The grassroots group opposed to the location of the new Windsor-Essex acute care hospital has decided on its next step.
The group Citizens for an Accountable Mega-hospital Planning Process (CAMPP) issued a statement Wednesday afternoon stating it will seek permission to appeal the decision made earlier this month by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), which dismissed the case CAMPP brought before it asking it to overturn a zoning decision by Windsor City Council.
According to the statement, CAMPP will request an appeal on four different questions of law, with the first being what it perceives as a failure by the LPAT to follow the Ontario policy statement and the Official Plan of the City of Windsor, which both encourage municipalities to provide emergency healthcare in populated areas.
“Even if new suburban residential development takes place near the proposed site, the hospital location will be very far from where the majority of the region’s residents already reside,” said CAMPP spokesperson Philippa von Ziegenweidt. “It will significantly reduce access to essential healthcare services for tens of thousands of residents.”
The second question of law is what CAMPP sees as a lack of consultation with First Nations. Eric Gillespie, the lawyer representing CAMPP, said the LPAT even agreed that there was no discussion with Indigenous peoples.
“The LPAT further finds... ‘more could have been done to consult with local Indigenous communities.’ When these findings are reviewed, and in an era of reconciliation, it is hard for many to understand why the appeal was dismissed,” said Gillespie.
The third question of law pertains to climate change and an apparent “disconnect” between the LPAT findings with those of the Official Plan and the Ontario policy statement. The fourth question of law suggests that the LPAT based its decision on “expert evidence” provided by the city of Windsor that conflicted with evidence that was also being given by the city.
The LPAT announced on December 3 that it upheld the zoning decision by City Council. The adjudicator decided that the zoning by-law amendment is in line with the city’s official plan and the secondary plan, and that CAMPP did not adequately prove significant harm would occur if the hospital is built at the County Road 42 site.
Windsor Regional Hospital issued a statement of its own Wednesday afternoon, calling the CAMPP move “unfortunate”.
“We will continue with this process and hope to proceed as expeditiously as possible with a project that is desperately needed for Windsor-Essex hospital healthcare.”
-With files from Maureen Revait
