Moved by: Regional Councillor Pat Fortini
Seconded by: Regional Councillor Martin Medeiros and City Councillor Doug Whillans
Whereas, Brampton Civic Hospital, which opened in 2007, is home to one of Canada’s busiest emergency rooms and serves as the only main full-service facility for the City of Brampton’s approximately 650,000 residents;
And Whereas, Brampton Civic Hospital has long been plagued with issues of overcrowding and excessive wait times;
And Whereas, in 2020, Brampton City Council voted to declare a health-care emergency in the community;
And Whereas, there is now a very urgent need for an additional full-service Hospital in Brampton to help serve the City's aging community needs for continuing complex care and rehabilitation in emergency and intensive care units;
And Whereas, the City of Brampton has long been a major stakeholder in advocating for a new full-service Hospital in Brampton on behalf of Brampton’s residents;
And Whereas, the Province of Ontario has now recently made a budget commitment to help fund a new full-service Hospital in Brampton along with other stakeholders;
And Whereas, the City of Brampton will be required to pledge and commit to contributing 10% of the total construction costs of the proposed new full-service Hospital in Brampton;
And Whereas, in 2012, the City of Brampton implemented a special health care levy over a six year period to help fund 10% of the construction costs of the current Brampton Civic Hospital and redevelopment of Peel Memorial Hospital as part of the Provincial cost-sharing model;
And Whereas, there is an estimated $20 million surplus available from the 2012 special health care levy based on lower than anticipated construction costs for the Brampton Civic Hospital and the Peel Memorial Hospital redevelopment project;
And Whereas, a special healthcare levy is the fastest and fairest way to leverage Provincial funding for the construction of the new Brampton Hospital that will serve the health care needs of all Brampton residents, their families and loved ones;
Therefore, be it resolved as follows:
That the City of Brampton implement a special health levy to help fund 10% of the estimated construction costs for a new full-service Hospital in the City of Brampton, consistent with requirements under the cost-sharing funding model with the Province of Ontario including other stakeholders;
And further, that the special 10% special health care levy proposed for the funding of the new full-service Hospital in Brampton be spread over 7 years starting in 2022 in the amount of $120M based on current estimates;
And further, that the estimated $20 million surplus available from the 2012 special health care levy be applied towards the levy to help offset the cost burden to taxpayers;
And further, that staff be directed to bring forward as part of 2022 budget discussions other options for funding the City of Brampton’s required 10% contribution including the sale of surplus land, re-deployment of unused Capital budgets and spreading the new levy over a longer time period.