Mega-hospital, GM closures discussed at meeting with Windsor mayor and Ontario premier

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and Ontario Premier Doug Ford talked about the mega-hospital, diversifying Windsor's economy and the old Windsor jail site at Monday's meeting in Toronto.

"I think the meeting went really well," said Dilkens. "It was probably one of the best meetings I've had with another politician since being elected."

The mega-hospital took up a big part of the discussion.

"The conversation we had was that it's in the planning process and there are some issues in the downtown core that need to be sorted out," said Dilkens. "[The premier's] commitment was that it would continue to move through the planning process."

Dilkens said no specific timeline for funding was discussed, but that they're "early in the planning process."

"It's going to take a couple years to work through a budget cycle."

The mega-hospital was originally planned as an eight-year project. Dilkens said that is still the case.

The two also discussed the "need to diversify" in the City of Windsor, stemming from the General Motors plant closure in Oshawa.

"I never want to have my city in that position," said Dilkens. "We will do everything we can to buffer any future closure that may or may not happen."

Dilkens said he was pleased the premier had economic development as a priority.

"I appreciated the level of candour and frankness of the conversation," said Dilkens. "I think this is going to be a very good relationship moving forward."

Dilkens and Ford did not discuss supervised injection sites or overdose prevention sites and Dilkens was unsure if an application for a site in Windsor had been submitted to the province.

Mayors from London, Guelph, Ottawa, Mississauga, Kawartha Lakes and Oro-Medonte also had meetings with the premier.