Cambridge needs answers before giving hospital cash

It is a given that Ontario’s hospitals perennially want — and arguably need — more money. But should the far-from-bottomless wallets of municipal taxpayers be where they go to find it?

For Cambridge Memorial Hospital, the answer is a clear yes, and that explains why it turned to Cambridge city council this week with a bold and unprecedented bid for cash — not just for this year but in all the coming years. And not just for a little loose change, but for the considerable amount of $860,000.

While the request from hospital president Patrick Gaskin will make many local taxpayers cringe and raises serious questions, there are strong arguments in its favour.

Start with the fact that it’s hard to imagine a better cause in which local money can be spent than on the local hospital. The people of Cambridge and surrounding areas turn to Cambridge Memorial to diagnose and treat the serious illnesses confronting them and their loved ones. Moreover, the hospital appears to be managing its funds efficiently, and other cities, such as Guelph, Milton and Burlington, are already doing what Cambridge is being asked to do.

So, if the people of Cambridge have high expectations of their hospital, shouldn’t Cambridge Memorial have equally high expectations of them?

Perhaps. Yet, however strong a case can be made for guaranteed annual municipal support for Cambridge Memorial, the prospects of such a relationship make us uncomfortable and we suspect many Cambridge residents feel the same.

They’re already paying copious provincial and federal taxes, both of which cover the bills for Ontario’s hospitals. Health-care spending in Ontario is higher than ever thanks to the last provincial budget which, not coincidentally, boosted operating funding for hospitals this year alone by $822 million or 4.6 per cent.

Many Cambridge municipal taxpayers will quite reasonably believe they’re already paying plenty for health care and their hospital, thank you very much. They’ll recall how in 2001, city hall decided to give the hospital $6.3 million for its expansion. And they’ll also know the local community, their community, has kicked in more than $45 million for that same expansion, along with other improvements.

Moreover, the hospital may be asking for the seemingly modest amount of $860,000 this year. But if the precedent is set and the commitment made, who knows what taxpayers could be asked to fork over in future?

It’s not as if Cambridge City Hall doesn’t have its own, long wish list and its own challenges in meeting the ever-expanding needs of citizens. There’s still that multimillion-dollar sportsplex to build. And many civic politicians and political observers continue to question whether property taxes are the fairest, most reliable way to pay for municipal services.

So should hospitals become yet another one of these services?

We’d urge city council to give the hospital’s request a fair but rigorous and comprehensive hearing. Investigate the experiences of the municipalities already funding its hospitals. Talk to Cambridge taxpayers. And make it clear to Cambridge Memorial that municipal funding will come with municipal strings attached in the form of city council, and possibly citizen, participation on the hospital board. If Cambridge ratepayers are taxed for their local hospital, their money must be accounted for.

Or, as our American neighbours have famously insisted: “No taxation without representation.”