Sep 11, 2008 - 09:31 AM

By Reka Szekely

DURHAM -- Durham's finance committee supported playing hardball with the Ajax-Pickering hospital by recommending the Region withhold $2.3 million earmarked for emergency room expansion.

Durham initially committed $3.5 million to the expansion and has already paid out $1.2 towards the project currently under construction. At the Sept. 17 council meeting, Ajax Mayor Steve Parish and Councillor Scott Crawford will ask Regional council to withhold the balance of the money until the Region is satisfied with the services to be provided at the hospital, including mental health beds.

"We have to send a message, and the message can only be sent if we say we're so unhappy with the situation that the $2.3 million we haven't transferred yet, we're not going to pay until you sit down with us and we get a written understanding of what we're going to get," said Mayor Parish.

The support from the committee is a recommendation only and it will be up to Regional Council to pass the motion to withhold the money. But the mayor said he thinks it has a good chance of passing.

The committee did briefly discuss what would happen if the money was pulled.

"If we pull the funding, are the tradespeople going to walk off the site and delay the project," asked Oshawa Coun. John Henry, who added he supports the message Mayor Parish's motion intends to send.

If the money is withheld, construction wouldn't stop, but the equipment to furnish the expansion would be lacking, said Dr. Romas Stas, associate chief of staff for RVHS, in a phone interview following the meeting,

"The money is for the Ajax-Pickering site, when we're withholding the money, we're not really affecting Rouge Valley as a whole, we're affecting Ajax-Pickering."

As a long-time member of the community, Dr. Stas said he understands why the request was made and said he thinks mental health is a very important aspect of medicine. However, he also said at this point it's impossible to undo the change.

Before making the decision, the committee heard from three members of the public frustrated by the Rouge Valley Health System's decision to move 20 in-patient mental health beds from the Ajax hospital to Scarborough's Centenary hospital. RVHS has said it's increasing crisis and outpatient mental health services at the Ajax site.

Pickering resident Morgan Dever said the issue goes beyond the loss of the mental health beds to the lack of community input before the RVHS board makes decisions.

"The board occupies a corporate bastion that has no drawbridge, in our communities anyway," he said.

Scugog Mayor and finance committee chairwoman Marilyn Pearce said she shared Mr. Dever's frustration with hospital governance.

"I am a strong believer that hospital boards have to get back to representing the community they're chosen to represent and that's just not happening," she said.

Pickering Coun. Bill McLean also said he fully supported withholding the money and sending a clear message.

"It wasn't three delegates I heard, it was 300,000. One hundred thousand in Pickering, 100,000 in Ajax, 100,000 in Whitby."

"I think withholding it on the other hand is not going to change what's happened to mental health, it's just going to hurt us in furnishing the new expansion."

Although she said that concern has tormented her, Whitby resident Lynne Childerhouse feels there's no other option.

"Other than that, what does Durham Region have in its pocket, so to speak, to obtain a guarantee that we're not going to continue to lose our services?"