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Friday, June 22, 2018 3Brooklin Town Crier In a packed Operations meeting at Town Hall Monday night, residents in the Prince of Wales Drive area filled the room along with the committee to build a hospice in Whitby finding a few seats. While I appreciate that residents considered the parcel of land attached to the residents' park an extension of the park, it is in fact Town-owned surplus land. I also understand how some felt we were stealing their greenspace only to 'pave over paradise,' as one resident quoted Joni Mitchell. The process to donate the land for the hospice is not a normal one. While policy was followed, ideally more notice would have been better. This was a unique and challenging situation in that the hospice's provincial funding is at risk of being withdrawn if progress to build the hospice is not shown. It has to be operational in 2019 to get that funding. Our staff reported looking at over 40 sites throughout Whitby. The chosen site was due to several factors: the proximity to transit and amenities, the services on site, the size of the property, and, indeed, the greenspace itself. I found much of the talk disheartening. It struck me that many residents are fearful of what will be built. Consider that a residential hospice does not exist in Durham Region. Both Scugog and Clarington are building five bed hospices. Whitby's will house 10 beds in a one-storey building. With Durham Region having over 600,000 residents, we are long overdue. A hospice is where people go to spend their last days alive. Being adjacent to a park with children playing and overlooking a valley with birds and wildlife is part of what will make this a special place. This hospice will undoubtedly be looked upon with respect and love. It's an opportunity for the community adjacent to it to embrace how special it is and consider the important things in life. One resident who spoke against the project stated that if it was built there, it would be our (the residents') eternity, yet only a few months for them (the patients). I hope once the hospice is built she comes to understand how the opposite will be true. I am confident in our unanimous decision to do the right thing. We will have an eternity to contemplate whether or not we were right. Our Councillor's Report by Rhonda Mulcahy North Ward Councillor, Town of Whitby mulcahyr@whitby.ca A Residential Hospice: Doing the Right Thing Your candidate for Regional Councillor at the Town of Whitby "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 • editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.655.7642 Email: brooklintowncrier@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, July 6, 2018 Deadline: Friday, June 29, 2018