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Hamilton Spectator
07-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
10-storey ‘luxury condo hotel' rejected for Crystal Beach
A controversial plan to erect a 10-storey, 100-unit condominium building in Crystal Beach has been shot down by Fort Erie town council. The proposed development for 3856 Terrace Ln. and Crystal Beach Drive had drawn immediate criticism from councillors and residents alike, who voiced concerns about compatibility, environmental impact and inadequate parking. During a special council meeting on Monday, councillors nixed the proposal — bypassing the usual step of awaiting a staff recommendation report. 'This public meeting is pursuant of to the Planning Act,' Mayor Wayne Redekop said in his opening remarks. 'It's a legislative requirement; anyone is entitled to make an application for developmental approval, and the municipality has an obligation to review and proceed.' However, the formal process was cut short when councillors voted unanimously to deny the application, citing its significant departure from the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan, a land use document adopted in 2021 and approved by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) in 2023. Planning staff presented the proposal, noting it sought to redesignate the property to a 'core mixed-use area' and rezone it a site-specific residential multiple zone. The development would have featured common areas, fitness and pool facilities, rooftop patios and party rooms for residents' use. Devin Morton, the town's supervisor for development approvals, said the project's proposed density was '385 units per hectare,' far exceeding the secondary plan's cap of 50 units per hectare and three-storey height limit. 'The applicant seeks to add apartments and short-term rentals as a permitted use,' Morton told councillors, adding although some commercial features were noted on plans, 'staff are confused why this land use designation was selected if commercial uses are not proposed.' Environmental concerns also weighed heavily in discussion. 'Environmental planning staff's opinion is that the existing woodland does qualify as a significant woodland,' Morton said, referencing regional species and century-old trees found on the site. Under provincial policy, such lands are not eligible for development. During the meeting, Lou Pompili, speaking on behalf of the developers, described the project as a 'luxury condo hotel,' with units to be sold individually and used at the discretion of the owners, whether that be occupancy, short-term rental or family use. But councillors raised alarm bells about a lack of detail and conflicting information provided by the applicant. 'There were a number of items where requests for changes to the zoning were being advanced, and no information was being provided by the proponent,' Morton said. Parking also emerged as a major issue, with only about two-thirds of a required 150 spots proposed. Asked where overflow vehicles would go, Pompili said, 'There has been no confirmation of where any overflow parking would be accommodated.' Ward 1 Coun. George McDermott, who moved to deny the application, criticized the design's incompatibility with the area's low-rise, cottage-style character and flagged the potential removal of significant woodland. 'This action would represent a loss of natural heritage,' he said. Ward 6 Coun. Ann-Marie Noyes said the proposal left more questions than answers. 'I haven't had a clear idea or anything clarified to me exactly what this building is going to be used for,' she said. 'Whether it's going to be commercial, a hotel, condos or apartments, I really don't know.' Councillors supported McDermott's motion unanimously, concluding the development proposal did not reflect the intent or vision of the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan, which they emphasized had been shaped through public consultation. Pompili acknowledged the possibility to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, an option still available to the applicants despite council's decision. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
07-07-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Demonstrators decry cuts to UCC hours in Fort Erie
Dozens of people rallied in Fort Erie Friday to protest Niagara Health's temporary cuts that have left urgent care centres in that town and Port Colborne with fewer hours. Organized by Fort Erie SOS Yellow Shirt Brigade and SEIU Healthcare, the demonstration brought together residents, health-care workers, union leaders and area politicians who say the local hospital system is failing the region's most vulnerable residents, and in tourist-heavy communities. Niagara Health last month announced the Fort Erie UCC would be closed Fridays and the Port Colborne UCC Saturdays throughout July and August as a result of ongoing staff shortages. Both are open the other six days of the week 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. However, the Fort Erie UCC will be closed Aug. 1-4 of the civic holiday weekend, and the UCC in Port Colborne will be closed Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 of the Labour Day weekend. Among people present for the rally outside Niagara Health's Douglas Memorial site were Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop and Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, who both expressed frustration over what they described as a health-care model that ignores community needs. Gates said he spoke with Premier Doug Ford about the issue a day earlier. 