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c economist suntribune health thursday feb 17 2000 7 province holding hospitals hostage officials say from page 1 we have wondered to what extent those discussions might hinderthe avauabitftfoftubctiftg coming forward and whether it may sidetrack things lussing said but there is no sense that will happen i think there is enough of a sensitivity around our needs york county hospital president dan carriere points out that no matter where people live they will be served by one of the three hospitals i dont care how they break up the region health care is still going to be an issue he said even if the region is broken into two or three everyone will end up with a hospital in their back yard everyone needs a relevant healthcare service and theres a cost to that the request put forward to the region by local hospitals is for 73 million or 38 per cent of the total cost of all three pro jects the province pays for 62 per cent of the bill markham stouffville seeks 30 million all three hospitals have plans to expand their facilities over the next four years york county in newmarket at 103 million followed by york central at 69 million and markham stouffville at 30 million and in the case of york county the clock is ticking to secure the local portion we have to know now carriere said this week weve received correspondence from the ministry indi cating we have to say where our community share is coming from carriere said confirmation from the region on the funding might come next month our project is very advanced and the ministry needs to know this if we dont get it it will mean we will have to either halt the project or delay it hospitals have to have all funding in place before the pro jects are approved by the ministry of health york county is ready to go ahead but the project is being held up by a lack of approval because a commitment from the region is need ed while prepared to make a commitment regional officials are frustrated it has been dumped on their laps the province is holding our hospitals hostage said georgina mayor and regional councillor rob grossi well end up doing the right thing but its another exam- pie of the province downloading on the local municipality it is a hugely dangerous precedent but whats the alter native said grossi who suggested the region could deben ture the costs to help pay for the capital costs i think well do the right thing to support the hospitals but it is a fundamental change from the way it has been done in the past it shouldnt come from local municipal dollars but if we dont theyll blame us if nothing happens officials count on local support but carriere and others feel confident there will be local support for the projects we feel very strongly there is support from the region theyve studied it and analysed it said dr jim maclean president of markham stouffville hospital i think funding will be independent of the political land scape around us markham stouffville will be the last to begin its expansion plans while york central is set to begin in july in the past local capital projects have usually translated into campaigns held by local hospital foundations but this time the amount needed is too large the community share is usually forthcoming from the foundations and through things like bake sales but bake sales arent going to do it this time said lussing pointing out that the local municipality should step forward because most of the redevelopment issue is driven by growth carriere adds that even if the region commits to helping the hospitals he believes there is also a role for developers we cant place 100 per cent of the onus on the develop ment industry but it is a factor changes to the development charges act in 1997 disqual ified hospitals from receiving a portion of lot levies but hospitals like york county and york central have needed redevelopment for 15 to 20 years betz pools inventory clearance all remaining 1999 instock spas 2000 models are comm no better price this year on instock air hockey billiard tables 2pc pool snooker cues hurley davidson darts accessories reduced to sell visit us today for great savings 5688 main st stouffville 905 6001024 television is all about having choice funny considering that some television providers force you to watch the same show on every tv in your home with shaw digital cable youll see up to 200 channels stateoftheart technology and digital piaure and sound and youll always have the freedom to watch different programs on all the tvs in your home just a few more reasons why shaw digital cable is the technology to watch baby yeah call 416 2906300 and enjoy upto 200 channels of digital entertainment for only 4995 a month shaw digital cable terminal purchase required