First nations leaders, hospital CEOs and Ontario accuse Ottawa of putting Northern hospital project at risk

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First Nations leaders, hospital chief executives and the Ontario government are warning that a lack of funding in the federal budget for a much-needed hospital serving Indigenous people in the province’s North is putting the project at risk.

The redevelopment of the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, or WAHA, in Ontario’s James Bay and Hudson Bay coasts, which primarily serves Cree First Nations, has been in the works since 2019. It includes the construction of a new hospital, an elder care lodge, staff accommodations and a new ambulatory care centre.

According to First Nations leaders and the health authority, the current hospital in Moose Factory – built in 1950 as a tuberculosis sanitarium – is the oldest non-renovated facility in the country and ranked as one of the worst. The new hospital network was set to be built by 2030.

But First Nations leaders say they were deeply concerned when they learned that the federal government did not commit any further funding to the project in last month’s budget. In a letter sent Wednesday to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, three leaders requested an urgent meeting to discuss federal funding plans.

“Unfortunately, today, this project is in jeopardy,” said the joint letter from Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare and Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.

“If we do not have a commitment by May 16, we are extremely concerned that this project will not proceed.”

The cost of the redevelopment project is pegged at $2.7-billion, according to WAHA and Ontario’s Health Minister, Sylvia Jones. The province is putting up $1.36-billion, while Ottawa is to spend $1.34-billion, according to WAHA. The amount is calculated based on a funding agreement between Canada, Ontario and WAHA, which states that the federal government committed to contributing 45 per cent of the project cost.

In an interview, Mr. Fiddler said the leaders are surprised the federal funding hasn’t been committed.

“We’re just a bit taken aback by Canada’s reluctance to come up with the money,” he said, adding that Ontario has committed its portion of funds. “It’s putting the project at serious risk of being cancelled.”

A spokesperson for federal Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said Thursday the government has spent $158-million on Phase 1 of the project, which includes 30 units providing 120 beds, and is supporting the current hospital for costs related to physician and nursing services, hospital administration, equipment, operations and maintenance.

Ms. Hajdu told the House of Commons on Thursday that she is committed to the project: “I am not walking away from that commitment, and we will get that hospital built,” she said. The minister did not address the omission of funding for the project in the budget.

WAHA also penned a letter to Mr. Trudeau, saying many contracts for the project have been already awarded. The letter, from WAHA’s president and chief executive officer Lynne Innes, and Carman Tozer, chair of the board of directors, also asked for a response by May 16 and a meeting with Mr. Trudeau by end of May.

The WAHA letter says $100-million has already been spent planning and designing the facility, and that the deadline for commercial and financial close is at the end of July, which means delays could lead to financial and legal risk. It also says the current facility represents “the colonial history of our region” and is in a derelict state.

In an interview, Ms. Innes said WAHA’s board is profoundly disappointed by the federal government’s lack of commitment in the budget and has not received a response about the fate of the project.

“At no time were we led to believe funding was not going to flow through,” she said. “We need 100-per-cent commitment for contribution on the federal side by the end of May or we may not be able to proceed.”

The Ontario Hospital Association, along with more than 100 hospitals CEOs, have also penned letters to Ms. Hajdu expressing concerns about the lack of federal funding.

Anthony Dale, CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, called the new hospital “one of the most necessary and worthy” projects in the country. He said construction for the new facility has already begun and that the existing facility is well-past its functioning use.

“Because it wasn’t in the budget and the project is so far advanced in terms of construction, I think people are truly astonished that there’s now great uncertainty over the project’s future,” he said in an interview.

In her letter to Ms. Hajdu sent this week, Ms. Jones, Ontario’s Health Minister, said the province has secured a development partner for the project, but full funding needs to be received by the beginning of August and the lack of funds may jeopardize the willingness of the developer to continue.

“As anyone who has visited the current site knows, the current hospital is at end of life and a replacement is needed to ensure ongoing service to remote northern First Nations,” she said.