At times the debate over the location of Windsor-Essex's new acute care hospital has been so heated, both sides have called for civility.
Windsor's Mayor is not apologizing for his back and forth on social media with members of the group opposing the location, Citizens for an Accountable Mega Hospital Planning Process.
"There are many, many channels for the mayor to communicate his opinion, and social media is one of them," he said. "A lot of the people with CAMPP have no problem communicating their opinions on social media."
As 2019 draws to a close, Drew Dilkens commented on the one-step-forward, two-steps-back process so far, and his hopes and fears for the year to come.
"What the folks at CAMPP don't understand about Drew Dilkens is the more they push back, I just want to redouble my efforts and get this project done even more," he said.
(Photo courtesy of CAMPP)
The location of the hospital, which both sides say they want, appears no closer to resolution.
Although the group lost their bid before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, it plans to appeal the tribunal's decision before a divisional court.
It will be up to the court to decide whether it will hear the appeal, and there is no timeline for its decision. That has Dilkens worried about more delays.
"If I was in the provincial government looking at Windsor, saying, 'you know they don't have their act together down there,'" he said. "It's an easy issue for people to ignore if you're sitting around the provincial government table in austerity mode like they are today."
Dilkens suspects that is CAMPP's strategy, and he is critical of some of the concerns outlined in the latest appeal.
"The appeal is reading very weak to me. A lack of Indigenous consultation is one of the arguments that they're putting forward," he said.
If the court chooses not to hear the appeal, Dilkens is hopeful there will be funding for the new hospital in the province's 2020 budget next spring.
