Health care cash going to care home

News

Posted By Marc Zienkiewicz

Updated 1 month ago

A $94,000 reserve fund kept by the RM of Lac du Bonnet will go toward a new care home for the community, council decided July 27.

After tabling the matter twice over the past several weeks, Reeve Rick Lussier and several council members said the money would be best used as part of an estimated $500,000 the RM will have to raise if the province is to bring a new personal care home to the community.

A meeting took place last week between the North Eastman Health Association (NEHA) and municipal officials, who were informed that if a new care home is approved for Lac du Bonnet, the community itself will be responsible for 10 per cent of the $25-$30 million total project cost.

That means the community will have to come up with around $3 million in public donations, NEHA Chief Executive Officer Jim Hayes told the Leader last week.

"As we were informed at the meeting, the (care home) has not been approved, but it's at the point in the process where the community can now begin fundraising," Lussier said.

The reserve fund has been a topic of contention in recent months. The money was originally supposed to go toward a new hospital for the community, but the RM recently decided to re-designate the fund to go toward different health care-related initiatives.

A public hearing took place a month ago where the matter was debated. Although using the fund for a personal care home was discussed, Coun. Don Sikora wanted to see the cash go at least partly toward funding a seniors' housing initiative. Coun. Vera Cardinal also tossed around the idea of using some of the money to help Dr. Michel Bruneau of Swan Lake open a private clinic in Lac du Bonnet.

Bruneau has since decided to work out of the Lac du Bonnet Health Centre, and on Tuesday all members of council except Sikora felt seniors' housing should be funded separately.

Sikora, a co-founder of the Lac du Bonnet Seniors' Housing Corporation, expressed his displeasure with what he said is council's about-face on the matter. At one point, when Cardinal began speaking over Sikora, he told Lussier he would leave the meeting if he wasn't permitted to "speak his peace" on the matter.

"We had a public hearing where we decided the wording (of the bylaw) was supposed to include seniors' housing. I'm not against some of this money going to a care home, but I'd like seniors' housing included," Sikora said.

"Can we at least have $25,000? I don't like this politicking of taking it all. Now I have to go back to my committee and explain why (seniors' housing) got nothing out of this even though we had an agreement in an open forum."

Coun. Russ Preston and Cardinal disputed Sikora's opinion that council had "agreed" to use some of the cash for seniors' housing.

"There was never an agreement," Cardinal said.

Reeve Rick Lussier intervened to calm the proceedings.

"Either way we slice it, if we choose to fund seniors' housing, it's going to come from the taxpayer anyway," Lussier said.

Preston agreed.

"Seniors' housing can be put in our budget for 2011," Preston said.

Sikora said he wouldn't vote against redesignating the fund for the care home only, but said he was disappointed council didn't allot any of the cash for seniors' housing.

The resolution to set aside the $94,000 for a care home was passed unanimously toward the end of the meeting.