After last week's revelation the Ford government would not fund plans to move the University of Windsor's law school downtown; some feared cost-cutting measures would put the new acute care hospital in Windsor-Essex at risk.
The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities announced Friday the government was taking a close look at all projects proposed by the former Wynne government, and Rino Bortolin, the city councillor for Ward 3 raised the question last week noting the city and county are still waiting to find out what kind of funding it can expect for the hospital project.
However, Windsor Regional Hospital CEO, David Musyj is not especially worried about the fate of the regional hospital.
"We've heard nothing to indicate whatsoever that the project is not moving forward," he reassured. "If anything, everything seems to be it is moving forward."
Musyj has a meeting this week with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Capital Branch. It will be his first meeting with provincial officials since last spring's election.
The meeting was delayed so the new assistant deputy minister could get up to speed on, not only the hospital project in Windsor-Essex but other projects across the province.
Musyj expects the meeting will restart "the discussions that left off immediately before the election, which really focused on the location of the urgent care centre and whether it would be on an interim basis at the Ouellette Campus or whether it would move immediately to the former Grace Hospital campus."
Musyj admitted he does not want to think about what will happen to the project should the Ford government reassess the province's commitment.
"There's been a lot that's been invested up to this point," he said. "When you go back to 2008-09 we already looked at the cost of renovating either site and the end result. Number one it would be very costly. Number two it would not produce a good result."
