Who will pay for new hospitals in Nunavut?

SEAN MCKIBBON
Nunatsiaq News

OTTAWA — The Baffin Regional Health and Social Services board is about to award a preliminary design contract for a new hospital to be built in Iqaluit.

The only catch is who will pay for building it.

Paying for someone to design the hospital should be easy— Dennis Patterson, the board chairman, says the GNWT has already allocated money for the design. He says the contract will probably cost $500,000.

Patterson is really worried about who will pick up the $31.8 million tab for building the hospital.

At a meeting of the Baffin board in Ottawa last week he told board members that the GNWT had not allocated any money in its capital budget to build the hospital, because it had arranged to finance construction through a public-private partnership (P3).

That’s an arrangement in which a developer will pay for and build what would traditionally be a publicly-owned building, and then lease it back to the government.

But last spring Nunavut’s deputy ministers refused to endorse the P3 model for the hospital, saying they needed more time to consider the plan. They also said they were concerned that a hospital might not be a valid P3 project.

Make the drawings first

“We’re taking it one step at a time. I’ll feel a lot more comfortable about getting the hospital built once we have a drawing of it,” said Patterson.

At the BRHSSB’s meeting last week, Patterson said it would be important to impress upon MLAs the need for a new hospital.

“One thing I’ll say is that Mr. [Ed] Picco, when he was an MLA in the GNWT, has always been a very strong supporter, and vigilant about ensuring that progress continues on the new hospital.”

Patterson said a new hospital is a must. He said there simply isn’t enough room in the old one to provide all of the services the board wants to make available.

Patterson said Baffin’s hospital isn’t the only project facing the P3 controversy. The Kewatin and Kitikmeot regional health and social services boards are also in the middle of constructing medical centres.

Picco, who has just become Nunavut’s minister of Health and Social Services, said the Nunavut government remains committed to all three projects. He said government must decide how to pay for them.

“I haven’t had time to look at the various funding options,” said Picco.

He says the main question is whether the government would be further ahead in the long run to pay for the projects through a direct capital expenditure, or go with leasing agreements under the P3 model.

Picco said he will be reviewing the options over the next three weeks.

“It depends on the affordability and the sustainability. If you build a really nice house and pay for it yourself but can’t afford any furniture, you’ve kind of defeated your purpose,” said Picco.

Rosie Oolooyuk, chairperson of the Kewatin board said that while their project could be in a better situation, it was still being worked on.

“The engineering work is underway,” Oolooyuk said. “We’re waiting for the [Interim] Commissioner’s signature to go ahead.” She said she expected building would start in the summer.

Sharon Echalook, the chairperson of the Kitikmeot board, could not be reached for comment.