Ottawa, GN commit $83.7 million jointly for Aqqusariaq Recovery Centre
Centre will be in Iqaluit; NTI to train staff and develop programming
From left, Nunavut Minister of Family Services and Human Resources Margaret Nakashuk, GN Minister of Health John Main, federal Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. vice president Paul Irngaut, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Nunavut Minister of Community Services David Joanasie hoist their shovels as a step toward the Aqqusariaq Recovery Centre being built. Construction starts this fall and is supposed to be complete by December 2025. (Photo by David Lochead)
Dignitaries from the federal and territorial governments and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. all grabbed ceremonial shovels for a “tundra-turning ceremony” Monday to mark the start of construction of the Aqqusariaq Recovery Centre.
“Together we’re building a space to help our fellow Nunavummiut. We love them, we support them, and they are why we are here,” Nunavut Health Minister John Main said.
Aqqusariaq, formerly known as the Nunavut Recovery Centre, will be an $83.7-million treatment and recovery centre for Nunavummiut dealing with issues related to substance abuse.
The name Aqqusariaq was chosen because it is an Inuktitut term to describe the trail one goes through to reach a destination, and is symbolic of a journey to recovery.
Aqqusariaq will use Inuit cultural practices and values in providing treatment for addictions and trauma, including on-the-land healing camps.
The centre will have 24 beds.
For the funding, $42.1 million will be provided by the federal government while $41.6 million will be come from the Government of Nunavut.
Also, NTI will give $5 million for project costs and is committing $11.8 million for the Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corp. to train Inuit counsellors.
Construction begins in the fall of 2023 and is expected to be completed in December 2025. An opening date has not been set yet, GN health department spokesperson Danarae Sommerville told Nunatsiaq News.
Federal Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu spoke at Monday’s ceremony, as did Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, NTI vice president Paul Irngaut and Main.
Irngaut emphasized the training to provide an Inuit workforce for Aqqusariaq will improve mental health outcomes of patients.
“When Inuit are cared for in Inuktitut, it increases trust, security, comfort and engagement,” he said.
Hajdu echoed Irngaut’s point.
“Aqqusariaq will be a special place,” she said. “It will be designed by Inuit, for Inuit.”
Hajdu said the federal government will provide $9.7 million a year for the centre’s operating costs.
Main said the governance structure for how Aqqusariaq will be run is still being developed but no matter what it looks like, it will be key to work with NTI to develop an Inuit workforce.
Main also emphasized the importance of having a partnership with the federal government as well as NTI on this centre.
“We wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t have this partnership,” he said.
In June, the GN awarded Arctic Fresh Projects Inc. the contract to build Aqqusariaq for $67.5 million. Main said cost overruns mainly due to inflation are why the project’s price tag is now $83.7 million.
The GN is taking on more of the cost than was initially planned, and has requested more federal funding from Infrastructure Canada, Main said.
“But at the end of the day, the project is going to get built,” he said.
The investment in Aqqusariaq is a part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action No. 21, which calls for sustainable funding from the federal government for healing centres to address the emotional toll leftover from the residential school system.
$83.7M for a 24 bed facility ?. That money could pay for a lot of folks to be relocated to parts of the country where these services already exist, and where the probability of relapse are much lower.
24% inflation in 2 months. Impossible. This is either GN incompetence or contractor gouging, or a combination of the two. Either way, what should be a good news story now seems doomed to failure. NTI’s involvement will eliminate any chance this facility had at fulfilling its mandate.
How in the world did ‘Arctic Fresh’ get the contract to build this? Have they ever done anything remotely close to this kind of construction work?
I forsee a debacle for the ages shaping up.
…subcontractor.
So, you think it’s cool that the lowest bidder will get THEIR lowest bidder to do the work? How many middlemen does it take to make 83 million disappear?
the funny things is at that new price they were not the lower bidder
I don’t know if it’s sarcasm on your part or not, lol, southern companies probably using a front again.
In Nunavik , we call them “POTATOE COMPANY” , brown on the outside , white on the inside.
Another photo opp ? stop wasting our $$
Sick of just another photo op. Great job.
Time and time again you hear horror stories of West Embassy Senior Home in Ottawa.
