Ladies
and Gentlemen
And so it is Christmas.
Our remarkable non-winter continues.
Even with the reminder of a light dusting of snow this morning, you know
it’s not really winter when Blue Mountain has to reopen its mini-putt to
entertain the Christmas vacationers.
While I would prefer that this last missive of the year
have a lighter tone, there are two recent public issues that are causing some
concern. Our local newspaper carried a
story that our hospital may be facing major changes in the years ahead. As reported,
these changes could affect staffing and service delivery.
This week also saw the release of a significant Discussion
Paper from the Ministry of Health. It pointed to potentially sweeping changes
to primary care (your family doctor), service delivery outside of hospitals from
the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) and the likelihood of reorganizing components
of healthcare delivery, likely through “healthcare hubs”. A lot of change to
consider all at once.
These announcements, while appearing to come out of nowhere,
reflect the reality that Ontario is no longer the health care leader that it
used to be. The good news is that GBGH, the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN and the
MoH have promised to hold extensive consultations before changes are made. The other
good bit of news is that North Simcoe is not caught flat footed. Over the last
four years the citizens of North Simcoe, the mayors and the leaders of our
healthcare institutions have met regularly to discuss how to improve the
delivery of healthcare for all residents. While change may be difficult, we
will use this opportunity to strengthen healthcare in our area.
The second issue concerns our Midland Library. Mayor Marshall
has written a number of pieces indicating that he would prefer a merger of our
two municipal libraries. While I respect his position, the fundamental question
is not about merger or not, but rather what type of library best serves the interests
of the people of Midland.
Our library has its own Board of Directors put in place
to set policy and oversee its operation. Municipal Council has limited influence
over Board decisions. So while it is entirely
appropriate for our library Board to consider their form of operation, they must
remain focused the needs of our citizens. And I have every confidence that they
will do so.
*****
A short work week. On Monday December 21st you
will want to take the young ones down to the MCC at 1:00 pm for a free
screening of the Christmas favorite Polar Express. At 5:00 pm it’s my last formal meeting of the
year with the Citizens Healthcare Steering Committee at GBGH. The meeting will
focus on organizing the North Simcoe public meeting on healthcare set for
mid-February. More information in the days ahead.
Town Hall closes at noon on December 24th and
opens again on January 4th. Remember Bruce Stanton will host his
annual free skating party on Thursday December 31st from 7:00 - 8:30
pm at the NSSRC.
It’s now time to put the world away and enjoy this season
of peace and hope with family and friends. Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year.
Gord
McKay
P.S.
One last taste of the season. See what Cottage Life has to say about Midland’s
own Butter Tart Beer:
Be
part of Midland’s Year of Bold Action - 2015