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Contract talks at St. Theresa

Bishop hopes someone else will run guest home

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Chesterfield Inlet (Dec 12/01) - Bishop Reynald Rouleau feels like he's caught between a rock and a hard place in Chesterfield Inlet.

The bishop has run the St. Theresa Guest Home since the last of the Grey Nuns left the hamlet about two years ago.

The current contract at St. Theresa expires on April 1, 2002.

The Chesterfield Development Corp. and Tapiriit have submitted a joint-development proposal to the Department of Health and Social Services that would see St. Theresa stay in Chester.

Reynald says he'd like to see the facility remain in Chesterfield Inlet, but doesn't know if he's up to extending his contract for a second time.

Rouleau says although he's happy to see Nunavut's Health Minister Ed Picco take his time considering the new facility carefully, he's concerned about the minister's plans for the coming year.

"I am really hoping they will find another contractor for St. Theresa after April 1, 2002," says Rouleau.

"However, although it's not my first choice, I would have to seriously consider a proposal from the government to stay on for another year if they didn't have a viable alternative in place. I would rather be finished when our current contract expires, but at the same time, I cannot simply send the children home."

Picco says that the submitted proposal is a solid one, although it does go beyond the scope of the original request for the proposal.

"We were looking for accommodations for eight to 10 people and this proposal looks at accommodating 20 in a larger facility," says Picco.

"The discussions we're having right now are to find out how we can move forward on the facility within the budget we have available."

Picco says his department is also looking at a training component for the St. Theresa project to maximize employment.

"Once the deal is done with the RFP and everyone is in agreement with the size of the facility, we'll move forward with training," he says.

"At that time, we'll know how many bodies we need in place and what type of training they require."