Township, Grey Highlands, Town of The Blue Mountains, and Wasaga Beach.
Since then, several Collingwood residents have written letters to CollingwoodToday asking why she wouldn't sign the letter and whether she supports a new hospital for Collingwood built on Poplar Sideroad — instead of a renovated hospital on the current Hume Street site.
Hamlin posted on her social media this weekend seeking to clarify her position, stating the joint letter appeared to link the future hospital with the pending Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village, proposed by a private developer, and the owner of the site. There are 30 acres on the development site earmarked for a future hospital and donated by the property owner.
“Collingwood needs hospital funding now, without any conditions,” she wrote. “I reject efforts to link our hospital funding with a developer’s private project, as proposed by the draft letter circulated to and voted down by our council last Monday.”
Clearview Township Mayor Doug Measures, one of the instigators of the joint letter, said Hamlin's statement was '"misleading."
“It is critical that the Collingwood hospital build be linked with the Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village,” Measures told CollingwoodToday. “It makes it a unique project in the eyes of the province. It puts it in favour of being accepted as a new design for future hospitals.”
As the Collingwood mayor is away on holiday until March 12, she is unavailable to answer questions, or respond to Measures' comments.
“This hospital cannot be built on the existing site. For the greater good, Mayor Hamlin should have signed this letter,” he said. “My concern is, I think the mayor has missed the opportunity to work with all our mayors to show we are genuinely supportive of the hospital on Poplar Sideroad ... That’s disappointing.”
Collingwood council was split over the joint letter with a 5-4 vote against signing. Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer, Coun. Brandon Houston, Coun. Kathy Jeffery and Coun. Chris Potts were the votes in favour of signing on.
The joint letter suggests there have been delays in the application process to the province throughout the multi-phase redevelopment process, which impacted the project timeline.
"The approval of the greenfield build site for the hospital is the crucial first step in the process of realizing a new healthcare facility for South Georgian Bay,” the draft letter states. “The move to a greenfield build for the regional hospital is, in our view, the optimal choice for the communities we serve.”
Measures told CollingwoodToday that the joint letter originated from his desk. As part of a development committee for the Collingwood hospital through an appointment from the County of Simcoe, he has been tasked with provincial advocacy, which is why he took the lead on it.
“I suggested to the mayors of the five municipalities directly impacted by the hospital, we write a joint letter that would be presented to the minister,” said Measures, adding discussions between all five mayors on the letter have been taking place since December and the letter has gone through multiple drafts.
He said Hamlin was included in those discussions along the way.
Hamlin's weekend post notes funding announced in January by Premier Doug Ford for the Collingwood hospital, but CollingwoodToday could find no new funding announcement from the province for the Collingwood hospital redevelopment project since August, 2021.
CollingwoodToday asked Hamlin for clarity on this statement, which was forwarded to town staff and Fryer in her absence. The deputy mayor declined to respond. However, on Jan. 22, Hamlin posted on social media from the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) conference.
“Premier Ford’s address to the conference for rural municipalities today included the word ‘Collingwood’ as one of communities on the list to receive funding for hospitals!” Hamlin wrote.
The entirety of Ford’s statement on hospitals made during that speech says: “We’re also making historic investments in health care, bringing convenient care closer to home for rural communities,” he said in his address. “Over 10 years we're providing almost $50 billion for over 50 new hospital projects, including projects outside major cities, like in Bracebridge, Huntsville, Collingwood, West Lincoln and Picton to name just a few.”
When reached for comment on Tuesday, Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson said Ford’s speech at the ROMA Conference was not intended to be an announcement on hospital funding.
“The premier’s comments were not a commitment. That would be for the minister of health, and would be done in consultation with the hospital as the applicant,” Saunderson explained. “What the premier was saying was community hospitals, like Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, are moving forward in their redevelopment.”
“His comments were in support of a commitment that the money was there, but it was not an approval,” he said.
In her weekend statement, Hamlin referenced the minister’s zoning order (MZO) for the Poplar project. On Dec. 13, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra announced the province would be enhancing its monitoring of the project.
According to the province at that time, the Poplar MZO was being reconsidered due to a “lack of downstream implementation and lack of water or wastewater servicing.”
“Its approval could be revoked,” Hamlin continued. “A new hospital is too important to our community to risk it on the success of an unrelated private project.”
However, Measures contends that it is imperative for the hospital and the Poplar project to be tied together for the project to have its best chance at securing provincial funding.
“Health care in Ontario is changing. The days of hospitals being an isolated structure are gone. It has to be integrated into the community,” he said.
Overall, Saunderson said Calandra and Jones are both aware of the unique application and partnership between Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and the Poplar Village project.
“I think there is incredible synergy between the two,” he said. “I think the province is taking notice of those synergies. The whole is better than the sum of the parts.”
According to an agreement between the town and the developers of the proposed Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village (Live Work Learn Play Inc. and Di Poce Development Ltd.), there is a 30-acre parcel of land being set aside on the 130-acre site at Poplar Sideroad and Raglan Street for a future hospital.
The province hasn’t officially approved a new hospital on a new site, but Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH) CEO Mike Lacroix said in an interview in December that the hospital's submission “heavily” favours the new site.
During council’s meeting on March 4, Fryer asked town CAO Sonya Skinner about the agreement locking in 30 acres for a future hospital development.
“That was an integral feature for me in my support of the agreement,” said Fryer.
“The agreement with the developer will lock in up to 30 acres for the hospital. Should someone else purchase the property ... the (agreement) guarantees the provision for a future hospital,” Skinner clarified.
Collingwood's director of planning, Summer Valentine, said the town has been in conversations with the province on the status of the MZO monitoring, and possible outcomes, which could include revocation.
“We (said) we would like to continue the conversation before any of those steps are taken, particularly around ensuring that the hospital could still relocate to that particular property,” said Valentine.
Coun. Deb Doherty asked whether the ultimate decision on where the hospital goes is at all a municipal decision.
“That would be a provincial decision,” said Valentine.
Lacroix told CollingwoodToday this week that advocacy letters can serve as important tools to rally provincial support.
“Though directly linking letters to approvals can be challenging, in recent years, CGMH has observed several instances of receiving provincial approvals in the months following advocacy efforts,” he said.
“Any opportunity for our municipal partners to engage with the province and emphasize the urgent need for a new hospital presents a chance to drive positive transformation and impact the future landscape of health care in our community," Lacroix added.
When asked about Collingwood not signing on to the joint hospital letter and whether he felt that might have an impact, Lacroix said there’s a bigger picture to consider.
“In my view, it’s more important to focus on the fact that all five of our municipalities support the development of a new hospital at the Poplar Sideroad location, in addition to supporting the timely approval of our project, prioritizing the health and well-being of South Georgian Bay's residents,” he said.
Overall, Lacroix said the hospital is appreciative of all efforts from municipalities throughout CGMH’s development journey.
“We urge municipalities to continue in their advocacy efforts, leveraging their relationships with higher orders of government to emphasize the critical need for the province to commit to our new hospital,” he said.
Meanwhile, as of this week, Measures said he and the other four mayors will be discussing what the best path forward for the joint letter will be.
“I want to have a better understanding of whether we’re all comfortable with just the four of us signing it, or if we just don’t send it at all,” Measures explained. “The reality is, it’s been well covered in the media and the letter is a public document.”
