Let The Province Pay For Hospitals

Heck, we don't have the money for frivolities for people, matters like daycare and healthcare, when there are consultants to hire for mind's eye visions. We need to look after investors after all and make sure that they are well taken care of.

Sure we are underserviced here medically. Who cares.

We want seniors to come to live here. They will need hospitals as they get older. Who cares.

So what if our hospitals do not have the equipment they need. It is only 2 hours or so each way to London and back, even further to Toronto or Hamilton. Who cares.

Edgar (aka Eddie) seemed to care I thought in a speech delivered outside of Wndsor in 2007:

• "And what we have to do is send a message--just like we do in business send a message, we are competing with other customers, right? We are competing with other companies to attract those people but sending the message to attract people to live in our cities because we are investing in a quality of life.
  
  So now it is no longer at the municipal level talking about roads and sewers. It is talking about the arts and cultures, talking about the parks. It is talking about the amenities, talking about the facilities we have involved, because we want those people to come and live in our region...
  
  So if we can attract people as cities, we will do our job; we will make our city so livable, create so high a standard of a quality of life that they will come. They will raise their families and will come to live in our cities."

But it is election time. Culture, parks, facilities...they can wait. You can't get votes supporting this kind of stuff especially after you supposedly beat up on CUPE workers. Now he can say instead and be praised by a Star Editorial:

• "Mayor Eddie Francis said any funding decisions will be up to council, but he doesn’t believe the city should be forcing taxpayers to contribute to a provincial responsibility.
  
  “There is no question about the value and worth of our hospitals — I use these hospitals myself and I’m very grateful for the care we all get,” he said.
  
  “I don’t believe that the property tax base is set up to subsidize health care. We have enough challenges trying to deal with our own issues.
  
  “What’s next? Are we going to fund education next? It’s just something that’s beyond our abilities.”

I don't get it. The money comes out of our pockets regardless whether it is the provincial pocket or the municipal one. Why wouldn't we want to ensure that our money goes directly to our hospitals in their time of need rather than seeing it going elsewhere and having to beg to get it back via the Provincial Health bureaucrats.

We have a great quality of life in Windsor. Provided you don't ever get sick!

And if you do, we will see Monday at Council who cares.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT

If Edgar can put forward spending $75M to run the US half of the Tunnel, a job which is something a municipality can hardly say is a core function, then he should not be telling us that we ought not to help out our hospitals.

I don’t believe that the property tax base is set up to run Tunnels, especially a Tunnel that makes no money and will lose up to 25% of its business in the future if DRIC is correct. The thought of Edgar even thinking of that just makes me sick.