March 26th, 2021
FACT CHECK: PCs and Liberals have promised Brampton a new hospital before
QUEEN’S PARK – Doug Ford is in Brampton Friday, but all he has brought with him is the same empty promises to expand Peel Memorial post-election that Bramptonians have heard again and again from both the PCs and the Liberals.
“Now we know why there was no money in the budget to urgently expand Peel Memorial – because for Doug Ford, this is just another election promise and not an immediate priority,” said NDP MPP for Brampton East, Gurratan Singh.
“After two decades of delays, scaled back hospital projects and continuous neglect, Bramptonians needed both an urgent expansion of Peel Memorial Urgent Care Centre, and a new, standalone hospital commitment in the budget – not this week’s rewarmed promise to start working on a long-planned second wing development at Peel Memorial in 2023, conveniently after the next election.”
Timeline of PC and Liberal neglect to Bramptonians:
December 2001: PCs announce a P3 hospital with 700 beds for Brampton to be built by 2005.[1]
July 2004: Liberals announce the Brampton hospital to open by 2007 with 608 beds.[2]
March 2007: Liberals scale back hospital to just 479 beds.[3]
October 2012: Liberals announce plans to redevelop Peel Memorial, promising “urgent care”.[4]
June 2014: Liberals say construction on track at Peel Memorial, with completion by fall 2016.[5]
November 2016: Liberals say nearly done, with completion by April 2017.[6]
November 2017: Liberals promise Phase 2, a new wing at Peel Memorial and say funds are in place.[7]
March 2018: William Osler says a new Peel Memorial wing is under planning with 100 new beds and four years away, and a new, third hospitalfor the city is already needed.[8]
August 2018: Peel Memorial’s Urgent Care Centre, just one year after opening, already well over capacity. Brampton City Council goes to Ottawa looking for help.[9]
April 2019: Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says “We need a new hospital, and we need to expand Peel Memorial.”[10]
January 2020: Ford publicly commits to a “new” hospital in Brampton saying, “Yes, we will support a hospital in Brampton.[11]
[1] Ottawa Citizen, December 1 2001. A1. “Ontario asks private sector to build and operate new Brampton hospital”
[2] https://news.ontario.ca/archive/en/2004/07/30/new-brampton-hospital-project-moves-forward.html
