CORNWALL, Ontario – On Thursday, July 23 the City of Cornwall deployed the city’s Emergency Command Vehicle to the Cornwall Care Centre.
Residents at the Care Centre are facing the challenge of having their heat and hot water shut off due to a dispute between the owners of the Care Centre and the utility, Cornwall District Heating (CDH).
The owners of the Centre have been working to install an independent boiler and heating system which they had hoped would be online by now, but that project met delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Care Centre then fell behind in payments to CDH, which was providing heat and hot water.
According to John Robinson, a paralegal representing the owners of the Care Centre, the owners made a payment to CDH of $43,000 on Tuesday, June 9 in order to meet the demands of the utility, however, the service was cut anyway the following day.
This lead to the City of Cornwall stepping in at the Care Centre to cover heating and hot water costs under the rules of the Vital Services by-law.
READ MORE: City steps in at Care Centre after dispute with utility
The City’s support for utility services the Care Centre however will come to an end on Monday, Aug. 17, and the City warned that heat and hot water could be cut again if the owners of the Care Centre do not reach an agreement with CDH.
“It is still possible for the landlord to reinstate heating and hot water services to the care home by contracting with Cornwall District Heating or another supplier,” reads a statement from the City of Cornwall made on Friday, July 17. “However, the City of Cornwall has been provided with no information about what steps, if any, the landlord has taken to resume vital services.”
The City of Cornwall will be posting the Emergency Command Vehicle to the Care Centre several times between now and Aug. 17. Representatives from the City will be offering support to residents at the command vehicle from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 23 and 30, August 6, 11, 13, 17, 18, and 20.
