WALLACEBURG – A $7.3 million Ontario government grant to construct a new power plant for the hospital here sends a strong signal the healthcare facility will remain open for many years to come.
Investment
$7.3M investment signals long future for Wallaceburg hospital – Chatham Daily News
The Ontario government is providing $7.3 million to pay for the construction of a new power plant at the Wallaceburg campus of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, which paves the way for future upgrades to the emergency department and diagnostic imaging. Taking part in the ceremonial ground breaking at the Wallaceburg hospital on Friday are, from left: Lori Marshall, CKHA present and CEO, Charles Sampson, chief of Walpole Island First Nation, Greg Aartsen, CKHA board chair, and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development and MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. (Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News)
WALLACEBURG – A $7.3-million Ontario government grant to build a new power plant for the hospital here sends a strong signal the health-care facility will remain open for many years to come.
“This is an investment in not only the care and delivery and services here today, it’s an investment in the future, because this does provide a substantial backbone for a further redevelopment of this site in the future,” said Lori Marshall, president and CEO of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance following the funding announcement Friday.
Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, training and skills development, who made the funding announcement on behalf of Health Minister Christine Elliott, also indicated more money is coming.
“This will be the first stage of a redevelopment plan,” he said, adding there are plans to move the emergency room and diagnostic imaging to a new location on the north side of the hospital.
Marshall said building a new power plant, estimated to take a year to complete, is a commitment to future expansion.
“If we were just looking at sustaining the current building, we would not have needed the level of infrastructure that is going into this power plant,” she said.
“What the power plant actually does is gives us the level of infrastructure to truly support a new build, new code requirements all those kinds of things.”
Marshall said $7.3 million covers the cost of building the new power plant, along with the 10 per cent local requirement the hospital group had in reserve, so no fundraising will be needed.
She said plans have already been submitted for consideration to the Health Ministry for redeveloping the emergency room, diagnostic imaging and laboratory areas.
However, Marshall noted there is no firm timeline for when this expansion could happen.
Other future plans for upgrading the hospital include expanding ambulatory care, including specialty clinics, along with respiratory therapy, physiotherapy and laboratory services.
Walpole Island Chief Charles Sampson said the First Nations community has a long history with the hospital, noting many people from Walpole Island have worked there.
“The people of Walpole Island are very thankful of the tireless efforts from all the front-line, essential health-care workers in Chatham-Kent,” he added.
McNaughton noted the importance of local health care has only been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While fighting COVID-19 remains a priority, the MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex said the provincial government intends “to invest in things that matter to people in Southwestern Ontario and beyond.”
When built in the 1950s at a cost of approximately $900,000, the Wallaceburg hospital “became a jewel of the community,” Greg Aarssen, the hospital board’s chair, said.
He added renewed focus on the site has seen reinvestment in the emergency department, additional respiratory therapy coverage, capital equipment upgrades and the addition of specialty clinics, as well as a partnership to provide community care nursing clinics.
“All of these set the stage for the reinvestment we are seeing from the Ontario government to ensure that hospital services remain an important part of this community,” Aarssen said.
However, it wasn’t that many years ago the community was fighting to keep the emergency department open and halt plans to have the site become an urgent care centre.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor said her first term on council included walking into a community effort by the citizen group, Save Our Sydenham, to fight to keep the hospital open.
“It was quite an initiation as a councillor to come into,” she said.
McGregor credited being able to work with former Wallaceburg councillor Jeff Wesley and the determination of the community to now see this “great news” for the future.
Noting she and fellow Wallaceburg Coun. Aaron Hall are working on initiatives to revitalize the downtown core, McGregor said, the hospital announcement “solidifies the direction we want to move in and will now encourage people to relocate to our community.”
Hall said Wallaceburg residents not only donated to build the hospital, but the whole community rallied for years to ensure it stayed open and viable.
He said the province isn’t going to invest more than $7 million if the hospital isn’t here to stay.
“It’s great news for Wallaceburg, great news for the future of the hospital,” Hall said.
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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
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