Minden businesses take emergency department closure fight to Queen's Park
Business owners will make their case for keeping a rural Ontario community's emergency department open in Queen's Park just days before it closes.
Minden, Ont. residents have been fighting to keep their emergency department open after Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) announced its closure last month, citing staffing shortages as its reason.
On Tuesday, the town's business owners will plead to the Ford government to grant the community a one-year moratorium on the closure ahead of the June 1 planned closure date.
"My wife and I did research on this, and our 60 plus, 60 or older, they need healthcare, and if they can't get it here, they are going to have to move away," said Dennis Pennie, Co-owner of Minden Auto Care. "So our concern is this is going to make a big impact on us local business people, real estate, all that stuff, not just the healthcare, the whole community will be impacted."
Pennie will be among the business owners attending the question period on Tuesday in Queen's Park, followed by a press conference.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
Alongside him is Mathew Renda, co-owner for Boshkung Brewery.
"We rely on the summer traffic to get us through the winter, so if people start moving away, cottagers don't come up, our business and our employees especially will suffer year-round," Renda told CTV News. "If we lose our E.R. and now we're forcing people outside of the community into Kawartha, into the Muskoka's, to Haliburton, what you're now going to impact is not only the Minden community, you're impacting all those other communities."
HHHS has said it would consolidate Minden's emergency department into Haliburton's hospital.
"Hospitals are independent corporations who are authorized to direct their own operations, including decisions respecting services that they provide and in what locations, the Ministry of Health is not involved in these decisions, and to suggest so is false," read a statement from the Ministry of Health on Friday.
The campaign 'Save the Minden ER' hopes a court injunction will stop the process but intends to keep fighting to reverse the decision beyond June 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE UPDATES Critical infrastructure 'successfully protected': Jasper park officials
Jasper National Park officials in an update said all critical infrastructure in the townsite has been 'successfully protected, including the hospital, emergency services building, both elementary and junior/senior schools, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant.'
Canadian Olympic Committee removes women's soccer team's head coach over drone scandal
The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed women's national soccer team head coach Bev Priestman over a drone scandal, according to a press release from the organization.
Yukon woman narrowly escapes bear attack, credits hair clip
A woman in Yukon believes her hair clip helped save her during a bear attack.
Prince William's 2023 salary revealed in new report
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
'I was just shocked': Jasper lodge owner on seeing property destroyed by wildfire
On Wednesday night, the owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, Alta., was shocked to receive a photo of her business engulfed in flames.
Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond likely has Indigenous DNA: report
The Law Society of British Columbia says a DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree "most likely" has Indigenous heritage.
U.S. authorities have arrested 'El Mayo' Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel
Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Harris pushes Netanyahu to ease suffering in Gaza: 'I will not be silent'
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.