Ethics and Hospital Funding

During the last term of council, the President and the Chairman of the Southlake Regional Health Centre came to Aurora and other municipal councils in northern York Region with a pitch for property owners to pay for hospital expansion. They had a resolution prepared for council. All it needed was a mover, a seconder and a favourable vote. Talk about a hard sell.

But that's not how it went down. Aurora Council gave a resounding no. Mayor Morris was a councillor then.

People have been donating money to the fundraising project ever since. But the expansion plans are ambitious. Fundraising is apparently too slow. The pitch was made again but this time, bypassed municipal councils. The movers and shakers went directly to Regional Council and were successful.

Recently Regional Chairman Bill Fisch came to Aurora Council by invitation of the Mayor(now regional representative). The chairman explained the decision to tax property owners for hospital expansion.

A full hour of council's time was taken to hear the rationale for a decision already made.

The argument is no more acceptable to me now than it was before but my opposition is stronger.

Fund-raising has been going on for at least three years. Thousands of people have already given voluntarily. With a tax imposed ,they will pay twice. Once from the heart and once without as much as a by-your-leave. Hardly a fitting way to express appreciation. And conversely, a good way to generate resentment

The tax is unfair. People who already gave what they could afford from their resources are forced to pay again. People who use the facility and live outside the region will not be taxed.

South Lake Regional Health Centre is not local. . Users come from a wider geographic region. Because of hospital facilities, Newmarket has become a centre for medical speciality. The Health Centre is where and how the specialists ply their trade. Patients come from as far away as North Bay. They hail from Simcoe County, Barrie, Beeton, Alliston and many distant points.

Even if we wanted to, we could not deny access to the facility. Health and hospital care is a provincial responsibility. Revenue sources are derived from income tax, lottery funds and I think, payroll contributions.

Mr. Fisch agreed with my argument. He contended however, the same principle applies to York Region residents having had and still having access to Toronto's hospitals.

It's not true.

Toronto property owners do not pay taxes to support hospitals. There is no line item in Toronto's budget for hospital services
.
York Region residents contribute to provincial revenues. We have a right to access hospitals which are funded from our taxes and gambling habits and I think, payroll contributions.

The Region's decision to tax property owners for hospital construction is not illegal. No question of legality applies.

It is not immoral. How cost is shared is not a question of morality .

The Region's decision is neither fair, just nor equitable. It cannot be commended.

Maybe the Region doesn't have a Code of Ethics to guide their decision-making.

If they do, they obviously need a workshop to explain the principle .