'The No. 1 issue in Niagara is health care,' he said. 'Premier Ford has to get involved. Our goal is to make sure we're representing the constituents that we represent.' Residents shared personal experiences that underscored the critical role the two UCCs have played. Louise Bain, a Port Colborne resident, said urgent care access helped her manage care for her husband who had a form of muscular dystrophy. 'He was there for five days and saved my sanity,' she said. 'It really did.' Bain said she could not understand how the province could allow closures during the summer, when tourists flock to the Lake Erie shore. 'It doesn't make sense.' Janet Chassman, a Fort Erie resident, recalled waiting with her wife at Niagara Falls hospital for hours after she broke her arm during a winter storm. 'She was in the emergency bay for hours and hours before they even brought her in,' she said. 'They said, 'Come back tomorrow.' The same people from the night before were all back there the next day.' Holly Hillard, a representative of SEIU Healthcare, accused Niagara Health of acting without warning or collaboration. 'Management at Niagara Health gave our union 45 minutes' notice before the weekend closures,' she told the crowd. 'There was no consultation, no planning, workers were left to scramble.' Ron Walker, a Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4207 member from Welland, said the hospital system's fixation on 'centres of excellence' is coming at the expense of rural communities. 'There's no reason that we can't have both, centres of excellence and accessibility,' he said. 'What's the point of great care if you can't access it?' The rally came as calls for stronger oversight and leadership have grown in recent weeks. Fort Erie Ward 5 Coun. Tom Lewis presented a motion for the town to withhold its $3-million local share contribution to the new south Niagara Falls hospital until a resolution is met, which was approved by council June 23. Niagara Health responded to the motion in a statement, saying the funding is a one-time community contribution required by the Ministry of Health to help fund the bricks-and-mortar construction of the new hospital. It said 'backtracking on that now sends the wrong message to the province and other partners.' 'Any shortfall increases pressure on the hospital to reallocate funds that should go toward patient care.' To end Friday's rally, Yellow Shirt Brigade member Joy Russell delivered a message directed at provincial and federal leaders. 'Douglas Memorial and the Port Colborne hospital were built for their communities by the work and donations from the community, now look what we have here.' Organizers are now turning to Port Colborne, where a rally is scheduled outside the urgent care centre Saturday at 11 a.m. Gates said the fight isn't over. 'As you can see, the community's on board, you can tell by the cars going by, beeping and waving,' he said motioning to the crowd. 'They know the No. 1 issue in Niagara is health care, and I know I've always said working together is how you win.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
18-06-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
‘This is not safe': South Niagara mayors demand urgent care summer hour reductions be halted
Mayors of Fort Erie and Port Colborne are calling on the province to reverse Niagara Health's plan to temporarily reduce hours at its urgent care centres this summer, calling the one-day-a-week closures unsafe and poorly communicated. Speaking at a joint press conference Wednesday at Fort Erie town hall, Mayor Wayne Redekop said his residents are again being left behind by Niagara Health as it continues to cut services in South Niagara. 'This is not fair. This is not equitable. This is not safe,' he said, urging the Ontario government to intervene immediately. 'It is simply not safe to close urgent care facilities in Fort Erie and Port Colborne, not for one day, not for one weekend, not during the summer, not any time.' The Fort Erie UCC at Douglas Memorial is to shut down every Friday, and Port Colborne's UCC every Saturday throughout July and August. Both locations will close on Canada Day and the long weekend for Labour Day. Fort Erie's will also shut down for the civic holiday weekend Aug. 1 to 4. The reductions come less than two years after Niagara Health reduced hours at both centres from 24/7 to 10 hours a day (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Redekop said reducing services during peak tourist season is not logical. 'We are welcoming tens of thousands of visitors and seasonal residents in the summer,' he said. 'This is when our population swells and when access to care becomes even more critical.' Niagara Health's announcement came, Redekop said, minutes after he and Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele met with the hospital system about physician recruitment on Monday. 