多伦多信息港记者季翔报道/长久以来，905地区的居民们想要的只有一件事情，那就是尊重。而当多伦多市中心的人们为了逃避繁重的财产税和大量的服务削减时，居民们当然乐意敞开怀抱接收他们。
但是现在，这些环绕在旧多伦多周围的城市们开始觉醒了。随着人口的增加，他们想要的生活的本质却越来越远了。根据一项新的报告，大多伦多905地区严重缺乏托儿所，医院等必须的社会服务。而他们面临的危机也正是人口增加。
蓬勃社区联盟（Strong Communities Coalition）的研究显示，905地区居民每人得到的省资金比安省人均值少221元，单社会服务资金就少218元，总体资金差距达17亿元，而且这种差距还在加大。从1996年到2004年，905地区人口增加近10万人。从2003年到2007年，资金差距也增长14.6个百分点。
这还是原始数据，现实情况要更糟，尤其是人口飞速增长的旺市（Vaughan）。这座“在多伦多之上的城市”竟然没有自己的医院。自由党政府在去年四月份终于批准建设医院的资金，但要过四，五年才能建成。
“这太可怕了，”905地区居民Blaine Padgett讲。“离你最近的医院竟然在列治文，约克地区。旺市超过20万的人们竟然没有医院，驱车那么远做急救还能起什么作用？”
有小孩和老人的家庭也非常焦急，因为护理服务太少了根本就满足不了需求。“在过去5到10年里，这里的人口增长很大。许多家庭搬进来；许多婴儿出生；许多人变老，而对他们的服务却少之又少”，Franca Grignano说。
联盟的Tariq Asmi却对此一点不感到惊奇。“为了改善当地的服务，建立蓬勃的社区，905地区每年急需大量的资金支持”，他解释说。“而这些钱将用来建设医院，卫生保健室等所有的社会服务。”
那些住在这一地区的居民们知道他们为什么会被忽视。“每个人都认为旧多伦多是一个大都市”，Padgett猜想。“所以资金都投入到那里了。”
联盟希望他们的报告能引起竞选党派领导者的重视，但这一问题太大了而时间又非常紧促，大选在10月10日就举行了。
Health care lags in the 905
As funding lags behind the explosive growth of the suburbs, residents wait longer for health and social services
Sep 18, 2007 04:30 AM
Tanya Talaga
Health Reporter
Social and health care services in the 905 are eroding because funding hasn’t kept pace with a booming population.
Those are the findings of a PricewaterhouseCoopers report that examined funding in the regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York.
These shortfalls mean the 3 million people living in the 905 wait longer to get health care and social supports close to home, says the report commissioned by the Strong Communities Coalition.
The area around Toronto is experiencing a massive population influx, growing by 100,000 people between 1996 and 2004, says the coalition, an alliance of the United Ways in Oakville, Peel, York and Durham, and the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance.
There’s no sign this growth will let up as people move to the 905 to escape real estate costs in Toronto.
“Local access to health care and social services is a priority for GTA/905 rsesidents,” said Tariq Asmi, executive director of the alliance. “We found that GTA/905 residents want care close to home and it’s the basis on which they would vote.”
The report, which is to be released today, notes that each 905 resident receives $221 less in provincial funding than the average Ontarian for local hospital care, which translates into a $944 million annual funding gap.
It also states that each 905 resident receives $218 less for social services than the average Ontarian, which translates into a funding gap of $708.2 million.
The report recommends funding be based on population size, growth and community characteristics.
Cathy and Cameron Craig, whose daughter Lindsay, 24, is developmentally delayed, live in fear funding will dry up for the recreational program they send her to daily.
“There aren’t a lot of services out there for her,” said Cameron. “When she graduated high school, we had to look far and wide. The program she’s in right now is full.”
Lindsay attends a recreational program for 30 developmentally delayed adults at Brampton’s Loafer’s Lake Recreation Centre. She swims, cooks, makes crafts and socializes with friends.
“We wanted a program she could continue to develop in. We didn’t want a babysitting service. She wants to have a useful life,” her father said.
“The biggest problem is there is no road map out there that tells you what to do when you deal with different levels with these kids.”
Funding inequities translate into longer wait times for health and social services so residents often have to leave their communities to get services, the coalition says.
Health Minister George Smitherman agreed it’s undeniable the population in the 905 is growing and so are its needs.
Earlier this month, the province announced it is developing a model to better allocate health-care funding to Ontario’s 14 health networks. The model uses population-based factors, such as age, socioeconomic status and geography to determine how money should be allocated.
The Liberals will also invest another $100 million in growth funding for hospitals in the fastest growing communities, Smitherman said.
“To increase capacity in the GTA/905 hospitals, we are currently undertaking the most ambitious hospital construction projects in years,” he said. “At this time, over 65 per cent of all GTA/905 hospitals are either under construction, or in the planning stages to bring state-of-the-art health care services to the region, worth a total of over $3 billion.”
John Tory’s team knows the strains in the 905, said Elizabeth Witmer, a Progressive Conservative candidate in Kitchener-Waterloo and a former health minister.
“Everyone figures there are a lot of problems in downtown Toronto but there are a lot of problems in the growing GTA and there are some huge social pressures. We have to recognize that and respond by providing the necessary funding. It’s our plan to do so. We’ll work with these people and determine how best to respond to their needs.”
The Conservatives have promised the 905 up to $200 million annually for health care by 2012.
The New Democratic Party is also aware of the 905’s needs. It believes fair hospital funding should be available to all Ontarians, from inner cities to the far north to suburban regions.
Funding gaps are evident in many areas, said Shelley White, CEO of Peel’s United Way. Peel is home to many fast-growing cities, such as Brampton and Mississauga. “This is about access,” she said.
In Peel Region, the developmentally challenged lack access to day programs, said White.
“Once they have completed the formal education system there is nowhere for them to go. Many have parents that are working or elderly parents who have a very difficult time caring for them all day. Nor do they have access to the residential or respite services they need.”
In children services, White said, more than 4,500 children are on waiting list for access to childcare. In 2001, there was a funding gap of $77 million below the provincial average and in 2006 that has grown to $148 million.
“There is a family, new immigrants to the community, both professionals. They cannot get access to health care, they can’t get their credentials recognized, so they’ve made the decision that one will work and the other will stay home with their preschooler,” she said.
“Despite the fact they have tremendous skills they are actually living in a low-income situation and having troubles making ends meet.”
And there isn’t enough funding for Peel’s children’s aid to adequately respond to child welfare issues, she added.
“They don’t have enough funding to hire the staff and manage the cases in a timely manner,” she said.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report focused on gaps in operating funding (human capital such as nurses and social workers, not buildings) for health and social services for Ontario communities.
The problem with hospital and social services is that funding has been provided primarily on historical allocations, said Asmi.
“This is about maximizing local and timely access to care. That is what Ontarians want,” he said.
“That’s how you build those strong vibrant communities were everyone can prosper.”
The categories
The study calculated per-capita provincial funding in the following areas:
Hospital Services
Includes emergency departments, cancer care, acute care, cardiac care and other services.
Child Care
Includes subsidized child care, preschool programs for special needs children, early childhood education, parenting support programs.
Adult programs
Includes domestic violence programs, rehab services for disabled and mentally ill, outreach for homeless and interpreter services.
Developmental Services
Day programs, respite care, in-home support, residential programs.
Children’s Services
Mental health services, child welfare, protection services.
http://www.thestar.com/article/257702
