HALIFAX—The province’s first long-term care facility on a First Nation will allow seniors to speak their own language and celebrate Mi’kmaq culture while also creating dozens of jobs for the area.
The Cape Breton community of Eskasoni — the largest First Nation east of Montreal, with about 4,500 people — will get a new 48-bed long-term care home. The home will offer service in Mi’kmaq and English and provide space for worship and traditional activities with family and the community, according to a provincial release.
“These projects enable us to protect our culture, take care of our people and provide work that is a major win for us and a great step in reconciliation,” Eskasoni Chief Leroy Denny said in a release.
Denny made the announcement Tuesday alongside Premier Stephen McNeil and the federal minister for rural economic development, Bernadette Jordan.
Steve Parsons, general manager of Eskasoni Corporate Services (a band department that deals with community business, investment and training), said he’s been working toward this day for seven years.
At the time, Parsons said, the community identified long-term care as a priority since there was a growing number of families that didn’t have the skill sets to support seniors living at home. About five years ago Eskasoni Corporate Services conducted a feasibility study looking at Mi’kmaq communities across the province, concluding there is a need since many Indigenous people live off-reserve and away from family and friends.
“It was a struggle for a few reasons: (Seniors) couldn’t speak their language because no one could communicate with them, they couldn’t celebrate culture and traditions,” Parsons said.
They then presented the idea to the province. Parsons said they have been working with the health department in recent years to finalize the business case, design and other plans.
After applying for federal money for the project, he went to the House of Commons last September to present their plans to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. Parsons said he really “drove the point home” that such a project would fulfil many recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“The elders of today are the former residential school survivors,” he said.
The province is contributing up to $6.6 million for the construction of the home, and $19.7 million will come from the federal government through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan.
Parsons said the home, which will be called Kiknu (meaning our home in Mi’kmaq), will be owned by Eskasoni and have the home-care company Shannex as an operating partner.
The facility will have plenty of room, accommodating seniors who’ve had to look for beds outside Eskasoni. Mi’kmaq people across the province who are looking for a place to feel at home are also welcome, Parsons said, as are non-Indigenous residents waiting for space in other facilities.
The ability to keep older people close to home will make a “major difference” to families as well, Parsons said. They will no longer have to worry about the cost of getting to Sydney or other large centres, as there’s no public transit connected to Eskasoni.
The new facility also means 70 full-time jobs, Parsons said, with about 90 per cent of those positions expected to be filled by Eskasoni residents. Those employees will include nurses, continuing care assistants as well as people in cooking and laundry.
Construction companies have yet to be determined, Parsons said, but whoever signs on to be the contractor will be expected to hire skilled workers from the First Nation as well.
Parsons said the hope is to begin major construction next spring.
Tuesday’s announcement also revealed that the province is investing $835,275 toward the installation of fibre optic internet services to Eskasoni, alongside just over $2.5 million from the federal government.
The work will upgrade internet services for 1,200 homes, the release said. Parsons added it will lead to more training and employment for residents. It will also act as a revenue stream, since the Eskasoni band will own the network.
Before now, broadband was accessible but unreliable outside of schools, the band office and health facilities, Parsons said.
“A child in school who’s got access to internet doing work in school … comes home and can’t use it; there’s none,” he said. If a home did have a connection, he clarified, it would be very slow.
“It’s not comparable. The community is elated,” Parsons said.
The funding announcements follow a period of grieving in Eskasoni, as multiple people died from health issues like cancer as well as a suicide crisis in January.
At the time, Denny called on the federal government to provide stable funding for mental-health support. On Jan. 24, the Atlantic First Nations Health Partnership voted to provide a $100,000 investment to support Eskasoni’s request for immediate support, according to an email from Indigenous Services Canada.
Parsons said he has no concerns around funding in that area right now.
“I think people are very happy today. I think they’re happy because they feel like they’ve been supported,” Parsons said.
“Supported in the care of their elders, supported in their aspirations to get engaged with technology, and the fact that the two levels of government have come to the table … I think they have a feeling of not only joy but a feeling of belonging.”
