The provincial election is now four days away. Many have voted already and those who have not and intend to do so have likely made up their minds. But in tight ridings like that in Parry Sound- Muskoka, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
In the recent past I have made my own position quite clear when it comes to this election and many of those that disagree with me have done the same. All of that is fair ball.
My greatest concern is that the two new full-service acute-care hospitals for Muskoka now committed to by the Ford Government will be in jeopardy if we do not return a Conservative member to the provincial legislature for Parry Sound-Muskoka.
Yes, this presupposes that the Ford Government is re-elected on Thursday, but at this point in the campaign most signs point to it being the best bet, although still a bet. And yes, I have heard the accusations of fear-mongering when I suggest that the outcome of hospital care in Muskoka is potentially at risk in this election.
But this is not just me. I have said what I have to say on this subject. This week two people with a long history of community involvement in Huntsville and Muskoka, Bob Hutcheson and Doug Millikin, have reached out to me with their concerns. Bob has put his concerns in a letter to Doppler which I urge you to read. Doug Millikin has agreed to allow me to include his comments in this article, because they deal exclusively with my main concern, and that is the future of our hospitals and Fairvern Nursing Home.
Many people will remember Doug Millikin. He came to Huntsville to build the Kimberly-Clark facility here and remained many years as plant manager and subsequently retired here. This, at the young age of nearly 97, is what he has to say:
“The circular graph from Mainstreet Polling, published in Doppler last week, filled me with alarm.
“I lived in Huntsville for 50 years and during that time was vice-chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital and chair of the building committee for what was then a new hospital. I also served as chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation. As vice chair of the Hospital board, I was very involved in the purchase of the forty-acre site on which the Huntsville Hospital now sits.
“I am very aware that both our hospitals in Muskoka now need more renovations or rebuilding. I care vehemently about the future of our hospital in Huntsville, especially having spent 12 nights under its care last July. I am grateful that Doug Ford has committed to two new hospitals in Muskoka, one in Huntsville and the other in Bracebridge, and I believe it is very important that this becomes a reality.
“For the past three years, I have been living with my family in Guelph, although frequently returning to Huntsville. Mike Schreiner, the leader of the Ontario Green Party, is the MPP for the riding in which I currently reside. Talking to a cab driver recently, he commented that while Mike is an extremely fine individual, with high ideals, he really has minimum clout in getting approvals from the province for matters important to the riding.
“It is my experience, over many years, that a riding seldom gets anything allocated unless the MPP is also a member of the party in power.
“It was under a Davis/Miller government that we got the current hospital. It was under a Ford/Miller government that we got the new and expanded Fairvern Long-Term Care Home approved. And it was under a Ford/Miller government that we got the commitment for two new fully serviced acute care hospitals in Muskoka.
“It was under a Liberal government, with a Conservative member in Parry Sound-Muskoka, when we lost the Northlander train service, and it was under a Liberal government when we were switched from being designated in Northern Ontario to Southern Ontario, resulting in a significant reduction in eligible grants.
“We need to think seriously about that. When the rubber hits the road, a riding is best served by having an MPP who is also a member of the government party. This is the reality—this is politics—pure and simple. ‘Take care of one’s own.’ It is a serious business.
“Now make no mistake. The sole reason that I write this is that it is my strong opinion that we jeopardize the recent new hospital funding commitment if the successful candidate in Parry Sound-Muskoka is not a member of the governing party, which all polls currently project will be the Conservatives.
“I fully understand people’s anger and frustration, especially after the pandemic we have all been through. I simply ask that the very possible adverse consequences, especially in relation to our hospitals and Fairvern, in not electing the Conservative candidate in Parry Sound-Muskoka be considered.
“I urge everyone eligible to vote to think about this. The stakes could not be higher.”
To me, Doug Millikin has explained the issue in a nutshell. It is not personal. It is just the reality of hard-nosed politics. I agree with him entirely. The stakes could not be higher and clout matters.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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I read the op Ed regarding political “clout” yesterday and actually had to wait until today to respond. It has been a long time since someone’s words have made me so angry! Just how stupid do Hugh and fellow conservatives think we are? Yes, Bala folks know how much credence can be put in what Doug Ford has said. And on a totally ridiculous note, none of us have “a buck a beer” yet either, do we? We have been told, for a long time, by Mr Ford, whatever he thought would get him the most votes!
But more importantly, this election is not just about two hospitals for Muskoka, though the issue is important. It is about health care and long term care that meets the needs of ALL Ontarians. It is about providing the best education for ALL children – not just those whose parents can afford private school. It is about continuing to have one of the most beautiful provinces in all of Canada and not endless more kilometres of highways so that more people can get to work faster and we can speed up the climate crisis! Do I need to go on? This election is about saving Ontario from four more years under Doug Ford! You bet I am voting for Matt Richter!
