CAMPP Appeal Granted Oral Hearing!

On April 16, 2019, CAMPP's legal appeal won the right to a future oral hearing "based on the breadth and nature of the likely issues." This outcome resulted from the arguments our legal counsel put forward at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) Case Management Conference held on March 20, 2019 in Windsor. CAMPP's appeal challenges the proposed location of the mega-hospital and the development of a new (residential and commercial) subdivision on 1,000 acres of active farmland.

“The Tribunal has agreed many significant issues have been raised by CAMPP” said Eric Gillespie, our legal counsel. In its decision, the LPAT Tribunal reconfirmed participant status for 28 of the 29 residents and organizations who had applied to join our appeal. RE: Consultation with First Nations The LPAT Tribunal disallowed the late submission by Walpole Island First Nation to be a participant. CAMPP and another participant, in their respective arguments, pointed out the absence of meaningful consultation with First Nations residents during the hospital site selection process. The Tribunal indicated that should it have any unresolved questions with respect to this issue, it has the authority to call a representative from Walpole Island First Nation for further examination. Our next steps The LPAT Tribunal has directed the parties, including CAMPP, the City of Windsor and Windsor Regional Hospital, to continue working towards agreement on a condensed formal list of issues by the end of the month. They also directed the parties to prepare an agreed statement of facts within 45 days. An oral hearing date has not yet been set.

If you wish a deeper dive Click here to see our legal arguments and a summary of relevant policy provisions.

Some recent comments from donors who have supported our Windsor Hospital Appeal GoFundMe campaign:

“The proposed location goes against all sustainable planning principles. No one purposely builds barriers into their cities and the airport is the biggest barrier.”

“The most vulnerable individuals of our community should have the greatest ease of access to healthcare services.” "My family and friends, my neighbours and community, my city and county, the farms and the flooding, deserve a better hospital plan."

“The hospital planning committee did a very poor job in regards to involving the community in the planning stages and rather than own this  error has chosen to mask it with the default argument that in such matters it is impossible to please everybody and so we did what we thought was best. That sort of mentality should be publicly flogged.”

Have a comment you'd like to share? Please send it to us by replying to this email. We love to amplify our supporters' viewpoints.

LPAT is an independent tribunal that ensures good governance and transparency

For five years, hospital planners have only welcomed positive opinions, while disparaging all public expressions of concern. Don’t believe those who say it's time to move on, or that our appeal will jeopardize our chances of getting a new hospital. Their fearmongering is designed to suppress negative public opinion and to obscure the flaws in the mega-plan. Please encourage friends and neighbours to learn about the importance of the LPAT process, while this independent tribunal reviews the facts of our case.   Your participation in CAMPP's efforts is democracy in action!

Recommended Reading: Why losing essential services to the suburbs is bad for everyone

For more reading on why it's an expensive mistake to move essential services away from established neighbourhoods, inspiring author and educator Jamie Littlefield describes a very similar situation in her home town of Provo, Utah, on the Strong Towns blog. We highly recommend the article, and we're looking forward to reading her upcoming book about "the wild & wonderful ways people are recreating their cities."

Read the article here You can also follow Jamie on Twitter at @writingjamie