The federal government is committing $19.5-million for a new mercury treatment centre on the Wabaseemoong Independent Nation.
A signing ceremony was held virtually Friday afternoon.
Chief Waylon Scott says the building of the treatment centre is not contingent on a health survey being completed.
“There are 1,046 people that need to be interviewed so the anticipated completion of this health assessment is earmarked for March of 2022 is when this assessment is expected to be completed,” states Scott.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says the money is committed, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done before the treatment centre can be built.
“The completion, I would say on that note, of the survey isn’t necessarily a condition of shovels in the ground, it’s just a question of timing,” Miller says. ” There’s a lot of work before there are shovels in the ground, but the money is there, it’s been committed.”
