METHADONE CLINIC LEGAL BATTLE A WASTE

Oshawa Didn't Do Right By Its Taxpayers On The Downtown Methadone
Clinic.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of having a methadone
clinic located near the centre of the city, the real travesty is that
residents' money has been wasted.

According to the City, approximately $400,000 in studies, staff costs
and legal fees has been spent looking into the move by First Step
Clinic, and we are no closer to finding an amicable solution. In
establishing an interim-control bylaw to disallow the methadone clinic
downtown, the OMB ruled against the City. Predictably, Oshawa appealed
the decision only to lose again.

Before the appeal, Fred Lorusso, the owner of the methadone clinic,
sent a letter to the City suggesting there could be room for
negotiation. He would find a new location and the City would have to
supply some of the costs for the move. Instead of replying, Oshawa
filed an appeal of the OMB decision in the courts.

Some Oshawa politicians believe taxpayers would be writing a blank
cheque to the clinic's owner, who said in his letter that he would
seek to be reimbursed the $100,000 he spent to renovate the building.
Who knows how much more money he would have asked for to make the
move, but isn't that information Oshawa should have found out before
it appealed to the OMB? Now Mr. Lorusso's lawyers are seeking
compensation for their legal costs -- another $200,000.

There's nothing wrong with the City wanting to paint the downtown in a
more tourist-pleasing image, and surely being more proactive in
establishing restrictive bylaws would go a long way. Unfortunately,
Oshawa realized this after the clinic had already moved into its
downtown digs.

Sometimes, communities face issues in which money isn't the main
concern. But even then, politicians should be obliged to seek
solutions that are cost-effective. Oshawa should consider the
interests of all its residents in the decisions it makes.