District Local Share commitment to new hospitals made conditional
The District of Muskoka agreed to make their Local Share commitment to the new hospitals conditional, in the June 17, 2024, Council meeting.
On October16, 2023, District Council initially adopted an amended motion for the re-development concept passed by the Health Services Committee on September 21, 2023.
Since then, it was determined that the concept was considered as having “drastically been altered” from its original release, according to the agenda.
Council also had concerns about making a $77.3 million financial commitment without conditions.
Councillor, Heidi Lorenz, indicated that Gravenhurst put conditions on their commitment when they approved it. She added, “I think saying it meets approval of Council is way to vague… You need to listen to everything.”
There was also debate between member concerns regarding whether Council should be making decisions about the hospital model or whether they should bring in professionals or continue to educate themselves through the MACH information sessions.
Councillor, Dan Armour, suggested a deferral to allow Council time to investigate more information about the matter so that they can make a more informed decision about their commitment.
Councillor, Tatianna Sutherland, expressed concern that Councillors aren’t qualified experts on designing a hospital, or regarding deciding about the potential success of an updated process.
Sutherland suggested that attending a MACH workshop isn’t going to change that. She said, “A single information session doesn’t qualify us to vote on a motion about if a process is better.”
However, she believed it’s worth investigating what other municipalities have done in the same situation and how they established their criteria.
Some Councillors agreed that looking at the process of other municipalities can help them establish “check points” regarding moving forward with the proposed model. The deferral would allow time to consider and develop potential conditions for their commitment.
Councillor, Rick Maloney, indicated that Council members should be educated by now. He said, “The horses left the barn a long time ago… You should have been engaged a long time ago.”
The deferral was withdrawn in favour of an amendment to the motion.
Council decided that the commitment they originally agreed upon “be made conditional on the final proposal being approved by Muskoka District Council at its October 21, 2024, meeting or as soon as practicable thereafter, prior to MACH [Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare] submitting its final proposal to the province,” according to the amended motion.
The District also agreed to continue to work with stakeholders to advocate for the region.