'There was no prior warning, no chance to provide input. This type of conduct is, unfortunately, typical,' Redekop said. Steele said the region is being squeezed out of essential services. 'We need more care, not less,' he said. 'There are more people living here and visiting here than ever before and more people without a family doctor.' Niagara Health said the closures are a last resort due to a critical shortage of emergency-trained physicians. A fact sheet distributed at the press conference by representatives from Niagara Health said the organization is short 10 to 15 doctors and is facing 111 unfilled shifts across its sites this summer. 'Emergency care must come first,' the document said. 'More than half of these gaps are at the Marotta Family ED in St. Catharines, one of the busiest in Ontario, with most of the rest in Niagara Falls. This is not about funding, it's about staffing.' Redekop dismissed the idea that Niagara Health has made adequate recruitment efforts. 'Where is the plan? Where is the evidence that anyone is being hired? There is none,' he said. The mayors said both municipalities have offered to work with Niagara Health on physician recruitment, through initiatives led by Niagara Region. But those offers, they said, have been ignored. 'We offered on May 22 to assist Niagara Health, I sent out an email to (Niagara Health chief executive officer Lynn Guerriero) and asked if they could share their physician recruitment plan to see how it aligned with ours,' Redekop said. 'I didn't get an answer until after the meeting on June 9 and (we) learned that they don't have a physician recruitment plan.' Niagara Health has said otherwise. In a statement, the organization stressed it is continuing extensive efforts for physician onboarding. 'Niagara Health is working tirelessly to recruit more physicians to the region,' it said. 'It's disingenuous to minimize the incredible challenge of physician recruitment in the face of a provincewide doctor shortage.' Niagara Health has stated it will be recruiting five emergency physicians this summer, with four more in the credentialing process, but the organization said that is still not enough to meet the need across the region. Despite these efforts, Redekop said Niagara Health's broader strategy remains out of touch. 'They talk about improved access and partnerships,' he said. 'What we're seeing is neither.' Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, who was also at Wednesday's media conference, said the situation is a result of policy failures at the provincial level. 'It didn't have to be this way. These cuts were not inevitable,' he said. 'This was a choice.' Redekop and Steele said the media conference was meant to apply pressure on the provincial government to intervene and reverse the summer reduction in urgent care hours. Redekop concluded with a direct appeal to Queen's Park. 'If Niagara Health will not reverse this decision, then we are calling on Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister (Sylvia) Jones to immediately reinstate daily operations at both urgent care centres,' he said. 'Our residents can't afford to wait.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
12-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
'Enough is enough:' Local politicians decry Niagara Health's decision to reduce urgent care hours
Niagara Health's decision to reduce summer hours at its only two urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne, Ont., has sparked outrage. Some local elected officials in Fort Erie are calling on the CEO to resign, the provincial government to intervene and an immediate reversal of the decision. Mayor Wayne Redekop told his council Monday evening that the people running the local hospital system "don't give a rats ass about Fort Erie." His perspective was echoed by other councillors, including Nick Dubanow. "I think we need to kick Niagara Health to the curb," he said. "I'm very angry. Enough is enough." Earlier that day, Niagara Health had announced that throughout July, August and early September, it will close the Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre on Fridays and the Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre on Saturdays. Both centres will be closed on Canada Day, July 1, and the Labour Day long weekend, Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. Fort Erie's will also be closed on the Civic Holiday long weekend, Aug. 1 to 4. Normally they operate seven days a week. Fort Erie Coun. Tom Lewis advised council on Monday he will be putting forward two motions later this month. The first will call for the town to "immediately withhold" committed funding to Niagara Health's new hospital, although it's unclear the dollar amount. The second will call for the Niagara Health CEO Lynn Guerriero and members of the board to resign, and for the province to appoint a supervisor to oversee operations, Lewis said. "Niagara Health has broken our trust," he said. "We owe it to the people of Fort Erie to take a firm stance. And I believe this council will." Niagara Health said in a statement to CBC Hamilton local officials are oversimplifying the