After local politicians from all three levels of government united against Tunney’s Pasture as the site for a new hospital, Canada’s Heritage Minister has given the site of the former Sir John Carling building her seal of approval.
Melanie Joly said in a statement that she will be requesting federal officials “make all the necessary preparations to make this land available as the future location of Ottawa's Civic Hospital.”’
The statement came almost immediately after Environment Minister and Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna, Mayor Jim Watson and a host of MPPs and city councillors united as a news conference to announce the Sir John Carling site as the consensus choice for the hospital.
That flies in the face of the NCC’s recommended site Tunney’s Pasture. The board made that recommendation last week at its meeting after a public consultation that saw input from thousands of people.
But hospital officials didn’t want the Tunney’s site, citing concerns about access, relocation costs and timelines.
“Overall the Sir John Carling site is a win for the patients and the residents of Ottawa,” Watson said.
That site is on Experimental Farm land, close to Dow’s Lake, just east of the current Civic campus along Carling Avenue.
Board chair James McCracken said the hospital board made the decision on Monday night to ask for help, and three days later a solution was found.
“I have to believe that’s totally unprecedented in the history of this city,” he said.
Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi called on all parties to reach a final agreement on the site before Christmas.
“It’s an ambitious timeline, but it can be done, and mostly, it should be done.”
McKenna, who last week praised the NCC’s recommendation of Tunney’s Pasture, said the commission ran a “great consultation process,” but “this is the right thing to do.”
“We’re about solutions here. We need to listen to people, we need to come together,” she said.
