Just under two weeks ago, CEOs from Ottawa area hospitals released survey results (conducted by Decima research) indicating that 83% of Ottawa residents "strongly support" or "support" local municipal government participation in providing funding for major capital projects at local hospitals.

"Wait a minute," you hopefully ask. "Aren't hospitals a provincial responsibility Why are taxpayers being asked if they wish to support hospital construction, presumably through property taxes " Indeed, these are fundamental questions.

The answers lie in looking at what happened a few years back when the provincial government embarked on its far-reaching health care reform agenda. It created the Health Services Restructuring Commission (HSRC) to close/merge hospitals and regionalize health care delivery.

To be fair, the HSRC was set up as an arms-length body from government to remove, or at least minimize, political interference in heated and more often than not, contentious merger/closure debates. So it set about its business of closing and merging hospitals.

But the HSRC vastly underestimated amalgamation and capital costs for facilities across the province, including Ottawa. In some instances the construction costs for new operating rooms were incorrectly and under-estimated using regular office square footage estimates. In other cases, population growth and aging indexing factors were far too low.

In total, the HSRC identified some $2.8 billion in province-wide hospital infrastructure needs. Conservative estimates by various hospitals put this number closer to $4 billion while some note that $5 billion or more may be necessary over the next decade. The province has agreed to pick up 70% of restructuring related costs, leaving local hospitals to find the other 30%.

While communities have historically played a role in hospital fundraising efforts, 30% of a multi-billon dollar bill is unprecedented. Sadly, instead of showing political leadership on this file and owning up to HSRC's mistakes, the province has chosen to download the problem onto municipalities. And the official opposition Liberals haven't even batted an eyelash in protest.

In Ottawa alone, local hospitals need to raise $232 million of a total $600 million capital bill. While the foundations will attempt to raise about $112 million privately, they are asking the City of Ottawa to pony-up the other $120 million through a proposed 10-year, $40/household property tax levy.

Several communities across Ontario will probably face similar demands in the near future. But local councils have no mandate to decide this issue. And we all must be aware that in entertaining the demands of the hospitals, we open Pandora's box for future demands to fund other social services from the property tax base.

But barring a miracle and a reversal of policy from the new Minister of Health, Tony Clement, local ratepayers will be left holding the bag. But instead of seeing the glass as half-empty, it can be viewed as half-full. Ottawa (and other cities in the near future, for sure) can utilize the provisions in Ontario's Direct Democracy Through Municipal Referendums Act, 2000 which received Royal Assent last June and hold referenda on the issue of using property taxes to fund hospitals.

A referendum would compel local hospitals to bring all their capital plans forward for public scrutiny and debate. As well, the philosophical question of using property tax dollars in this manner would receive a full and thorough airing. The province has dropped the ball on this issue. So it's up to local taxpayers to petition their councils to allow taxpayers to decide this issue. After all, in the final analysis, it is our money.