Look at the mess we’re in! You can thank the “old boys” that have been referenced in many of the letters and articles. Sometimes you need to take the high road when you come to the Y. The low road is polluted, over-used, clear-cut and littered with the old boys and their companies. Maybe the high road that we could consider taking would be green.
I am sure as many have , been impressed with the responses do the recent Doppler article on the provincial election.They are sincere, and strongly voiced which is a mark of our community, our province and our nation.
I do not wish to add to the comments and positions of the writers but to understand and appreciate the beliefs and values upon which they have presented their positions.
With the many conflicts , challenges and divisions which we face globally and the pro and con arguments we face each day, I try to remember a quote which is important to me when I try to put things into perspective and which help me even in my personal daily life:
“ There are three sides to every story; your side, my side and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each other differently.
** Robert Evans
Mr Mackenzie, Maybe it’s time to stop going around the horn and elect people who will have the interests of all people not just where they hold a seat. You have offered up a very jaded political philosophy.
Ah, the cliff-jumping analogy got taken!
“a riding is best served by having an MPP who is also a member of the government party”. No doubt. But this: “a riding seldom gets anything allocated unless the MPP is also a member of the party in power”. Scary — oh, that’s the idea.
Time to change the story. The future is actually ahead of us, not behind. If a hospital or other infrastructure is essential then a provincial government (not party) should plan for one. We can only hope for a system that is issue, not buddy-debt, based.
By the way, I’ve worked polling stations and it’s true that every vote is counted. Don’t deny the gift you are granted in having one. To win the riding, a candidate needs one more vote than the runner-up.
I think the people of our riding are smart enough to recognize the almost last minute commitment of Doug Ford to the two hospitals in Muskoka for what it was – a ploy / bribe / threat to get us to vote for “no change” in Thursday’s election. I know with certainty that, when elected, Matt Richter who will be teamed up with the Green Party leader, Mike Schreiner, will not let Doug Ford forget those promises. Likewise Matt & Mike will be working steadfastly to improve life for the people of Parry Sound Muskoka and all of Ontario by putting people ahead of politics and working across party lines to enact change for the better in this province. I have witnessed Matt’s total commitment and his untiring work for months to reach out to residents in all the far-flung corners of this riding . He has listened, has done his homework, and now is prepared to act on our behalf at Queen’s Park. Let’s make this happen, voters!
Hear, Hear! Wanda Roberts.
DF Conservatives love to sell things, including publicly run health care and (look out) publicly funded education. The healthcare issue Matters. It is not just about the go-to rhetorical place of transfer payments from the federal government, but how it is spent in Ontario.
Increased privatization, for-profit LTC and Home Care, especially by the large corporations, have not produced the quality of care, decent working conditions to be exemplified. They have only benefited share holders and investors with public tax payer money.
Thank you, Wanda Roberts for keeping healthcare and nurses front and centre.
Mr. Markle, I want to address your statement ” shopping out our health care. ” This is a good point to highlight. For those who may not know, we have PRIVATE Medical Staffing Companies in Canada like Nomad and Incredible Health to name only two, that are usually American-owned and that supply needed staff, like nurses, to our hospitals. This type of business has been around in the USA for many years. I know because I worked as a “travel nurse” in the USA back in the late 60s and again in 2003 when I retired. A very lucrative gig. Well, MAHC and our local nursing homes now hire these agency or travel nurses because they are having difficulty finding new employees ( public service) with the usual recruitment.
Travel nurses make very good money and more power to them. However, they make more than a public service employee with whom they can be working shoulder to shoulder. The wage for a unionized registered nurse after 25 years is $49.02 per hour. A contracted travel nurse can make an average of $53.70 per hour. I have heard contracted rates from $60.00 to $100.00 per hour. Ontario is 34% higher than the national average when it comes to a travel nurse’s wage. So, when Doug Ford says he is going to “hire more nurses “this is how he can do it. Easy, quick and lucrative for private entities that generate profits. Here is the elephant in the room. Where is all this money going to come from? Well, it will come from us. Don’t be surprised when our Health Care Premium rates go up at tax time.
What would you do if you were a unionized nurse who was overworked, burnout, feeling undervalued, disrespected and under compensated especially when Ford’s Bill 124 came out in March 2022? I would quit being a public servant employee, retire if I could or become a travel nurse. Thus we see a slow erosion of our Public Health care system. Ford sees public services as cost centres, and he has been slowly transforming them into private entities that generate profits. ( e.g. Nursing homes)
Nurse retention should be the focus. A taxed $5,000.00 sign-up bonus, initiated by Mr. Ford to recruit nurses might bring a nurse into an organization but he/she will be gone after a year. Not the answer.
