Eastern Ontario, including Belleville, wants to be sure to get some of the new long term care beds being promised by the provincial government.
The Eastern Ontario Mayors Caucus took that message to Minister of Long Term Care Marrilee Fullerton during a virtual meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk tells Quinte News the province is promising 8,000 new beds and has committed $1.5 billion to build them.
Eastern Ontario wants to make sure it gets some.
“We wanted to make sure we had a number of those facilities in Eastern Ontario. We advocated for that.”
He says, “There are currently a number of developers looking at Belleville. We’ve been working with them, identifying sites.”
“We just wanted to understand the timing of when those projects will be approved so the funding can go and we can start construction because we have a huge shortage in the Quinte region and in Belleville for additonal long term care spots. There’s a big waiting list.”
Panciuk pointed out the changes that had occurred over the years. “Originally, plans for the municipal takeover of long term care would have run them more as retirement residences. Municipal facilities now have much more specialized services, such as mental health, more of a hospital setting than retirement residence setting. That’s not what municipal taxes were designed for.”
Panciuk added he expects some decisions late this year, following a commission enquiry into long term care across the province.
