Jeewen Gill and Gary McNamara Both Face a Political Dilemma

 

In Windsor's Ward 7 by-election on Monday, October 5, 2020, voters chose Jeewen Gill over 11 other candidates to represent them at City Council. Mr. Gill's campaign advocated strong action against climate change and the need to curtail urban sprawl. Yet, referencing an aging local population, his election platform also supported the disputed County Road 42 location for the new hospital.  Mr. Gill exposes an inherent contradiction when local politicians proclaim support for the proposed hospital location on farmland adjacent to Windsor Airport, while also acknowledging the need for decisive and immediate environmental protections. ​ On November 18, 2019, Windsor City Council unanimously declared a climate change emergency to recognize the importance of preparing for the city's climate-future. It is clear that Mr. Gill has an understanding of, and supports, Windsor's environmental and climate change policy framework. Below are direct quotes from his written comments in Windsor Law Centre for Cities' Cities and Climate Action Forum survey: I have always been aware of the City’s climate plans especially when our city declared a climate emergency. Climate mitigation would rank in my top 3 priorities regarding the City’s budget decisions.  If we wait any longer, we will simply continue to raise the price on how much we must spend to reduce the harm, we are causing to the planet.  It is our responsibility as global citizens to ensure we are doing everything now to eradicate global warming and environmental impacts. I fully support a carbon budget. A carbon budget incentivises residents to choose green methods of technology and transportation. To ensure that the city of Windsor makes climate-friendly urban planning decisions I would advocate for greater environmentally friendly policies...I would work on zoning laws to ensure we do not expand beyond what would cause harm to our environment. Despite Mr. Gill's admirable concerns about the effects of a changing climate on our community, he also claims to support the ultimate urban sprawl project. How is this possible? Approval for a hospital on County Road 42 is concurrently tied with approval for 900 acres of surrounding commercial and residential development in Sandwich South, which is active farmland today. Adding bike lanes and replacing Windsor's bus fleet with electric vehicles IS a step in the right direction. But these initiatives cannot begin to compensate for the enormous and costly urban sprawl that will result from moving 4,000+ healthcare jobs to the proposed new ex-urban, drive-to hospital location. To give an indication of the size and scale of the proposed Sandwich South development, the green shape superimposed on this map of Windsor's downtown and surrounding neighbourhoods represents a similar area.

It stretches from Windsor's riverfront to Giles Boulevard in the south, Parent Avenue to the east and Crawford Avenue to the west. Yet, while this central area is home to approximately 25,000 people today, Sandwich South is being planned for low-density residential development: the new subdivision is being planned for 7,000 residents.

Responsible development taking a backseat to political expedience Windsor-Essex politicians face significant pressure -- imposed by local power brokers, often not subtly -- to proclaim their unwavering support for the deeply flawed hospital plan. Councillor Holt called it out in a Facebook post:

"It’s a shame we have a municipal politician recommending voters support candidates in a Byelection based upon their support of the location of the “mega” hospital. Not only will these folks have absolutely zero impact on whether this development moves forward or not, but it suggests those questioning or opposing the CR42 site as being unfit for office. I would offer up that those candidates questioning or opposing the CR42 location have a superior grasp of city building principles, and the courage of conviction for doing what is right. These candidates need to be applauded, not dismissed."

The location of the new hospital has deeply divided our local community In spite of the pressure on Ward 7 by-election candidates to profess their full support for the County Road 42 site, the deep division in the community was obvious in a number of the candidates' ambivalent positions. As Anne Jarvis noted in an October 7, 2020 Windsor Star column: "Only six of the 11 candidates in the debate said they support the location unequivocally. Five either opposed it or didn’t commit to it." Local hospital planners and their supporters, to date, have shown no interest in acknowledging the costly consequences of building the region's only full service acute care hospital 13km from Windsor's central neighbourhoods. Instead of honestly addressing this divisive issue, they shrug off the inevitable urban sprawl, increased driving and other serious consequences that will be forced on our city. Most significantly: The long term financial ramifications have never been transparently addressed. The best time to prevent a mistake is before it is made If built as currently planned, the costly legacy of Windsor's proposed greenfield expansion will remain for decades. Our community will be paying with our taxes and our lives long after the current politicians' terms have ended.  Gary McNamara, Essex County Warden and Essex County Regional Energy Plan Community Task Force Chair alluded to this in an October 2, 2020  Windsor Star guest column:

"It’s not about science when it comes to climate change in Essex County — it’s about the cost."

Mr. McNamara noted that local per capita greenhouse gas emissions are about five times global best practice, and concluded his column with this advice:

"We can take the lessons we’ve learned from this pandemic and apply them to the climate crisis...The cumulative effect of empowered and informed individuals making smart, selfless choices can be transformative. We have an unprecedented opportunity to innovate and embrace a new normal. We must seize it together, creating jobs and a path to sustainable prosperity and smart economic growth."

Mr. McNamara (together with Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens), loudly and persistently advocated for the County Road 42 hospital location. Yet he is now also calling for decisive climate action. If he truly believes in a climate emergency, how can he possibly support the scale of development and the increased driving that will result from the greenfield hospital location?   Demand the appointment of an independent facilitator to help expose the contradictory issues surrounding greenfield development that local decision makers are afraid to confront today. Windsor-Essex residents deserve better decision making before proceeding to the next stage of hospital planning.

In their own words: Members of our community comment on the issues

"The aggressive attempts by several who hold or have held leadership positions in this community to co-opt the campaign into a referendum on the hospital plan is overly simplistic and ignores all the underlying issues that opposition to the current hospital plan represents. These include lack of meaningful public consultation, climate and sustainability issues, fiscal responsibility from our city council, and real concerns over equity in the plan."

"When is the Mayor going to answer how much more the #42 site is going to cost the City taxpayers in infrastructure costs over the Tec. Rd. site? I'm sure it will make the $1.8m cost in the two properties look like peanuts."

"The proposed location is actually closer for me, as I live in Forest Glade just off Lauzon, but I despise the location for not really being near anybody, as the vast majority of users will now have a much longer commute; and for costing Windsor taxpayers a fortune for extra infrastructure upgrades."

"The top scoring spot based on THEIR OWN ESTABLISHED CRITERIA was the Tecumseh/Lauzon site. Now ask yourself who benefits by deferring to the CR42 site. I will give you a hint: when developers want to build new subdivisions or stripmalls in areas with undeveloped infrastructure, they are forced to pay some or all of the costs for necessary infrastructure improvements. But, if a site already has infrastructure that has been paid for by taxpayers, that expense is no longer their responsibility."

"The Candidates seem to think the hospital has to go to that location, or not at all."

"It seems too many of politicians and pundits really miss the synergetic effect of having a hospital in a high density population area, Affects the whole community."

"I still find it amazing that those in power really love to push this hospital propaganda any chance they get. I feel like if it rained tomorrow they would say we are being punished for not building the hospital"

"Sorry, but this plan is a mistake. And it will cost lives. We need to rethink this plan"

"I would hope Ontario Ministry of Health recognizes the the multitude of concerns around this entire plan."