The Green Party will repeal Bill 124 thus restoring some dignity to the nursing profession so they have my vote.
No, Bob Thorpe, I am not suggesting that. I have simply been around the horn enough politically to know that priorities change for all Governments of all stripes, related to commitments made in Ridings thay no longer hold. They look after their own. Not pretty, but historically factual.
Mr. Markle, you’re right, I should have helped highlight as Mr. MacKenzie did what long experience Mr. Millikin had working for our hospital. Mr. MacKenzie already did a good job of listing that very relevant experience. My admittedly ham handed comment was attempting to relate what a man of great character Mr. Millikin is. A Green party victory this Thursday will prove to be at least as disappointing waste of four years as was Mr. Waters NDP victory in the early 90’s. Here’s hoping that enough people come to that conclusion in time.
Greg Reuvecamp: I know you never brought up Doug Milliken’s name, but I find your comment kind of …?
Doug was a nice man, was a manager at KC and can swim! His tenure at Huntsville KC was ending just as mine was beginning. I believe he now resides in SW Ontario.
Then there was Doug Riefstall, Bill Vallis and Brian Johnston.( I may have some of the names spelled wrong). I don’t know if they all could swim and wonder if that is even important.
I suppose they were all good managers and certainly wielded a lot of clout in the mill, but they were operating under the direction of a US owner. In any election, such as this one, they would still have had only one vote.
They were employees, same as the rest of us, though maybe a little further up the pay scale. They never wandered through the mill handing out paychecks.
Let’s just leave it that he was a nice man, and his opinion carries no more weight today than yours or mine. I’m sure he has enough funding to see him through, unlike a lot of the people his name is being used to try to sway and influence.
PC governments have garnered this seat for many years and Parry-Sound Muskoka has little to show for that loyalty. And as for any past and present mayors parroting the idea of Graydon for MPP, they are the reason for a lot of what is wrong in the district today.
This PC government is leaving the populace to sink or ‘swim’ on their own.
And if we keep shopping out our health care, burning out our nurses, and underfunding the systems, what use are two bright, shiny, understaffed hospitals?
I’ll vote Green. I feel that Matt Richter will work hard for us. There is no indication that the PCs will perform any better than they have for the last 10 years.
Mr MACKENZIE, are you suggesting that I should vote for a party who has a leader that will take his bat and ball and go home if I don’t vote for him.
Doug Ford and his entourage stood in Bala before the last election telling protesters that if he was elected he would stop the power generation plant and destruction of the beautiful falls. After he was elected the falls project went full speed ahead and Mr Ford never mentioned or was seen again. He tells people what they want to hear in order to get elected. It’s dirty politics. So do we blindly trust him to deliver two hospitals? I don’t think so. If you vote status quo you get status quo. It’s time for change in our riding.
hmmmmm…..I don’t remember you offering this opinion when Scott Aitchison was running federally……I am not sure if this is hypocrisy or just ingenuous crass politicking
Mr. Millikin is a wonderful man and human being, as I know him, which is outside of any workplace or political setting.
It may be wise to stick to issues as best we can.
I understand the notion of the “old guard” and the voice of an “elder”.
We also have some young/younger voices to heed in relation to issues of today and tomorrow. To discount any will make us poorer. For me, that includes voices who have a different worldview than I do.
Mr. Markle above asks “why does Doug Millikin’s voice carry clout?”. I had the privilege of getting to know Mr. Millikin some years ago when my son played rep hockey. I would be at the rink early in the morning while he practiced, and decided my best way to spend the time waiting would be to swim laps. Mr. Milliken in his mid 90’s was still swimming each morning, and was very impressive and inspiring to watch. Afterwards he would sit in the coffee shop and talk to people like myself. As Mr. MacKenzie explains, Mr. Millikin was instrumental in establishing the Kimberly Clark facility here in Huntsville. How many opportunities has that business provided Huntsville families over those 50 years? I know that my uncle was able to send all four of my cousins on to post secondary education because of his job at that mill. Mr. Millikin’s impact on our community has been huge, and that’s just one reason why his words of caution should be listened to here.
Well said, Sue Godfrey!
In some very recent advertising, Conservatives have introduced the “wedge issue” of rural vis-a-vis urban needs and understanding. By “wedge issue”, I mean a rhetorical key point meant to divide, to have people choose a side.
What that thinking fails to recognize is that our children, grandchildren are learning about climate change, climate science in rural and urban schools. So, is the answer to remove that from the curriculum so they will become less informed? Really? Try it! Florida seems to be a good example of expunging science, history, and books from their curriculum.
Good morning. I am in shock that you and Doug are indicating that Premier Ford. Is not a man of his word and he will withdraw the financial commitment he made in a great photo op at our hospital. I am concerned that a new. Hospital will take 10-15 years to build and in the mean time there is. No plan to support the caring staff. We need Doctors, nurses and many other patient caring people.
