'Shovels in the ground this year' for long-awaited Lac du Bonnet care home: Manitoba premier

Construction of a long-awaited 95-bed personal care home in Lac du Bonnet will begin this year, Premier Wab Kinew says.

"We're not here to announce a commitment or a plan or feasibility, we're here to say there will be shovels in the ground this year," Kinew said at a Thursday morning news conference inthe southeastern Manitoba community.

Plans for the facility were initially announced byGreg Selinger's NDP government in 2012, before they were cancelled by Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative government in 2017, and then revived by Heather Stefanson's PCs last July, before the 2023 election.

The current NDP government announced in December the Lac du Bonnet facility was among a number ofhealth-care-related capital projects under reviewbecause of the projected deficit discovered after it took office.

Treasury Board documents show that the facility was "approved in principle but not funded" in 2023, Kinew said in a Thursday news release from the province.

The new facility, expected to open in 2027, will cost an estimated $66 million, including construction, design and equipment, the release says.

About 65 people in Lac du Bonnet are currently waiting to get into a care home, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in the release.

The new facility will free up hospital beds for Manitobans who need acute care, Asagwarasaid.

It will also replace the town's existing 30-bed facility, said Kinew, adding that the early years of the pandemic hit seniors particularly hard.

"To me, to make good on all that sacrifice, means that we have to learn the lessons of the pandemic," he said. "This investment is needed in order for us to improve health care here, but also right across Manitoba."

Province 'cannot sustain' all election promises: Kinew

Lac du Bonnet Mayor Ken Lodge took a moment to remember the people who died before they could "reap the benefits" of the new facility.

"I would like everybody to take the opportunity now to applaud the present government, as well as the efforts of the past government, to make sure that this facility is built," he said at the news conference.

Loren Schinkel, the reeve of the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet, says countless volunteer hours were put into the facility over the years.

"But ironically, here we are 12 years later, and it seems rather fitting that Premier Kinew, Minister Asagwara and your provincial team is here to make this important announcement and essentially pick up the torch of caring for our seniors," he said.

Schinkel said the facility is a way to care for the seniors who built the region: "Now, let's get the shovels in the ground and finally move this project forward."

Wayne Ewasko, interim leader of Manitoba's Opposition Progressive Conservatives, said in a statement to CBC News he hopes the province will also build care homes that were previously planned in other communitiesand fully implement theprovincial seniors strategy.

Kinew would not reveal whether other similar projects will be included in the upcoming provincial budget, but saysthe province is learning how to prioritize which projects to finance and how to "live within our means."

"Our province cannot sustain all the things that were announced in the lead-up to the election," he said.

"I can tell you this personal care home is in the budget that is going to be introduced to the people of Manitoba on April2."