I present a petition similarly related to the closure of the Chesley hospital.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Chesley and District Memorial Hospital, originally donated to the town with funds provided by the local Kinsmen Club, was dedicated as a tribute to those local residents injured or killed during the Second World War. This hospital has served the needs of the community of Arran-Elderslie for 79 years with strong support at all times from the residents of the town and other communities in the area as well as from the county and local municipal government;

“Whereas three times—in 1976, 1978 and 1992—provincial governments have attempted to close the doors of this hospital. In each case, local residents protested these moves and each time through their efforts the government backed down and the hospital was saved. Now, with the current cancellation and/or reduction of ER services, there is yet another threat to the continued existence of our hospital;

“Whereas the ER in Chesley hospital serves an area with a total population of 6,900 people. It delivers emergency medical care for the whole constituency of Arran-Elderslie township including the towns of Chesley, Tara, Paisley and Dobbinton. It also provides services for those living in the nearby villages of Desboro and Elmwood and in the former townships of Brant, Sullivan and Bentinck. A large number of the residents are seniors and the area also includes a large population of Amish and Mennonite families. Many of these residents do not have access to a private automobile and are disadvantaged in the effort to reach health centres in large communities by the long distance and lack of a public transportation system. They require close proximity to ER and hospital services and that proximity is best served by the Chesley hospital;

“Whereas the physician recruitment committee has advised that without a fully functioning ER, it is difficult to recruit and retain doctors and nurses who are interested in maintaining and increasing their skills and who are dependent upon ER duties to support or supplement their income;

“Whereas Arran-Elderslie council sent a letter addressed to the Premier and the Minister of Health dated October 31, 2022, requesting action to address this situation, and that letter remains unacknowledged and unanswered at this time;

“Therefore we, the undersigned citizens of Arran-Elderslie and surrounding community, call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to keep our emergency department at the Chesley hospital open 24/7 by ensuring sufficient funding and fair compensation for nurses and physicians and to address the ongoing operational and labour issues that are impacting our vital emergency department service.”

I agree with this petition, affix my signature and hand it to page Sophie.

My petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas the Haliburton Highlands Health Services corp. board of directors has, without consultation with the affected stakeholders, announced the permanent closure of the emergency department located in the municipality of Minden Hills, Ontario, effective June 1, 2023; and

“Whereas on April 21, 2023, Global News reported and quoted the mayor of Minden Hills township, that ‘there was absolutely no prior consultation with the county or township staff or elected officials’ relating to the closure announcement and that ‘this critical issue was decided by a virtually unelected board acting on its own and shrouded by secrecy’”; and

“Whereas Haliburton Highlands Health Services Corp. amended and restated bylaws, as amended July 16, 2020, under the heading ‘preamble’ in the recitals states that ’it is the intent of the Haliburton Highlands Health Services corp. to serve the population within the catchment area’; and

“Whereas the catchment area is defined within the HHHS bylaws to mean ‘the geographic area served by the corporation including the county of Haliburton and bordering townships,’ which, for greater certainty, includes Minden Hills township; and

“Whereas article 6 of the HHHS bylaws sets out the responsibilities of directors, article 7 sets out standards of care for every director and officer of the corporation in exercising his or her powers and discharging his or her duties and article 9 defines conflict of interest and outlines areas that may give rise to a conflict of interest, including pecuniary or financial interests, undue influence or adverse interest; and

“Whereas HHHS is subject to the Public Hospitals Act and the long-term-care act and other applicable legislation; and

“Whereas HHHS is guided by the strategic plan as approved by the board of directors, as may be extended from time to time and as posted on the HHHS website and that the operational plan is posted on the HHHS website is to be the means through which the strategic plan is implemented; and

“Whereas the permanent closure of the Minden ED was not contemplated in the public disclosure of the strategic plan nor any HHHS board minutes as posted and published on the website up to and including the date of the closure announcement; and

“Whereas the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has oversight responsibility, including the express authority granted under the Public Hospitals Act, to investigate hospital board financial and governance issues and, in cases where steps need to be taken in order to restore necessary public confidence in the local hospital or in its ability to meet local area needs, recommend that the government appoint a supervisor when it is in the public interest and for greater certainty; precedents for such actions exist by former governments in the province of Ontario for such actions; and

“Whereas numerous letters of complaint have been delivered to the Minister of Health of Ontario residents to provide a reasonable basis for the minister to investigate allegations including that the HHHS board of directors in the process of making the closure decision exceeded its mandate, violated the intention of its mandate and breached its bylaws under articles 6, 7 and 9, resulting in the closure decision that is not in the public interest;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to immediately launch a public investigation into the allegations against the HHHS board of directors and to direct the HHHS board of directors to halt the closure of the Minden emergency department pending the results of that investigation.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and pass it to page Dominic to take to the table.