Withheld $3M hospital pledge divides Ward 5 candidates at forum

Fort Erie’s decision to withhold $3 million pledged toward Niagara Health’s new hospital divided Ward 5 council candidates at a Ridgeway-Crystal Beach forum Thursday, four days before Monday’s election.

Ridgeway resident John Florio organized the forum at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre, where Councillor Tom Lewis, who first won the Ward 5 seat in 2003, faced candidates Scott Boumeester and Thomas Mete. Kassandra Ryerson, also running in Ward 5, was not in attendance.

Council has held back the money, first promised in 2013, since June 2025 to press Niagara Health to keep urgent care in Fort Erie. Lewis led that push and defended it Thursday, but Boumeester said the approach has not worked.

Pressure versus partnership

“I am the councillor that withheld the $3-million commitment to Niagara Health and got the support of council to continue on that path, holding them accountable to their commitments,” said Lewis.

Boumeester, president of Advancing Crystal Beach, warned that if the town keeps “destroying those relationships” with Niagara Health and the province, “nothing will occur.”

“If you continue doing the same things and alienating relationships, you’re going to get the same result,” said Boumeester. “Those are the people that pull the strings. Those are the people that make those decisions, and you have to be at the table to make relationships grow.”

Lewis withdrew a motion September 28 that called for the resignation of Niagara Health president Lynn Guerriero and her board, the same day council moved ahead with its plan to keep health services at Douglas Memorial Hospital.

A resident in the audience asked Boumeester what he meant by destroying relationships.

“If you wanted to negotiate with an organization, would you write a letter or propose to write a letter for the dismissal of the person that you’re going to have to negotiate with?” responded Boumeester.

The resident replied that Fort Erie has been “on its knees for a very long time” for services it never received, and that “it takes a strong, firm voice.”

Lewis said council has pressed Fort Erie’s urgent care case with every provincial minister it meets at Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Rural Ontario Municipal Association conferences.

Mete, 21, said Fort Erie needs both its local urgent care centre and the new hospital in Niagara Falls, so the choice is “not either-or.”

“This health-care issue, more broadly, comes down to the Town of Fort Erie being pushed around by the Region and by the Province of Ontario,” said Mete.

Experience against a new generation

Lewis said he was proud of backing $215,000 to redevelop downtown Crystal Beach through storefront upgrades and new apartments above shops. He also pointed to the $6-million Station 4 fire hall across the street, which replaced older halls in Ridgeway and Crystal Beach when it opened in 2022, and a new pumper truck for volunteer firefighters.

Lewis then pushed back against one of his opponents, whom he did not name.

“I hear from some of the people running against me, one in particular, that not a lot has changed in our community,” said Lewis. “Well, that individual was not here in the ’90s.”

Mete, who graduated from Harvard University with an economics degree in May, promised to be “a listener for Ward 5” and to speak for younger residents. He chaired the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee, which pushed to make Bay Beach free for children under 12.

“One thing I’m interested in is giving a voice for the next generation, because the challenges that we have to face as a town don’t just matter today, but they matter for decades to come,” said Mete.

Taxes and spending

Boumeester vowed to cut town spending on consultants if elected.

“The town spent almost $300,000 with a consultant, where the consultant came back and told us that the building at Douglas Memorial wasn’t suitable,” said Boumeester. “That’s your tax money.”

The town hired Santis Health this year to build the business case for a health hub at the Douglas Memorial site.

Lewis defended the spending as necessary to plan for the site.

“I guess someone here doesn’t like to make informed decisions,” said Lewis. “I agree with not spending money on needless reports and studies, but we do need to have accurate information in order to make informed decisions.”

Boumeester, who pointed to his 35 years of business leadership, said he would ease taxes by growing revenue from industry and new housing.

He promised to be a “proactive, not reactive” councillor who would hold a Ward 5 town hall within 30 days of taking office.

“Why are these things taking four years to deal with?” asked Boumeester. “We need to move at the speed of our customer, the people in this room.”

Lewis has asked town staff to study free Bay Beach passes for Fort Erie residents, who now pay $10 each. A resident asked whether giving the passes away would raise taxes.

Lewis said a 25-cent price increase for the roughly 80,000 out-of-town visitors would bring in more than the $5,000 a year the town collects from resident passes.

Mete, who called town staff “an integral part of our community,” urged the town to share costs with community groups such as Fort Erie Minor Soccer and Baseball, which offered to help pay for a year-round domed turf field behind the Crystal Ridge Community Centre.

In-person polls and online voting both close at 8 p.m. on Monday, October 26.

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