By Emily Stonehouse

I’ll give our County councillors credit for staying calm, cool, and collected when representatives from Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) came with an ask for financial support last week.

With plans of building two new and improved medical sites in the neighbouring communities, representatives from the organization approached our local councillors, noting that constituents within our borders are regulars at the Muskoka sites.

Crossing boundaries for healthcare is nothing new. All of us, at some point or another, have had to leave town for appointments in Peterborough, Lindsay, or Toronto. Yes, some go to Muskoka. And I am sure others from out of town occasionally come here.

But the part of the presentation that put my back up, was when the board chair of MAHC, Dave Uffelmann, said: “People from elsewhere in Muskoka and Almaguin have asked why Algonquin Highlands isn’t on the list of contributors. Similarly, a number of your residents who support MAHC through personal donations have shown surprise that their local government hasn’t yet stepped up.”

Oof. I watched the tide of tensions change when he said that to the room of County councillors; the overall temperatures taking a sudden nosedive.

Telling our poverty-stricken community that we’re not giving enough money away is like telling someone who’s drowning that they’re not swimming fast enough. A punch to the gut, sudden and winding.

The provincial government has promised the project ‘the better part’ of one billion dollars, noted Uffelmann. But in order to access that funding, the community is on the hook for raising one quarter of the need. And while that amount was not once disclosed during the financial ask to council, it roughly equates to $250,000,000.

That’s not pocket change.

Councillor Liz Danielsen of Algonquin Highlands noted that Haliburton County has their own fair share of medical challenges, including the closure of the Minden ER in June of 2023. Jennifer Dailloux, the deputy mayor for Algonquin Highlands, shared that she uses the Muskoka sites, but other individuals from beyond our borders also use our sites, and there’s “hope that it all evens out.”

When we want to point fingers to who “hasn’t stepped up”, the first on the list should absolutely be the provincial government.

It was once explained to me (in very simplified terms) that the province is responsible for the buildings, while fundraisers, donors, and local taxes are on the hook for whatever happens inside. This includes physician recruitment, staffing, doctor wages, equipment, mental health support, and any additional programming. While the province provides a roof and a door, the heartbeat of a hospital is brought to you by your community.

And we’re just barely treading water.

MAHC’s approach to pointing fingers and wondering why we’re not involved in their hospital support was the wrong angle. Healthcare across the province is in a state of crisis, and if we break ties and sever bonds across boundaries, we lose momentum in our strength to make things better.

So next time fingers are waved, maybe it’s time to look up the ladder to see who’s making the calls, instead of drowning those just treading water.