A group of local taxpayers sent a letter Wednesday to Health and Long-term Care minister George Smitherman inviting him to come to Fort Frances and meet with the public regarding the future of the Fort Frances Clinic.
Chairman Allan T. Bedard said in a release that the group would like Smitherman to listen to their concerns prior to making any decision regarding the Fort Frances Community Clinic’s application to enter a Family Health Team.
“This group requests complete transparency on the issues and seeks the release of all documents, files, etc.,” Bedard noted. “This issue must be 100 percent open to the public and surrounding municipalities.
“Information must be provided to the public, prior to any decision being made on the clinic purchase or the entering into the Family Health Team concept,” he added.
Bedard said legal consultations are taking place, with a possibility of legal action in the next couple of weeks.
“To avoid this, and future division in the community, we ask council to open all books, all documents, etc., and hold public meetings on this subject, prior to proceeding any further,” Bedard said in the release.
“Every taxpayer has a right to this information and a right to have their point of view heard on this issue,” he argued. “Three or four individuals on council should not be allowed to force this down our throats.”
Bedard said he and some other concerned taxpayers would like “to work with town council in this regard,” and also see the issue placed on the ballot in this November’s municipal election.
“We do not require closed and limited statements of events from the back door shuffling of council on this issue,” wrote Bedard. “We require complete openness, honesty, and disclosure.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
