The County and Town of St. Paul have each committed a million dollars to a new medical centre for the community, and while “the province is there” in its commitment to the project, according to local MLA Ray Danyluk, the federal government has yet to promise any funding.
MP for Westlock-St. Paul Brian Storseth attended a Jan. 24 town council meeting and expressed support for a proposed medical centre to replace the aging and non-wheelchair accessible facility currently located in downtown St. Paul.
“This is a facility we need in our community,” said Storseth of a modern, up-to-date medical facility, estimated to cost roughly $6 million, adding that such services were needed not just in St. Paul and area but in north east Alberta as a whole. He said in a later interview that he asked to approach town council in a public meeting because he feels that the medical centre shouldn’t be discussed behind closed doors. “This needs to be a public dialogue.”
However, while he recognized the value of the project, he stressed at the meeting, “This is not federal jurisdiction.” Health care falls squarely under the jurisdiction of the province, and the federal government does give $3.2 billion in health, social and education transfers to Alberta that are intended to be used for projects such as this, he said.
However, he noted that mayor and council had previously pointed out that First Nations health care falls under the responsibility of the federal government, which was true. He said he was “happy to put my neck on the line” and fight for federal dollars on that basis.
However, he said he would likely need statistical data on First Nations usage of the current Associated Medical Clinic, and the town may also need to make a presentation to the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada minister.
“I do believe we need to get some First Nations buy-in if we’re going to go after INAC funding,” he told town council.
Town of St. Paul CAO Ron Boisvert, Mayor Glenn Andersen and Coun. Don Padlesky indicated they had met with Saddle Lake Chief Eddy Makokis to discuss collaborating on a health centre. “They had plans for their own community health centre,” noted Andersen. Makokis did not return calls for an interview with the St. Paul Journal. However, Tribal Chiefs Ventures, which includes six aboriginal reserves (not including Saddle Lake) as shareholders, is supporting the community’s drive to build a medical centre in St. Paul.
The other difficulties in securing federal funding was a two to three month timeframe to come through with dollars, which was “not a lot of time,” and the fact that the project still lacks an official commitment of provincial dollars, said Storseth.
Regardless, he said he would see what he could do, adding, “The federal government should have a role in this facility.”
That was a sentiment with which Danyluk, who is also Alberta’s Minister of Infrastructure, wholly concurred. He had no problem with the two to three month timeframe to give official funding for the project, saying, “Our commitment will come sooner than that,” but he stressed that the federal government should have a role in the facility in light of its jurisdiction over aboriginal health care. “Their responsibility is to be onside and committed,” he said, adding in an aside to Storesth at an Alberta HUB meeting they both attended last Friday, “All you have to do is commit to match us.”
