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

5 dead after single-vehicle crash near Swan River, Man.
Swan River RCMP are investigating a single-vehicle crash that killed five people in western Manitoba Saturday afternoon.
Two killed in bear attack at Banff National Park, grizzly euthanized: Parks Canada
Parks Canada says a bear attack in Alberta's Banff National Park has left two people dead. Officials say a response team trained in wildlife attacks was immediately mobilized but weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use.
Ontario expands pharmacists' prescription powers to include 6 more common ailments
Ontario residents can now access treatment and medication for six more common ailments at pharmacies across the province.
Tim Wakefield, who revived his career and Red Sox trophy case with knuckleball, has died at 57
Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year, has died. He was 57.
Federal prisoner with terminal illness granted parole on compassionate grounds to die outside of jail
A terminally ill federal prisoner, who has been fighting for a compassionate release to die outside of jail, has been granted day parole.
Turkiye strikes suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq after suicide attack in Ankara
Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital, Turkiye's defence ministry announced.
Quebec public-sector unions continue to see strong support for strike mandates
Members of several Quebec public-sector unions are continuing to vote in favour of strike mandates by large margins.
Chair hogs, dining divas and boorish boozers: Is cruising etiquette lost at sea?
When it comes to uncouth, uncultured and downright unacceptable behaviour on ships, experts in travel etiquette and cruising have seen it all. They share plenty of bad behaviours for passengers to avoid (and good ones they should emulate).
1 in 20 Americans used ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, study finds
A recent study has found 1 in 20 people in the U.S. who contracted COVID-19 used non-evidence based treatment, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, due to beliefs in vaccine-related misinformation.