Canada Day celebrations in Apohaqui are always a big deal, complete with the best community parade. Congratulations to the hard-working volunteers who always do such a great job pulling it all together.
Thank you to my #ExploreNB street team and constituency assistant Chantelle Roy for hustling with me along that parade route.
Today was a big, big day in Petitcodiac/Three Rivers with the announcement of a much-needed community health centre. I was happy to join Health Minister Bruce Fitch, Mayor Peter Saunders, Minister Sherry Wilson, MP Rob Moore, Minister Richard Ames, and Horizon Health leadership on this important day.
I look forward to being the PC candidate in this riding as part of Sussex-Three Rivers in the upcoming election and will enjoy watching this project unfold.
Construction is scheduled to begin early next year on a new community health centre in Three Rivers (Petitcodiac district), which will replace the existing one.
The project is currently in the design phase, with tenders expected to be issued this fall. The new centre will be built next to the current centre on Railway Street, offering a larger and more modern space.
“This investment in a new community health centre supports the government‘s efforts to improve access to quality health-care services,” said Health Minister Bruce Fitch. “This means residents will have access to improved care and our health professionals will have access to a modernized and more functional workspace equipped to provide safe and quality care.”
The government has committed $21 million to the project.
“Our government is taking concrete action to improve the quality of health care in New Brunswick,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Richard Ames. “I am proud to be involved in helping move this important project forward.”
The new centre will house administration, nursing resources, medical services and allied health services. Construction is expected to be finished in early 2026 and is being planned to ensure minimal disruptions to patient care.
“I have no doubt that this state-of-the-art community health centre will serve as a true health-care hub for the people of Petitcodiac and the surrounding area for many years to come,” said Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of Horizon Health Network. “Horizon is committed to ensuring that New Brunswickers can access primary care services in a timely and convenient manner, taking a modernized, team-based approach. This new facility will provide access to primary care provided by a team of health-care professionals, not just one provider. This will ensure the most efficient, co-ordinated and sustainable services to support the needs of our local communities.”
The facility will adopt the collaborative care model outlined in the recently released primary health care action plan.
Our government has been at the table since 2021, working with the Town of Sussex to develop a flood mitigation strategy. We have all witnessed and felt the devastating effects of seasonal flooding first-hand. That is why today, I was pleased to be at Town Hall to announce that our government is helping Sussex to implement its flood mitigation strategy by committing over $13 million in funding to the project.
This commitment includes $919,317 in funding for the construction of a berm and $158,000 to cover half the design and planning costs, a cost the province is splitting 50/50 with the Town of Sussex. Pending the engineering work and approval, our government will commit an additional $12 million for the larger flood mitigation work.
This berm, which will be located on Meadow Crescent, is expected to protect about 80 homes from flooding -- these homes would not otherwise be expected to benefit from the larger flood mitigation plan. The engineering work will provide more accurate cost estimates for implementing the full mitigation strategy. It will also include the environmental studies needed to register the berm project for an environmental impact assessment.
This is an important project for residents and businesses in our town and the entire Sussex region. So much hardship has been created by the floods we’ve seen over the last decade, but as we so often do, our small town will pull together to overcome a big challenge.
The Town of Sussex Flood Mitigation Master Plan’s approximate cost is $38 million. In addition to our government’s $13 million commitment, the Town of Sussex is committing $10.3 million and the federal government is committing $15.3 million through Infrastructure Canada.
From Mayor Marc Thorne: “With the support of our federal and provincial partners, our community is positioned to finally end the flooding that has created so much harm over the last decade. This funding from Infrastructure Canada and the Regional Development Corporation will help us finalize our environmental assessments and begin the construction phases that have been identified in our master flood mitigation plan. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone, from all levels of government, who have played a role in helping us achieve success to this point, including mayors and councillors of the former Village of Sussex Corner.”