Rampant racism, white guests pampered while Inuit Elders ignored. Wake up Dept of Heath, NTI, Regional Orgs. Before it’s too late!!!
Hearing them suffer is bad enough.
Yes these politician photo ops truly are hilarious. What on earth did Lori Idlout of the NDP do to facilitate the realization of this project in any way??? Absolutely nothing. But there she is taking credit for it. What happened to our esteemed Senator Patterson. That man’s a total groupie when it comes to those things….
The sign behind Minister Main has a picture on it of a boat tied up to a dock.
.
Are you people in the right place?
.
Or is the extra $15 million for a series of locks to enable boats to reach this location?
What a joke!
Those that are engaged in or preparing for rewarding employment seldom need this kind of facility. There are many templates from around the world where education has done the heavy lifting to bring Third World peoples into the First in a single generation. In his memoirs written in the 1960s, Peter Pitseolak expected that his grandchildren could become full-fledged medical doctors. Fat chance of GN’s education department making that possible. It doesn’t even enforce attendance at school. “It’s not part of the culture,” you know.
No locals gonna work here even if there are training locals give it 1 year and all jobs will be filled by Puatugi
Good for them, hard working people who show up and don’t bitch.
Totally agreed! Iqaluit is overflowing with Puatikiit! Who seem to do nothing nor appreciate our Inuit culture. Just money hungry
How are comments like this making it past moderators? You know what they mean by “Puatikiit”, right? Let me help you out – it’s black people. Now, do you still think this anonymous commenter deserves to be heard? It’s blatant racism.
has Iqaluit “boom-town” sorted out its water problem and shortage of potable water supply already. I’ve been thru the desert on a horse with no name as the song goes, bonne chance with the new center Aqqusariaq.
Yea, take a look and you’ll see that the king of Igloolik and his queen are roaming around Guatemala and Egypt this month. Nice gig, smh. NNi is such a joke.
Wow… at least someone did their ‘homework’ … certainly not the GN
So much bitterness, and venom this is a step in the right directions, keep biting Daddy, and they will give up.
This is a good development. I pray that the running of the recovery center is run professionally while incorporating cultural aspects of the user’s.
Hope the programs will address the social determinants of health which will need input of other already trained people, not just Inuit only.
Did u guys buy the 6 shovels to do this joke?
So many negative comments, you would think people here would be happy about this and not put it down. Maybe they should have given out $83 million dollars in snowmobiles? Would that make everyone happy “rolls eyes”
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”. Wilde.
That’s not the same company. Arctic Fresh wasn’t even around in 2011.
As a local, I didn’t hear about his event beforehand so I didn’t even go to this. I drove past the Toonik lake that day and wondered why all the vehicles were along the road. Is aqqusariaq a word? Or is it aqqusaariaq? Or aqqusiriaq? Never heard of aqqusariaq before.
From the article:
“The name Aqqusariaq was chosen because it is an Inuktitut term to describe the trail one goes through to reach a destination, and is symbolic of a journey to recovery.”
Imagine all the pointless comments that could have been avoided if people had only read the articles they are commenting on.
Wow, the federal government kicked in less than one percent of one percent of what they spent on the TTC in 2021, during the height of lockdowns.
Sure shows how serious they are about change, right?
From the article:
“$42.1 million will be provided by the federal government while $41.6 million will be come from the Government of Nunavut.”
What exactly are you whining about?
A contract of this size. The contractor should be able to show resume of successfully. Building projects of this size. Do they have qualified project engineers and building trades. That have worked on projects like this.
This same company that is doing a remodel of the school in Coral Harbor. That would be a good test. to see how well they do on this contract. Let them finish this job. Be for giving them another large project.
Hopefully they will be able to complete both contracts. On time and budget. But it should be no surprise. If these two contracts fail badly.
So far, all they’ve done is put up a sign and build a sandbox for dogs to dig in.
Nunavummuit have been clamoring for an addictions treatment center for years, assuming that if one were built and operated, that this will be the silver bullet to fix our horrendous substance abuse problems. It won’t, and the evidence says so. Anywhere you send away a person for treatment, the treatment can be 100% effective and still fail if there is no change in the patient’s home environment. That is why people who get religion are most successful at staying sober; they associate with like minded people back in their home community. This money is much better spent in each of our communities where people actually experience their challenges.