Town Hall meeting announced to save Brockville Mental Health Centre

BROCKVILLE -  In its bid to keep the Brockville Mental Health Centre open beyond its scheduled March 2011 closing, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will host a Town Hall meeting to give the public an opportunity to share its views on the issue.

The Town Hall meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Thursday Oct. 1, at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 96, 180 Park St., Brockville.

“We have said from the start we’re not going down without a fight in our effort to keep the Brockville Mental Health Centre from closing,” said OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “Closing the BMHC will have an enormous impact on clients, the community and on the professionals who work there. Every group deserves its right to speak out on this vital issue and to have their questions answered.”

OPSEU has invited the following individuals to speak at the Town Hall meeting:

• The Hon. David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long Term Care

• Bob Runciman, MPP, Leeds Grenville

• Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President, OPSEU

• Gord Brown, MP, Leeds Grenville

• David Henderson, Mayor of the City of Brockville

• George Weber, CEO, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group

• Marie Fortier, Chair, Champlain District, Local Health Integration Network

• Georgina Thompson, Chair, Southeast Ontario, Local Health Integration Network

• Anne Clark, Region 2 VP, Ontario Nurses Association

The Town Hall meeting is open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 1.