Achi news desk-
There were strong words this week from Premier Doug Ford criticizing the mayor of Whitby, Elizabeth Roy, and questioning the legitimacy of the town’s community advocacy campaign to continue the campaign for a new hospital in Whitby.
“I’m not going to be bullied by that mayor who constantly goes out and offers everything under the kitchen sink,” Ford told reporters in Vaughan on Wednesday morning when asked about delays regarding the grant. planning for Whitby’s new hospital.
Ford was referring to the town offering raffle prizes to residents who take part in a survey to raise awareness and support for the new hospital that was to be built.
“Perhaps the integrity commissioner should be looking into ‘Are politicians being offered gifts if they get your email?’ It’s really unbelievable,” said Ford.
“When doing a lottery, if you give me your name and email address, you get a free gym membership or a free iPhone watch or you get all these little treats… I know to nothing… you can ask the minister. I don’t think that’s right.”
The comments came amid a separate event at Whitby Town Hall on Wednesday, as the mayor announced the next steps of the community advocacy campaign, Care Closer to Homelaunched on February 7.
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“I am surprised and very surprised, especially with the comments made regarding the purpose of the campaign,” said Roy. “I hope he is not trying to diffuse or push attention away from the conversation, which is about a planning grant.”
The town also said the prizes were paid in kind and denies any politicians had access to the email.
“And for the residents of the community who have signed up, your emails went directly to Premier Ford,” said Roy.
In a statement, Whitby’s chief administrative officer, Matt Gaskell, called the comments “totally inaccurate, and frankly disrespectful of the nearly 4,000 call-to-action letters and personal stories shared by residents from all over of the region.” Gaskell added that the campaign is “multi-purpose,” with the goal of educating and engaging the community.
“Offering prizes to help drive participation is standard practice used by many municipalities,” says Gaskell.
This comes just one week after Roy expressed her frustration over the 2024 provincial budget failing to include a $3 million planning grant for the hospital.
Two years ago a two-stage site selection process led to Whitby being chosen as the preferred site for a proposed new hospital in Durham Region. Since then, Roy said the town has been pushing for the planning grant from the province, which is needed in order to move forward with the process.
“Many residents believe the hospital is moving forward. They don’t understand that we need to get a planning grant in order to move forward,” said Roy.
Over the course of the eight-week campaign, almost 4,000 residents across the region signed a call to action letter and shared a personal story about the importance of the new hospital. The town announced on Wednesday that its next steps will be to paper municipal facilities with orange hearts to raise awareness and continue the advocacy for the new building.
Amidst the tension, Ford remains committed to a hospital in Durham.
“For the residents of Durham, we show them a lot of love,” Ford said. “They will get a hospital, and we will choose the site.”
In the meantime, Roy said her next steps are to reach out to the main MPPs and the local MPPs.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
