Hundreds of small-town Algomians stand up for hospitals

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN, MP

************************* 400 Algoma residents brave snow and icy roads to support their local hospitals last night

SAULT STE. MARIE - (January 30) - It was a standing-room-only crowd last night at the Johnson Township Community Centre.

Approximately 400 people from Echo Bay to Thessalon and St. Joseph Island attended the information session initiated by Tony Martin, MP, and the Algoma District mayors from the townships east of Sault Ste. Marie, including Mayor Edith Orr, Mayor Lynn Watson, Mayor Jody Wildman, Thessalon Mayor Donna Latulippe and Mathews Memorial Hospital Association Board Chair Connie Witty.

MPP Mike Brown was also in attendance.

The meeting was organized to give the residents of East Algoma information they could use to contact their MPPs and other health care officials to let them know their hospital services are not “up for grabs.”

Everyone recognized the enormous challenges facing the Sault Area Hospital and the health care system overall.

There was also agreement that the residents and their communities would work together with the health care officials to ensure that all services stay open and available.

“The meeting was very positive, there are serious concerns, but we will need to address them and the solutions together, they need to be all encompassing and that’s what we intend to do” said Edith Orr, Mayor of Johnson Township.

Tony Martin, the MP for the townships east of Sault Ste. Marie from Echo Bay to Bruce Mines, says he will continue to press Ottawa to increase their share of the transfer payment to Ontario for health care and to direct funding from the stimulus package to health care package.

“Health care should be a top priority in the stimulus package but we are being told by finance department officials there is nothing explicitly for health care in the stimulus package. It certainly is the Number 1 issue of concern for my constituents.”

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