Coalition amazed at referendum response

North Bay Health Coalition co-chair Mickey King announces results of its weekend referendum. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca.

Over 8,500 North Bay and area residents have voted in favour of keeping the new North Bay Regional Health Centre 100 per cent non-profit, publicly owned and operated, the North Bay Health Coalition announced this morning.

A total of 8,824 people voted in the weekend referendum, said coalition co-chair Mickey King during a news conference this morning, with 8,545 voting in favour and 249 voting against. There were 30 spoiled ballots.

"We are thrilled with the enormous turnout, we have more votes than almost all of city council," King said.

"The vote of the citizens of North Bay is absolutely clear: we want no part of for-profit corporation managing, maintaining or taking over any other part of our non-profit hospital. With this huge vote we are sending an impossible-to-ignore message to Monique Smith and Dalton McGuinty."

Ambiguous
Nipissing MPP Monique Smith equated the referendum results to a petition.

“And should the coalition pass the referendum results on to me, I’ll pass them on to the Health Minister as I would with any petition,” Smith said.

She added she believes the statement on the referendum ballot—‘I support a North Bay and District hospital that is 100 per cent non-profit, publicly owned and publicly operated’—was “ambiguous.”

“The hospital will be publicly owned, publicly managed and publicly accountable,” Smith said.

“I think the health coalition made a great effort to fear-monger in our community and I don’t think it’s fair."

Never insulted
King said the coalition expected further attacks from Smith.

“She cannot continue to insult the intelligence of almost 9,000 of her constituents that have concerns about private for-profit involvement in our new hospital,” King said.

Smith said she’s “never insulted” her constituents, “and I’ve certainly not insulted the health coalition. I’ve just had very a very frank discussion with them.”

Isn't listening
King said she was “amazed” at the response of citizens to the referendum.

“It’s empowered them to have the choice to have a say on this issue,” King said.

“They feel that the government isn’t listening to them, they have little faith in what the government has been saying to them, and they are confused with the message that’s changing from the government.”

Huge cost overruns
The coalition believes the province plans to introduce a privatized public private partnership (P3) hospital in North Bay.

“Our message has continued to be it will cost more money to do it that way,” King said.

But Smith alluded to publicly financed hospitals being built in Northern Ontario.

“They’ve encountered huge cost overruns and they were financed the old way,” Smith said.

Strongly encourage
King put the referendum numbers in perspective, saying North Bay city councilors were elected with between 5,000-9,000 votes. A similar plebiscite in St. Catharines yielded 13,000 votes in a community with almost three times the population of North Bay, King said.

“And Monique Smith won her seat in the entire riding of Nipissing with approximately 16,000 votes.”

King asked citizens to continue to lobby Smith and Premier McGuinty.

“I ask them to keep up their fight to keep this hospital publicly run,” King said.

“I strongly encourage Monique Smith and Dalton McGuinty to listen. it will be to their peril not to listen.”