On another topic. What is the PC PARTY going to do about climate change and to protect what we have. In 15 years we will regret not addressing this real problem now
Is the PC in panic mode. 5 phone calls in the last 24 hours????
“Vote Conservative or the New Hospital will be Cancelled” is the warning from The Old Boys.
The outcome of this Vote Conservative is to preserve this way of government.
Power is slipping away from The Old Boys. I’d rather join the Green Revolution in support of the younger generations.
Mr. Makenzie; so much of what has been written has been about “strong” government and the dangers of not having a fulsome party in power.
I re-iterate the desire for a minority government (whatever the party in power) and the leverage of individual MPPs to form, debate, and improve legislation before enacting.
They have to work much harder to achieve this, but perhaps will be more representative in their decisions with citizens. Because of our voting system – first past the post- had resulted in what? a 37% popularity of DF Conservatives? Time to move over for the notion of minority government. Possibly, there is more accountability.
Mr. Mackenzie; if the 2 hospitals and their beds are in jeopardy:
1] We have been in this Exact Same Position before under the Mike Harris years in the ’90’s.
This is Not a new phenomenon or situation. The “down-sizing, right-sizing” brought about bed closures, job losses. Healthcare implosions happened throughout the Province. Numbers of RN’s per capita of Ontario citizens decreased over time. It started in the Mike Harris years – we know the agenda, we know the drill, and we know the rhetoric.
2] The jeopardy will exist because of the pettiness and petulance of a majority-minority Conservative party and their leader – not due to our voting for a viable candidate, party, and policy platform. If that indeed is the outcome and consequence, I suggest that the voting public will remember this behaviour/government action by the current Conservative party and its leader.
Same old, same old rhetoric. I do not believe there is a direct link between voting green and losing our hospitals. Matt Richter will fight for all things Muskoka including hospitals. Will Doug Ford punish Muskokans for electing a Green candidate by withdrawing funding for health care.? If so he certainly does not deserve to be our Premier.
We need long term thinking to solve the many social and environmental issues we are facing in Muskoka. The Green Platform provides this.
Let we the aging boomers look out for our grandchildren not ourselves.
Perhaps the Conservative strategy of only talking to conservatives is leaving you with little information about what people need or want.
Conservatives are becoming famous for really bad ideas. Privatization of LTC has cost many seniors in Ontario their lives, while ex premiers got rich.. The seniors that are left alive are suspicious of another conservative premier making health care decisions.
I do feel that Graydon’s approach of doing what he is told and refusing to go to all candidates meetings is honest. If elected he will just be sitting in the legislator and doing what is told. It does, however, makes him appear to have something to hide. Is it the lack of great ideas on big problems, like climate change, poverty, and housing. Perhaps it is the total lack of a platform, replaced with the Ford gravy train. You have to love the irony.
They are bringing in the big guns folks! All the well healed elders, to tout the glories of being a Conservative. But I contend that these are conservatives in name only and nothing like the Conservatives I respected. To include the name of Bill Davis among those being touted by these ‘town fathers’ is somewhat profane.
The old establishment hates change and though names such as Hutcheson, Millikin and even Hugh Mackenzie supposedly carry clout, why do they assume their views to be any more important than the ordinary citizen? Each of our names has one vote, the same as a cashier in a store earning minimum wage or a young person struggling to get by. I urge all these others to speak for change. To demand more than promises.
All the years of loyalty that Muskoka/Parry Sound lavished on the PC’s has garnered little in the way of gratitude. Some cash here and there, but mostly just as a share of what was being meted out to the
province in general.
We got the G10, thanks to Tony Clement, but I bet he was shuddering at the state of health and long term care during the last couple of years, having been Minister for just that, in a previous Ontario cabinet.
So now all these ‘names’ are telling us that the hospitals are a promise, to be delivered (possibly), only if we elect a conservative. Another promise/bribe to a voter pool that has garnered little for many years of loyalty.
I’ll vote Green, because I want more than promises. I hope there are a lot more people feel the same. We deserve better than we’ve been getting.
As Red Green often said; “I’m rootin’ fer ya.”
Doug Millikan has been a good friend to Huntsville and our healthcare for many years. I have been to him for help in the past and always received careful, considered, useful advice .
We would do well to heed his advice now
Didn’t your mother ever say to you “if everyone jumped off a cliff you would too?”. Hugh, with all due respect, you are living in the 19th century. That status quo thinking is over as that’s what got us into this mess. The promise of “new” hospitals are a “glittering prize” that DF pulled out of his hat to mesmerize us; so much bluff and bluster just like his term in office. People care about affordable living and climate change not big shiny highways and fake unsubstantiated promises. Question to Doug Ford; “what have you done for us lately?”