A 96 bed long-term care home is inching closer to reality for Fort William First Nation.
Chief Peter Collins tells us the band council will vote October 2nd, to officially say yes to the roughly $30-million building, and if they do, construction could start in the spring at the end of Little Lake Road.
“It’s great for the economy, because it’s a two year build, and then once the building is in operation, there’ll be about 130 full-time jobs,” says Collins.
He adds there could be over 100 construction jobs.
“One of the things we’re looking for is some federal contribution, which we’re still working on the federal government with, but there’s no commitment yet,” notes the Chief.
Collins adds the federal government could pay about $10-million. But first, there’s that important vote in October. “You’re financing such a substantial sized building, and the lending agencies would need to make sure they have access to that property in case something goes bad.”
Chief Collins tells us they have been working on this for a few years, along with Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, who hired an accounting firm to do a study.
