Have your questions on new med school in Brampton answered at TMU forum
Published April 21, 2023 at 2:14 pm
Residents can have their say and ask questions about the new medical school coming to Brampton and its impact on the community at a virtual event next month.
The province announced in January that Toronto Metropolitan University would be bringing a new med school to Brampton, with Brampton City Council gifting the $48-million Bramalea Civic Centre and most of the surrounding land to TMU for the new school.
TMU says its new School of Medicine could open as soon as 2025 and is set to receive 80 undergraduate seats and some 95 postgraduate positions.
But the Chinguacousy Library – the largest and busiest library branch in Brampton – is being evicted from the centre to make way for the school, and the decision to temporarily move the library to the much smaller Mount Chinguacousy ski chalet has caused a backlash from residents.
TMU will be holding a virtual fireside chat on May 8 with President and Vice-Chancellor Mohamed Lachemi, and the school is inviting Brampton residents to take part and send in questions.
“Join us to learn more about the School of Medicine and how it will transform the future of healthcare in our province, receive updates on the development process to date and get a better understanding of how the new school will benefit Brampton and the surrounding communities,” reads a release from TMU.
Videos
Council reaffirmed its commitment to the Brampton Library that the move to the ski chalet will be temporary with a motion last week after library CEO Todd Kyle wrote Mayor Patrick Brown expressing concerns about the move “without any public consultation and just a few years after many updates and renovations.”
The event runs virtually on May 8 from 5:00 to 5:45 and residents can send in their questions by clicking the link here. Submissions will be open until April 30 and the event will be live-streamed on Zoom.
In a letter to council earlier this month, Lachemi said that TMU has been “unjustly misrepresented” and that “the library continues to misrepresent the nature of the agreement and the responsibilities therein.”
He said the school’s deal with the City puts responsibility for appropriately informing and relocating Civic Centre tenants impacted by the agreement, including the library.
“We ask that you continue to work to find new places for the Civic Centre tenants and that, to avoid misinformation and damage to the university’s reputation, the city clarifies that, as per our agreement, this responsibility belongs to the council and not the university,” Lachemi said in a letter to council.
Brampton residents have launched multiple petitions to keep the branch in its current location. The library says those petitions are unsolicited and not associated with the Brampton Library or the library board.
The TMU medical school fireside chat event runs virtually on May 8 from 5:00 to 5:45. Submissions will be open until April 30 and residents can send in their questions by clicking the link here. The event will be live-streamed on Zoom.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising