Diocese agrees to extend Chesterfield contract
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Chesterfield Inlet (Apr 11/01) - The St. Therese long-term care facility in Chesterfield Inlet will remain open for at least another year.
Bishop Reynald Rouleau says the diocese has agreed to operate the facility until April 1, 2002 instead of ceasing operations this month.
Rouleau says he's looking at the extra year as a transitional one and hopes the Nunavut Government will continue to operate St. Therese when the contract expires.
"There are quite a few jobs for local people there, even if they're not all full-time" says Rouleau.
"For the good of the community, I would appreciate it if it's possible for the Nunavut Government to maintain the facility in Chesterfield."
The Bishop says contract negotiations did not give him any real sense of the direction the NG intends to take once his contract expires.
"I haven't seen any specific signs that the Nunavut Government intends to keep St. Therese open.
"But, if I consider the policies in place and the priority of having jobs for the people, it would be, essentially, a place to be kept.
"Nunavut needs a facility like St. Therese, so why not Chester?"
The bishop says to the best of his knowledge, the building, which was renovated in 1994 and 1995, would pass all safety codes.
"It's not a new facility by any stretch of the imagination, but the NG would not have to put a lot of money into it."
Dr. Keith Best of the Department of Health and Social Services says the contract extension will give the Nunavut Government time to put adequate plans in place to ensure residents at St. Therese are afforded the same level of care they've received in the past.
"I don't want to create false hopes, but I would say we'd have to term this year as a transitional period in terms of ensuring there's a residential facility there for the people," says Best.
"Sometime during this fiscal year the proper arrangements will be made so that kind of resource remains."
