Citizens for an Accountable Mega Hospital Planning Process (CAMPP) are down but not out.
The Divisional Court recently denied a motion that would extend the time allowed to appeal certain parts of a court ruling in July of 2020 and ordered CAMPP to pay $27,000 in legal fees accrued by the City of Windsor.
A new $2-billion acute care centre to service Essex County is expected to be built on County Road 42 and Concession Road 9.
Lawyer Eric Gillespie tells the Dan MacDonald Show that CAMPP will continue its efforts to ensure the facility is built closer to downtown Windsor.
"Even though CAMPP has appeal options open, they won't be pursuing them, and instead, they're hoping the dialog will continue in these other forums," he added.
Gillespie says CAMPP will focus on getting its message across during the public consultation process.
"The schedule for that is up to the city, but ultimately there's also the provincial level of government where discussions have been and will continue to take place," he says. "I think CAMPP will be focusing its efforts in those kinds of areas."
He says residents can have their say at the ballot box in 2022.
"There's going to be an upcoming municipal election and as I think most people are aware, the current council can't bind any future council to anything like a location," he says. "There seems to be ample opportunity for further discussion."
It's been more than five years since CAMPP began lobbying against the proposed location of the hospital — failed legal challenges were launched in 2019.
So far the Ontario Divisional Court and the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal have both ruled against the group.
The new acute care centre will be for more than 400,000 residents of Essex County, half of which reside in the City of Windsor.