Five years ago, Hugh Finlay and Dr. John McKinney came to my office requesting assistance to remedy a long outstanding commitment to build a facility/residence to treat and assist people with acquired brain injuries, made by the Ontario government of Bob Rae and repeated by every government since, but never acted upon.

Hugh and John were just looking for a letter of support from me, but I chose a different route, took the bull by the horns and arranged a meeting with the S.E. LHIN and various other players.

Just last week, we ‘broke ground’ with the official announcement and commencement of building a world class ABI facility in Napanee. Many thanks to the S.E LHIN and the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, but most importantly a very special thanks to the Finlay family and Dr. McKinney for their indefatigable and decades-long determination and perseverance.

The new ABI facility will be part of and attached to the Lennox and Addington Hospital,  which has undergone many upgrades and modernization during my term as MPP for the area.

The story by the Toronto Star which you can read here, chronicles this long saga of the Finlay family and the ultimate, long awaited, and successful outcome.