Doubt is swirling over a verbal communication from former MLA Ray Danyluk that the province could potentially contribute an extra $1 million to St. Paul’s new wellness centre, following the recent election and changes within government.
“I have to go with the assumption that the money’s still there,” said County of St. Paul Reeve Steve Upham, noting that the Progressive Conservative government has spoken about supporting 142 family care clinics in the province, with St. Paul mentioned in that vein. He added that Premier Alison Redford has said that any commitments made before the election would be upheld, regardless of any changes within government. “I don’t think we’re necessarily back to the drawing board.”
The province had originally promised $2.5 million for the wellness centre, which is estimated to cost $7 million to complete. With the Town and County of St. Paul each contributing $1 million, and the developer contributing $500,000 in land, the project still had a $2 million shortfall.
Prior to the election, town and county representatives had been talking with Danyluk, as well as the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister of Health to see if the provincial government would help cover the shortfall. According to Upham, Danyluk had led both councils to believe the money was there and that the province could contribute up to another $1 million, and that it was only a matter of working through administration.
However, there was no written commitment to provide any money, and Town of St. Paul CAO Ron Boisvert says that Danyluk was simply “willing to go to bat for us.” Mayor Glenn Andersen felt less sure of any additional funds flowing from the province. “That’s all in doubt now, because that’s all past.” Andersen pointed out there will be a new cabinet in place and that the local area has a new Wildrose MLA in Shayne Saskiw, who he notes “is not part of the governing party.”
The worst case scenario is that the municipalities will have to cover the entire shortfall, says Andersen, adding the town is already prepared to kick in more funds if it must. But for now, he and Upham say they are still committed to talking with the government and working with Saskiw to secure extra funding. As for Saskiw, he says that if the funding has been committed, he will “hold this government to account” to ensure the money flows through to the project without delay.
The construction of the facility is on-track to be completed by September, with the doctors potentially able to move inside the facility sometime in August. However, there is some contention about how the building would be administered. Andersen said the original understanding was that the Town of St. Paul and its CAO would manage the medical clinic, just as the county managed NE Muni-Corr Ltd. and the waste management commission. “We think it’s natural. That was what was decided at the very onset.”
He felt it would be straightforward to collect lease monies and take care of the day-to-day management and operation of the medical centre. “It’s not really that intricate to operate a building.”
However, Upham says he and his county councillors feel the need to have third party management of the medical centre, with the management responding to an independent board that has representatives from town and county council. Both Muni-Corr and Evergreen are run as independent entities in this way, while the County of St. Paul simply administers salaries, he says.
“I just think you have to bring a true business paradigm to this organization. It needs to run independently,” he said. Both councils will discuss the medical centre, its funding and organization, at a joint meeting set for May 10.
However, both Andersen and Upham stress that the bottom line is that the medical centre will be completed for the betterment of the community. Upham noted there are county and town residents who choose to travel to the city for their health services. “The wellness centre is going to address that and perhaps restore that confidence once we get more doctors in there.”
