CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON ILE A LA CROSSE SCHOOL/HEALTH CENTRE

Released on June 22, 2005

Residents of Ile a la Crosse and visitors gathered today to celebrate the imminent construction of the combined high school, health centre and long-term care centre that will become a focal point for the northern village. Construction on the facility will begin this summer, with completion in 2007.

The sod turning ceremony had a truly northern flavour. Travelling by canoe, Health Minister John Nilson and Northern Affairs Minister Buckley Belanger symbolically brought mail and supplies to the northern community before officially turning the sod on the future site of the facility. Having reached Ile a la Crosse in time for the ceremony, participants in the Saskatchewan Centennial Canoe Quest helped the government representatives with the re-enactment.

"This new facility will be a tangible symbol of our government's continuing commitment to education and health care services for the people of the north," Nilson said. The building will replace St. Joseph's Hospital, which is one of Saskatchewan's first hospitals, as well as the area's high school.

"When we invest in capital projects for education we are investing in our students and in the future of Saskatchewan," Belanger said on behalf of Learning Minister Andrew Thomson. "This unique new facility demonstrates our commitment to all Saskatchewan students and will help Ile a la Crosse area youth in reaching their potential. The co-operation and resource sharing that has gone into this project is to be applauded.

I want to recognize the community of Ile a la Crosse for their patience," Belanger, who is also Athabasca MLA added. "That patience will translate into better education and health care for northwestern residents. This also signifies stabiity for Ile a la Crosse's long-term future."

The two-storey structure will include community school space, a large gymnasium with spectator seating, industrial arts labs and classrooms, performing arts space and classrooms for Grades 7-12. The school will also have two general instruction classrooms to accommodate post-secondary training.

The health section of the building will include an 11-bed hospital, a 17-bed long-term care wing, a family healing centre and an emergency department, radiology and labs. Meeting rooms, a day care, public health and mental health services, adult education, community recreation and a space for community elders and spiritual counselling will be among the many features of the unique facility.

"I am very proud to see the fulfilment of efforts of so many people over many years," Keewatin Yatthe Regional Health Authority chairperson Rose Daigneault said.

"This facility is about people and about how people come together to help one another, to work together, to solve problems together, and to play together," Ile a la Crosse School Division chairperson Louis Gardiner added. "It is the result of our leaders being visionary and willing to take risks. It is about patience, perseverance, and commitment. It is about how northern people do business and solve problems."

Tenders for the building will be received by the end of June, with construction due to start in July, and occupancy by early 2007. The estimated cost of this project is $23 million.

-30-

For More Information, Contact:

Jocelyn Argue Health Regina Phone: (306) 787-4083

Nelson Wagner Learning Regina Phone: (306) 787-6040