As site preparation started in August, the Town and County of St. Paul’s $6.3 million Wellness Centre still needs to find $1.8 million for the capital project. With the $2.5 million from the province and $1 million from both the County and Town, the project is able to move forward with construction but partners will continue to look for money.
Federal funding is “off the table” because of the jurisdiction, confirmed Julian Martin, director of the federal cabinet regional office for Alberta.
“The remarks made by the local MP Mr. Storseth are exactly correct,” said Martin, referring to a Journal article published Aug. 23. “From the federal side of things … it’s absolutely certain that there is none.”
The ability of the federal government to support the centre with funding is “highly circumscribed” by the fact that money for health facilities is provincial jurisdiction, he added.
“We’re very respectful of that distinction.”
The federal government has not funded any similar facilities in Canada, Storseth told the Journal. Federal funding of a health care facility would not comply with the basic principles of the Canada Health Act because health care is provincial jurisdiction, he added.
A letter obtained by the Journal sent to the mayor and reeve on June 22 from PPP Canada indicates the Wellness Centre is not eligible for federal Private-Public-Partnership (P3) funding because it does not fit into any of the P3’s categories. P3 eligibility categories include water, sewage, transit, sport, culture, local road, airport infrastructure and other categories.
The Town of St. Paul would consider putting in another $500,000 if other funding cannot be found, said CAO Ron Boisvert. “This is our future. Health is the major thing for this whole area.” The centre could also seek private funding, he said.
The medical committee decided to start construction without all of the funding in place because of the “very reasonable” price of construction currently, Mayor Glenn Andersen said.
Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Gary Mar addressed rural concerns in a media conference call from the campaign trail in Lacombe on Thursday, including a question from the Journal on the Wellness Centre.
While not familiar with the circumstances, Mar said, “If health care is a provincial responsibility, then clearly that responsibility falls upon the province.
“If the Town and County are supportive of it, I am quite interested in engaging in that discussion to see how the province can properly participate. It’s not clear to me what the role of the federal government would be and under what head of responsibility the federal government would have in moving capital monies for a project like that.”
Mar said he would be more interested in the kind of role the Town and County can play in collaboration with the province.
“If the federal government is willing to engage in such a discussion then that’s great, but if they’re not under an obligation to do so, I’m not sure if we’re barking up the right tree. We should be focused on assessing the needs of the people in St. Paul and the county that surrounds it and asking ourselves ‘what can we do to assist bring important services to people in the area’.”
