Activists continue battle against proposed site for new mega-hospital

COVID-19 might be making legal proceedings more difficult, but the public battle over the location of the Windsor-essex mega-hospital continues — with the latest hearing set for Wednesday morning.

The subject of the hearing will be the appeal by the local activist group Citizens for an Accountable Megahospital Planning Process (CAMPP).

On Dec. 3, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal rejected CAMPP’S call to reconsider the proposed site of the $2-billion mega-hospital agreed upon by Windsor Regional Hospital and the Ontario government.

This week, CAMPP will be arguing before Divisional Court that its appeal is valid based on the need to ensure emergency services are “properly located” with the new site, consideration of climate-change impacts, obligation to consult with First Nations, and “apparent unresolved conflicts” in evidence for the proposed site.

Additionally, CAMPP is now asking for examination of the effects of the COVID -19 pandemic on the issue, “which could not have been considered when the new hospital was being planned.”

All interested parties can attend the hearing Wednesday at 10 a.m. via Youtube livestream or phone call.

CAMPP will post the relevant link and information on its website, windsormegahospital.ca.

The result of a two-year selection process, the region’s new single-site acute care facility is set to be built at County Road 42 and Concession Road 9 near Windsor International Airport.

The site is about 10 kilometres southeast of Windsor Regional Hospital’s Met Campus.

CAMPP has been committed to a legal challenge against the proposed site, insisting that the distance from the city centre will make hospital-based services “much less accessible for tens of thousands” of Windsor residents.