Is Shouldice Hospital sale actually a real estate deal?

The owners of the Shouldice Hosptial may sell the eight hectares of land that the hospital sits upon.

Centric, the prospective buyers of Shouldice Hospital, say they will likely move to a new location after the four year lease is up. "I think the vendors possibly have other ideas for the property," Centric's Peter Walkey told the Toronto Star.

Eight hectares is a lot of land and in condo crazy Toronto it also means a lot of money.

If this was a public hospital, that cash (or the land itself) would stay with the public, for the public's use.

But when funding starts flowing to for-profit providers, private interests may prevail.

Deb Matthew, the health minister, has to make a decision on the sale. She wrote to the Star, "Our government is committed to public health care. ... No new private hospitals have been, or will be, considered in the future." But she didn't say she would prevent the sale of the Shouldice Hospital to a for profit corporation.

It remains unclear where Centric would move the hospital to. Walkey did say it would remain in the GTA.

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