LITTLE CURRENT—The official opening of the 12-unit seniors’ housing complex built by Manitoulin Sudbury District Services Board (DSB) above Little Current’s Low Island Park took place with members of the family of land donor Lily Fielding, dignitaries from the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, DSB, the federal and provincial governments.
The official opening ceremonies began with a land acknowledgement by DSB CAO Donna Stewart, recognizing the traditional territories of the Anishinabek of the Robinson-Huron Treaty territories.
Ms. Stewart then introduced Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré as a representative of the federal government. Mr. Serre continued the opening theme, referencing the recent agreement on the Robinson Huron Treaty annuities between the Robinson Huron Treaty chiefs and the federal and provincial governments laying out a short synopsis of the history. “It is important that we acknowledge the lands that we are sharing, the resources of the community and that we move forward,” he said.
“This is a great day today,” said Mr. Serré, who went on to thank then-Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark who was representing the provincial government and also the Fielding/Wallace family for making the largest private donation to the municipality of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands in its history.
“Housing is so important,” said Mr. Serré. “When we look at the history of this area here, to acknowledge the contribution of Lily Fielding of the land in 2016.” He noted that the municipality then went on to donate the land to DSB to make the new housing complex possible.
He went on to acknowledge the contributions the family have made to Greater Sudbury and Nickel Belt, referencing Kivi Park.
Mr. Serré said it was very important to have then-Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark present as a symbol of federal-provincial cooperation on the housing front.
The Nickel Belt MP said he was pleased to make an announcement, on behalf of federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure John Fraser, a joint investment with the province of close to $800,000 for affordable housing for seniors in Little Current.
Mr. Serré noted that the Island will be within the new boundaries of his riding under the new distribution. Mr. Serré then introduced then-Minister Clark.
Then-Minister Clark noted that Northeast Town Mayor Al MacNevin has met with him many times, “but he always comes to Toronto,” he said. “It is great I am on home turf today to share this wonderful announcement.”
“This is the first new (DSB) housing construction in its 24 years,” noted then-Minister Clark. “I want to acknowledge the generosity of the family. We need everybody working together.” Then-Minister Clark then went on to cite the province’s housing action plan, the fifth edition of which was formulated this year. That plan has as its goal 1.5 million new homes, a goal the then-minister acknowledged was ambitious.
“I am also pleased to announce we are investing $1.6 million to the Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) to help create three affordable units to support seniors in Little Current,” he said. “To add to the collaboration of the federal and provincial levels.”
Then-Minister Clark noted the SSRF was created during the pandemic and made it very flexible, so DSB could deal with COVID initiatives. “The decisions DSB made with those funds literally saved lives,” said then-Minister Clark. The minister noted that the provincial increases to DSB have amounted to a rise of more than 200 percent, a funding increase of just more than $2.5 million a year.
Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Mantha looked to MP Serré and then-Minister Clark to say, “24 years guys? We got to do better.” Mr. Mantha went on to note how smaller projects of 10 or 15 units have a huge impact on Northern communities and bring hope. Mr. Mantha congratulated Ms. Stewart and the DSB team, and lauded Mayor MacNevin. “The community would not do justice without you being here,” he said. “You have proven year after year the leadership you brought to this community.”
Mr. Mantha went on to say he hoped “to see Marc and Steve in this area a lot more often” as he referenced future announcements.
Mayor MacNevin thanked members of previous terms of DSB boards and again this term for making “that effort to acknowledge the need for seniors’ housing, housing of all kinds,” he said. “They are motivated to get things done. It takes a lot of cooperation, a lot of collaboration.”
“I want to acknowledge again the Lily Fielding Foundation,” he said. “It was an opportunity to for us to start looking to create some kind of housing for seniors in the community. Jeff Wallace reached out to our CAO Dave Williamson and myself and gave us the opportunity to meet with Lily Fielding at her home down on Long Lake. She was a very gracious woman and she was very happy to know this was going toward a cause that would help seniors in Little Current in particular.”
DSB Chair Bruce Killah then took the podium to note that he has been on the DSB board for 19 years and projects like these have been discussed every year. Mr. Killah thanked the Fielding family for making the project possible. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said, going on to thank the DSB staff for their hard work on the project.
In an emotional moment, Northeast Town resident and senior Gail Robinson noted that she is one of the seniors who are moving into the new complex and thanked all those responsible for helping to make that happen. “I just want to say, thank you so much,” she said.
The cost of the project was a little over $6 million, confirmed Ms. Stewart. The complex consists of 10 single bedroom units and two fully accessible, two-bedroom units. While there are only two units designated as fully accessible (with doorways large enough to accommodate wheelchairs), the other units are designed on a very open floor plan. “You can get a walker through the doorways easily,” she noted. The units will be a combination of market rent and supportive housing.
Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes learned about the event too late to attend but remarked when contacted by The Expositor while attending a Labour Day event in Kapuskasing that she was very pleased that the project had come to fruition.
“We certainly need many more investments like this on Manitoulin Island,” she said. “Housing is an important issue, even here on Manitoulin Island.”
A walk-through video created by DSB can be found on The Expositor website at www.manitoulin.com.
