The provincial New Democrats are calling on the Ford government to fully fund the Cassellholme Redevelopment project.
Erika Lougheed, NDP candidate for Nipissing, says all of the issues surrounding the project, including Thursday night’s levy vote by the Cassellholme board, could be solved with the stroke of a pen.
“This is a really good example of the chaos and confusion that is being caused by the Conservatives not taking responsibility for their role in healthcare and long-term care and it is a downstream effect of that,” she says.
The NDP says 240 existing beds and 24 new beds are at stake.
“As New Democrats, we’re committed to continuing to fight to make sure the Cassellholme redevelopment does move forward,” says Sara Singh, NDP Deputy Leader and Long-Term Care critic. “If Doug Ford and Vic Fedeli refuse to get it done, New Democrats are committed to making sure that will happen in 2022.”
Singh says long-term care spaces in municipally run homes like Cassellholme are highly sought after because people want to stay in their local communities and near their loved ones.
The NDP says data from Home and Community Care Support Services North East shows 256 people were waiting for a space at Cassellholme, as of May 2021.
Fedeli says Cassellholme has been looking to the province for funding and support for years, dating back to his time as Mayor of North Bay.
“After our government was elected, we secured $65 million in funding for the Cassellholme development. Our government has also helped them access low-interest funding from Infrastructure Ontario – this is identical to a successful approach we have used province-wide,” says MPP Fedeli in a statement to MyNorthBayNow.com. “Our government will continue to work with the community and Cassellholme to ensure this important project to revitalize long-term care in North Bay moves forward.”
