Bramham: Hospital resident left behind as contract battle unfolds

garretschoenbergOctober 25, 2022

Opinion: Vancouver’s developers used disabled people as pawns and callously forced both the city and the health community to give them what they wanted.

Onni is developing a new structure on the grounds of George Pearson Hospital in Vancouver. This includes a news home for residents of an old hospital (right background). Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

From a cynical point of view, what Onni Group has done only makes good business sense.

The Decoteeth family development company has held 44 severely disabled people at the George Pearson Center hostage for most of this year and has struck the best possible deal with the City of Vancouver on energy service contracts.

Once that agreement was reached, Onni wouldn’t let them move into Onni’s new home in Cambie Gardens until Vancouver Coastal dropped its multi-million dollar damage claim in mid-September.

Both the city and VCH declined to provide details, but Onni referred comments to government agencies.

The initial move-in date of February 29th was moved to March 31st and then to June. But even after the city issued a permit to occupy the suite in June, Onni refused to hand over the keys to Vancouver Coastal after negotiations with the city stalled.

At issue was the rate charged in a long-term contract with Cambie Gardens’ energy provider, a wholly owned subsidiary of Onni called the Cambie Gardens Energy Limited Partnership.

As the delays piled up, several residents of the George Pearson Center who were due to move died. By June, other people suffering from debilitating diseases like ALS, traumatic brain injuries, and accidental paralysis had lost hope.

Even today, many question whether they will live long enough to move from the dark and depressing former tuberculosis hospital built 70 years ago to a new skyscraper on the same sprawling lot at Cambie Street and 57th Street. I’m thinking

Due to the complexity of installing and moving highly specialized equipment to meet needs, the move, which finally started on October 5th, is not expected to be completed until early 2023.

Moving 44 residents into a high-rise that includes 138 units of municipal housing and 307 market-priced condos is just the first step in the deinstitutionalization of all 117 George Pearson residents.

Some are single rooms, but most suites have eight occupants. Each suite is staffed 24/7 with aides responsible for cooking, cleaning, and caring for residents. Many residents are on special diets, use ventilators, use wheelchairs, and are bedridden or immobile.

This requires a significant staffing change — a task VCH commissioned Connect Partners for $675,000 a month. These payments were based on her Onni’s promise for a move-in date of June he started in April.

In April, the VCH also notified staff at the unionized George Pearson that they would be moving elsewhere starting in September, when resident numbers are expected to decline. Due to the delay, VCH had to hire temporary workers to fill the gap for George Pearson.

By mid-August, health officials demanded Onni unlock the door as city negotiations stalled and bills piled up.

Five days later, Vancouver Coastal filed a 12-page lawsuit, arguing that Onni’s denial of access to the completed suite was an “unfair exercise of developer discretion and completely inconsistent with VCH’s legitimate contractual expectations.” ‘ said.

On September 14th — the day before the VCH filed to stay the case — Onni responded to my request for comment.

“This matter has been resolved between the respective parties and is nearing termination,” Duncan Wlodarczak, Onni’s chief of staff, said in an email. “If you want further comment on the details, you should contact VCH.”

According to the bill, nearly $5 million was spent on Connect Partners’ unused services alone. This figure does not include GPC’s temporary replacement staff costs, administrative, administrative, and legal costs, or “details and other details that VCH’s attorneys may advise.”

Health officials have repeatedly refused to provide an explanation for these costs.

“It was critical to the care and well-being of these 44 residents, all of whom have severe and complex disabilities, that this impasse was quickly resolved so they could move to their new homes,” said communications staff. wrote in the first article. some emails.

“Given the impossible situation that has been brought to our residents, the VCH is primarily concerned with providing access to Camby Gardens so that residents can move to their new homes, which is the most important thing for VCH. We used the coat as a mechanism to facilitate

Last week, an email response to further questions about costs and when the transfer would be completed simply stated:

The city of Vancouver also declined to provide details of negotiations and contracts with Onni’s energy subsidiary.

And while this may seem like the end of a story with deep and enduring political roots, it may only be a middle ground, as there’s still a lot of construction left on the site. Owned public housing units and condominium units complete the 2,700 homes approved for site and commercial space.

It started more than a decade ago with the BC liberal government’s multi-billion dollar sale of public land. Her Onni, who donated her nearly $600,000 to the Liberal Party between 2005 and his 2015, purchased her Cambie site, a “diamond” of the lot.

It then began negotiations with the city, VCH staff, and a government-appointed board of directors about the planned development.

At the time, Ulodarczak worked for Vision Vancouver, which controlled the city.

He joined Onni in 2017 and was elected to the Liberal Party of Canada Board of Directors earlier this year.

Since Vision’s loss in 2018, the Decotis family has topped Kennedy Stewart’s donor list with a total of $24,500.

No one has donated to ABC Vancouver until 2022. Onni principals Morris and Rossano de Cotiis hedged their bets, contributing up to $1,250 each to both Stewart and the mayor-elect.

The ruthless use of highly vulnerable people as pawns should serve as a warning to incoming Mayor, Prime Minister-elect David Evey, and BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon.

Developers may be generous donors, but they’re on nobody’s side. Not particularly on the side of taxpayers.

dbramham@postmedia.com

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