The Winnie-Baiko Regional Health Unit is calling on the federal government to make good on a promise to fund the construction of a new medical campus to replace its aging 75-year-old hospital.
WAHA, a First Nations regional health authority on the western shore of James Bay in northern Ontario, had been hoping to secure funding in its budget tabled in April, but no commitments for funding were found in the financial plan. First Nations leaders expressed disappointment at a press conference in Ottawa on Monday along with health officials.
Open this photo in gallery:
Water is leaking through the wooden roof outside the office of Winnie-Baco Regional Health Department Chief of Staff Elaine Innes, showing water damage to the ceiling. Provided
The lack of federal funding for the new medical campus was surprising because in 2007 Ottawa had signed an agreement to fund 45 per cent of the capital costs to build the new medical campus, which would include dormitories, staff housing, an aged care centre, a new hospital in Moosonee and an urgent care centre on Moose Factory Island.
WAHA CEO Lynn Innes said regular three-way meetings between the federal government, Ontario government and Winnie-Baico health officials have shown no indication that Ottawa won't implement its part of the agreement.
According to a WAHA press release, the approvals and final fundraising process began “in earnest” in 2019. Innes said contracts were signed recently and some construction has begun. Fundraising is expected to be in place this year, she said.
She said Monday that Ottawa plans to provide $1.34 billion for the project.
The new medical campus will replace the Winnie Baiko General Hospital, which officials say is crumbling. Photos of the building's interior show several structural problems, including signs of water leaks in the ceiling.
“This hospital is one of the oldest in Canada and has never been renovated or maintained in good condition to meet today's standards,” said Chief Cindy Woodhouse-Nepinak of the Assembly of First Nations.
Elaine Innes, the hospital's chief of staff, said the ceiling in the hallway outside her office had begun to collapse and water was pouring in constantly.
“As a patient, would you want to see that? Would you be worried the roof is going to fall on you?” Innes said.
Chief Alvin Fidler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, who leads an umbrella organization representing 49 communities in northern Ontario, said at a press conference Monday that he's “a little angry” that Indigenous leaders have to travel hundreds of miles from their communities to plead with Canada to keep its promises.
“You need to take action and honor the commitments you've made,” he said. “Enough of these empty gestures.”
Regarding X, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones wrote to the federal government on May 14 expressing disappointment in the government for not supporting its development and inviting her to accompany the federal Minister of Health and Minister of Indigenous Services Canada to tour the existing facility on June 17.
“Anyone who has visited the current site knows that the current hospital is nearing the end,” Jones wrote.
Ontario New Democrat MP Charlie Angus said the federal government's decision to “pull back” from plans for the new hospital has left health services in the region “in disarray.”
“This project has been carefully negotiated with state and federal governments and the James Bay community,” Angus said. “The Minister [Patty] Hajdu needs to explain why he has abandoned northern communities.”
The Minister of Indigenous Services Canada and the ministry did not respond to a request for comment by deadline on Monday.
Originally a 200-bed tuberculosis treatment facility, the existing hospital also serves as a reminder of Canada's colonial history, said CEO Lynn Innes.
Many Indigenous children were taken from their families and brought here for treatment. Accessible only by helicopter, the facility separated children from their families, homes, languages ​​and cultures.
Lynne Innes said WAHA has reached out to the federal government to try to figure out what happened to the promised funding, and others, including 100 CEOs of the Ontario Hospital Association, have also written to the government urging it to recommit to the project.
Innes said WAHA has not received a response, but some individuals have, but the government has only provided general responses and no explanation for why the budget does not include the funds, Innes said.
WAHA officials are scheduled to hold a routine meeting with the federal government on Thursday, she added.
