Finalizing the location of a new mega hospital in Windsor is the last major hurdle to cross before moving onto the next phase in the process to build a new acute care hospital in the region.
Chatham-Kent-Leamington Conservative MPP Rick Nicholls says the province is waiting to hear from the courts in terms of a leave to seek an appeal by the Citizens for an Accountable Megahospital Planning Process or CAMPP.
CAMPP is asking for permission to appeal a ruling by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal to the Ontario Divisional Court.
Before phase one can wrap up, Nicholls says the "t's need to be crossed and i's dotted", then the process can move to phase two and the province can release more funding.
Phase two of the project includes designing the new hospital on paper, where the rooms need to be located, staffing, equipment and how much physical space is required.
Nicholls points out the province has no plans to pull the plug on the project, but until the arguments surrounding the location of the proposed mega hospital at County Rd. 42 and the 9th Concession are finalized, the process can't move ahead.
"There are, no pun intended, two camps involved in this and of course and once all of that is finalized, then we can move ahead with the proper acquisitions and environmental assessments and those types of things," he says.
The next step Nicholls point out, is up to the courts.
"We are waiting to hear from the court system in terms of what their final decision is, once we receive a final decision, then we will be able to move forward."
Nicholls says these things take time and once the shovel is in the ground, it will take years to actually build the new hospital.
CAMPP believes the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal failed to follow the province's policy statement and the city's own official plan.
It also points out LPAT relied on expert evidence which was provided by the city and the tribunal had the chance to call experts but that didn't occur.
It also noted the lack of consultations with First Nations.