NAL Hudak South Niagara Hospital
Submitted by the Office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
NIAGARA FALLS, November 7th, 2013 – Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak met today with Niagara Health Services Interim President and CEO Sue Matthews to support the need for the Wynne Liberals to commit to building a new hospital in South Niagara.
A billboard unveiled earlier this year by Niagara Falls city officials at the proposed site for a new south Niagara hospital.
“The Premier’s unwillingness to even acknowledge this hospital’s need is incomprehensible,” says Hudak. “Only recently did she finally admit the ‘idea’ of a new hospital is only now being ‘looked at.’
“This hospital is vitally needed now.”
Late last month, the PC Leader made a visit to the preferred Lyons Creek/QEW location, and stressed to build the hospital “right here.
“The land has been donated by a very community-minded family, and the services are here,” said Hudak. “All it needs now if for the Liberal government to sign on.
“Unfortunately, neither the Liberals nor the NDP understand the health care that families and seniors need and deserve in Niagara.
“In fact, if you look at the direction they’re taking us now, you won’t ever see this better health-care facility built,: said Hudak. “This must be emphasized.”
Niagara Health System Supervisor Dr. Kevin Smith has already endorsed building a modern state-of-the-art health centre in South Niagara at the site to complement the new hospital in North Niagara in St. Catharines, citing an overall cost for the Niagara Falls project at $879 million.
Rather than fixing up the four old hospitals Dr. Smith noted this option would see the government saving $10 million a year in operating costs.
Medical consultants and outside experts also strongly supported this site based on demographic data and population density projections.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
While I am realistic enough to understand that there are election points to be scored here. With all possible respect to Tim Hudak, the funds required to build a new hospital, new interchanges, new water & sewer services, a new electrical substation, and develop new transit routes, should be allocated to refurbishing the existing hospitals in Welland and Niagara Falls.
Niagara Region is a Tri-Polar area with infrastructure already in place to support the existing sites. It is lamentable that hospital locations are decided not on the basis of need but to burnish political campaigns.
Hospitals should be located where the people are, and where an aging and increasingly impoverished population can get to them. Sticking a new hospital out in the boonies makes no sense.
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The hypocrisy of the Ontario PC leader is breath-taking. Has he committed to building a South Niagara hospital if he becomes Ontario’s next premier? No, he has not. Why not? Because he won’t. Such a large infrastructure investment is quite impossible when his party’s signature issue is removing the deficit. The PCs will cut healthcare further, not reinvest in it.
We’re not complete idiots down here, Mr. Hudak. We know you want Bart Maves to take the Niagara Falls riding in the up-coming by-election, and you think that constituents in that riding are going to be won over by your posturing. Well, I think they’re smarter than that.
Here’s a thought: why not turn your attention to the good people in your own riding, who are still hoping to see the new hospital that they’ve worked so hard for become a reality. How about challenging the Liberals on that score? After all, it’s those PC supporters in Niagara West/Glanbrook who put you in Queen’s Park — and they’ll be the ones to keep you there.
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Timmy is great for promoting projects if he thinks they’ll get him votes. One of his vote getting pet projects was the Welcome Centre in Fort Erie which was a white elephant to begin with, cost millions, was out of the way, had about one visitor a day, was as useful as a bicycle to a fish and is now closed. Anything for a vote.
His Conservative government under Harris, and policies continued by the current Liberals, was responsible for many of the cutbacks that led to the demise of our local hospitals.
Where was Harper, his federal boss when the provinces met in NOTL to discuss the Health Care Act to be renegotiated in 2014? Nowhere to be found. He refused to discuss it at all. Hudak and Harper want to abrogate any responsibility for health care and Tim Mr Privatization Hudak would love to see our system go the way of the US. He doesn’t seem to realize what such unpopular policies did to the Republicants in the US. Canadians cherish our health care system but he would gladly let private insurance companies form a two tier model thus leaving public health care second rate and bankrupt. A healthy populace is a productive one. He doesn’t care. He’s got his as do all MPs and MPPs.
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Never once did “Hudak or any of his so called Conservative Lap Dogs” attend or make their presence known at any “MEETING, RALLY or GET TOGETHER in this Region when residents in the Southern Tier were fighting the “HIP” to save their hospitals…This being the case I would suggest that Hudak take a flying f…..at a galloping goose as it nears the brink of the falls.
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I think the scathing rhetoric should be aimed at those truly responsible for the demise of services in Southern Niagara. Mayors dedicated to appeasement, regional power brokers reflecting the imbalance of regional government, provincial MPPs who were silent when it counted and continue to be silent in the defense of their electors and muted by partisan needs, federal MPs going back to Maloney who at least spoke up for Welland until he was slapped down by the Editorial Board of the St. Catharines Standard, but did not fight back.
Why is it that beyond writing a few snarky blogs by the same usual suspects, there is very little organized support from the people of Welland?
Where is the groundswell of outrage over the fact that Hamilton with the same population as Niagara has 7 hospitals and we are relegated to maybe two?
Why is it that at all the public rallies and protests it is always the same 30 people who show up? Why did the Yellow Shirts roll over and have not really been heard from for years? Why has that not morphed into a Southern Niagara movement?
Is it not obvious that it is easy for the elected elite to ignore a small “rabble” of people with no influence?
Where are the business leaders of this area? Where are the Leons and Timmses, people of standing who WILL be heard? Why have they not explained to the politicians that without decent hospitals communities can’t remain sustainable?
Are our elected leaders unable to organize some sort of well funded and meaningful action to respond to the needs of those who voted for them? Or are they unwilling? Is it too much work to do the right thing?
The hard truth is that God helps those who help themselves. Mr. Harper will not help us if we don’t care enough to speak out for ourselves. He is not the Devil, and he is no mind-reader. He has a lot of other “Wellands” to worry about, and many of them have learned how to articulate their needs in a coherent, concerted way. Until we can go toe-to-toe with very professional gumpers like Dr Smith, South Niagara will always be neglected.
No one can accuse me of being an apologist for Harper or Hudak. These are good people and I have met them both on numerous occasions. Neither of them is malicious, but they do have their priorities, often handed to them. Before lashing out and tossing verbal bricks, take a look at yourself and ask yourself why as a community we have failed to refocus these priorities.
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Well despite the motives, it’s at least heartening to hear someone promoting a southern tier hospital (which I support)…. As for the cost,…… all we need is a time machine to go back to a pre-McGuinty date in time. Just think of the 10’s of billions will we have for worthy projects such as this?
Just sayin….
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