complexity of running a regional hospital system. "We are disappointed when misinformation is shared by elected local officials in their zeal to build support for their campaigns," said spokesperson Erica Bajer. Doctor shortage prompts closures The closures are because the region faces a shortage of physicians qualified to work in emergency departments, Niagara Health said in a news release. The doctors who'd normally work in urgent care need to be deployed to hospitals and even still many shifts there remain unfilled. "We know these closures are frustrating and concerning for the communities affected, said Dr. Kevin Chan, chief of staff, in the release. "They are not decisions we made lightly. This is the minimum level of closure required to maintain emergency care across the region." There are no hospitals or emergency rooms in Fort Erie or Port Colborne and thousands of people are without a family doctor. The closest hospital is in Welland — about a 12-kilometre drive from Port Colborne and 32-kilometre drive from Fort Erie. Niagara Health also runs a hospital in St. Catharines and another in Niagara Falls. Urgent care centres are supposed to be for people with health conditions who can't wait for a scheduled medical appointment but don't necessarily need emergency care, says Niagara Health's website. Those health conditions include nausea, vomiting, fevers, flu, minor cuts that may need stitches, sports injuries, ear, throat and eye problems and minor asthma flare-ups or allergic reactions. Niagara Health said the urgent care closures are despite "exhaustive efforts" to recruit physicians including financial incentives, direct outreach, targeted recruitment campaigns and flexible scheduling. "Further, Niagara Health is working tirelessly to recruit more physicians to the region and it's disingenuous to minimize the incredible challenge of physician recruitment in the face of a province-wide doctor shortage," said Bajer. In 2009, Niagara Health converted Fort Erie's Douglas Memorial Hospital's emergency department to an urgent care centre. In 2023, it reduced hours at both centres from operating overnight to closing in the evening. It's also planning to close them permanently in 2028 when a new hospital in Niagara Falls is supposed to open. 'Treated as afterthoughts," mayor says At a news conference Wednesday, Redekop and Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele said they don't believe Niagara Health had a plan to keep the urgent care centres running seven days a week despite thousands of tourists visiting throughout the summer. "I'm concerned we're being treated as afterthoughts and it's becoming normalized," Steele said. They mayors were also joined by local NDP MPP Wayne Gates. Steele and Redekop said they spoke with the Niagara Health CEO in May, where she gave them a heads up of staffing shortages that could impact urgent care. The mayors said they could help to recruit physicians and in a follow-up email requested to see the Niagara Health recruitment program, and the number of doctors needed, but never heard back. Then on Monday, they had a call with Chan, the chief of staff. He advised them of the reduced hours, which Niagara Health made public during their meeting, Redekop said. No heads up was given to the mayors or councillors. Redekop said at the meeting they also learned Niagara Health doesn't have a formal physician recruitment program or plan to develop a training program so family doctors can more easily become qualified to work in urgent care and emergency departments. Niagara Health said it does "aggressive and ongoing recruitment efforts" that aren't limited to "a single campaign" and provided this "clarification" to the mayors on Monday. Bajer said Niagara Health sent information about its training process to them on Wednesday. But Niagara Health also didn't post its physician schedules for the urgent care centres two months in advance as it normally does to give doctors who want more hours the opportunity to take them, Redekop said. The hospital system said its process was delayed "as we worked to stabilize physician coverage across the entire hospital system, particularly in emergency departments, which are provincially mandated to remain operational." Ministry says up to Niagara Health to decide Several Fort Erie councillors said they didn't believe Niagara Health tried to keep the urgent care centres open, even as it will force more people to go to already busy hospitals for health care. "The hospital system is effectively condemning its own emergency room," said Coun. Joan Christensen at Monday's council meeting, after having also joined the phone call with Niagara Health earlier in the day. "In my opinion, our battle should now be with the Government of Ontario. We can't negotiate with people who are consistently misrepresenting the truth." The Ministry of Health said in a statement it is up to Niagara Health's to decide how to deliver services. "While the Ministry of Health was not directly involved in this decision, we will continue to work closely with Niagara Health and other hospital partners ... to ensure they have the tools they need to deliver high-quality care close to home," said press secretary Ema Popovic.
