Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jul 22/98) - The Keewatin Regional Health Board is waiting for the federal government to hand over more money to kick-start a new dental program in the region after Kiguti Dental Services quits next week.

The board's chief executive officer, Jack MacKinnon, said that the board is still negotiating with the federal government to see how much funding will be able available for the program and the wait is delaying the start of the new services.

The board originally budgeted $150,000 to equip three clinics, but officials recently found out that the money wouldn't be enough to sufficient to launch a new program and has been forced to wait on federal government money.

"Initially, we only had $150,000 and we had to make the best of it," he said. The funding delay has slowed the process of buying new equipment and space for the three clinics, according to MacKinnon, who had hoped new equipment would be purchased last week. "The equipment has not been bought yet ... (and there is) no firm commitment on space yet," he said.

The board has, to date, refused Kiguti's offer to sell their equipment to the board for a reported $600,000. While he is reluctant to say how much more money the board is asking from Ottawa, MacKinnon maintained that they need more to cover the cost of running clinics in Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake.

He said that a large turnover in staff at the health board office has also contributed to the delay in getting the project off the ground.

He was quick, however, to point out that the Kivalliq Inuit Association, which is expected to take over the Non-insured Health Benefits Program in the region, has been closely involved and has provided consistency to the work being done.

MacKinnon said he expects negotiations with Ottawa to conclude this week and hopes the board will have the answers they need to get the new program up and running as soon as possible.

KIA officials were unavailable for comment.