A member of Middlesex County council is expanding on why the council is refusing the local health unit’s plan to move to Citi Plaza in downtown London.
With the county refusing to give its consent to the move, the health board says it will ask the Superior Court of Justice for a ruling to determine whether the consent of the health unit’s municipal partners is required for the proposed move.
Lucan-Biddulph Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson told 980 CFPL that a number of concerns led to this week’s decision, including a lack of consultation.
“It’s not the Middlesex Health Unit. It’s not the London Health Unit. It’s the Middlesex-London Health Unit,” she began.
“We don’t believe that they followed the proper process as outlined under the Health Protection and Promotion Act. We have concerns about how this move is going to impact service to our residents in the county.”
The cost of the move was also raised as a concern. Burghardt-Jesson says she’s still waiting for dollar figures on the cost of new desks, chairs, and so on.
“They say that the move will achieve 15 per cent efficiency which of course makes it look good but we have no idea what that’s based on.”
London’s city council previously approved the move to Citi Plaza. Currently, staff are split between offices on King Street and Queens Avenue.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit also plans to keep its Strathroy office.