Attawapiskat hospital fuel spill clean up was relatively quick, MPP Gilles Bisson says

Morning North9:38Report from Queen's Park - Gilles Bisson

We heard from the MPP for Timmins James Bay for this edition of Report from Queen's Park. He spoke to us about the hospital in Attawapiskat and the premier's apology for Regulation 17 among other things...

The hospital in Attwapiskat has been re-opened — and the MPP for the community is calling it a win.

Heating oil spilled in the crawl space of the hospital last November, putting it out of commission. Now, New Democrat MPP Gilles Bisson is applauding the provincial Liberals for making quick work of the clean-up.

• Attawapiskat hospital fuel spill clean up could top $2M
• Fuel spill forces closure of Attawapiskat hospital
• Attawapiskat tainted soil removal: Gilles Bisson wants more funding

"As we know, when the school was contaminated with oil in Attawapiskat, it took over 20 years for the federal government to respond," he told CBC News.

"The hospital is provincial, and in this particular case, once the spill happened, I advised the minister that we needed some money to fix this up. Minister Hoskins stepped to the plate right away, and we started the cleanup in January — less than three-four weeks after the spill."

In February, Bisson asked for additional funds to clean up the contaminated soil around the hospital.

During the cleanup, nurses continued to provide emergency medical services at a temporary clinic in Attawapiskat's health centre.

Bisson said elders who were moved out of Attawapiskat when the hospital closed are now being moved back into the community — and he's hopeful everyone will be home before Christmas.