Matawa Training and Wellness Centre receives $20 million in loans for building retrofit in Thunder Bay
Interior renovations to finish by spring; exterior construction to be done by fall
The Matawa Training and Wellness Centre is getting $20 million in loans to support a retrofit of its building in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The centre provides training, education, health and social services to more than 10,000 members of nine First Nations in the region.
The facility is located at a former long-term care home at 523 Algoma St. N. Once the renovations are complete, there will be more space for programs and up to 300 local employees by 2026.
The funding, which was announced on Friday, comes from the Canada Infrastructure Bank's (CIB) Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative ($15 million), as well as the Royal Bank of Canada ($5 million).
"I feel really wonderful," said Matawa First Nations Management's CEO, David Paul Achneepineskum. "We [have] always had the desire, the vision, to have and operate our own facilities."
The centre is bringing several services into a central location: Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), the Matawa Health Co-operative, and Awashishewiigiihiwaywiin — Matawa's social services framework.
Achneepineskum explained that this supports his culture's holistic approach to serving community members in all aspects of their lives.
"Anything that impacts you throughout your life, we want to offer those services to help support our people," he said.
The building's retrofit is expected to reduce energy consumption by about 70 per cent. Interior renovations are hoped to be finished by March, with exterior construction to be completed by the fall, he said.
The project faced earlier delays due to supply chain disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
'We want them to be independent'
Matawa's nine communities include:
- Aroland First Nation.
- Constance Lake First Nation.
- Eabametoong First Nation.
- Ginoogaming First Nation.
- Long Lake #58 First Nation.
- Neskantaga First Nation.
- Nibinamik First Nation.
- Marten Falls First Nation.
- Webequie First Nation.
Once completed, the centre is expected to provide more than 20,000 appointments each year related to social, health and holistic care.
Many members of these communities have faced challenges accessing education in their early years, which is why it's important to give adults the opportunity to return for further education and training, Achneepineskum explained.
Education, he said, is a key way to help people escape poverty.
"We want them to be independent as individuals and also to help their families," he said.
Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu shared that she returned to school as an adult — something that's much harder for First Nations people to accomplish due to systemic barriers and the legacy of the Indian residential school system, she said.
"What's great about this centre is it's not just focused on the skills development, but it's also all of the other supports that are needed to actually deal with a complex adult life, full of obligations and challenges that they have accumulated over the years," Hajdu said.
"Matawa is really using a wraparound approach to make sure that students succeed."
The centre's support of jobs in the trades is also important to help meet the growing demands in these industries, both within First Nations and beyond, she added.
While the centre serves as an essential hub, Achneepineksum said the greater goal is to deliver more services within First Nations themselves, which can be challenging due to the far distances and lack of infrastructure within communities.
"We'll build programming here in this facility, and then we'll take that program and have it based in the communities," he said. "That's where it should be."
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