PASQUA FIRST NATION — Chief Matthew (Todd) Peigan says he’s hustling to get work started on his community’s new Elders Centre.
By his own admission, it could be for his benefit.
“One day I may be in there, so I advised my elders to design it pretty good,” he said with a chuckle.
Peigan spoke with journalists during a sod-turning ceremony at the Pasqua First Nation on Friday, held to mark the beginning of construction on the new lodge.
The community has costed it at $9.95 million for construction, plus another $2.5 million or so for architectural work and equipment installations. Peigan said construction is to start within the next 10 days, while completion and opening is planned for September next year.
All joking aside, Peigan said the Elders Centre will be important, because it allows Pasqua's golden-agers to stay in their community “once they need that Level 2 and Level 3 care.”
Currently an elder who can no longer live independently has to leave Pasqua to live in a care home or an assisted-living home.
The completion of the Elders Centre will mean “our people don’t have to leave, that we give them a sense of security. Because what’s on their mind is, if I can't look after myself, and a lot of them don't want to admit it, they will continue to try to stay in independent living, and we know that they need those second-, third-level services,” he said.
Each living unit in the new centre will be private with a kitchenette, a bedroom and a living area; communal areas are to include a lounge for visiting, a sauna and a theatre.
Pasqua’s current living centre for elders has 20 units, 10 of which have one bedroom, and 10 units have two bedrooms; it’s full, he said.
Designed by Regina-based KRN Tolentino Architecture, the new building is to have 12 units to start, with options for expansion.
Architect Ronald Tolentino has designed the building’s exterior with solar panels and what looks to be a circular, communal-gathering atrium near the building’s entrance. The living quarters extend lengthwise off the main gathering area.
Peigan noted the community’s elders will be giving their input for designing the building’s interior.
As of Friday, there are eight elders at Pasqua who would need Level 2 or Level 3 care, but even if the new centre isn’t filled to capacity, its units will remain open until they’re filled.
“It's designated just strictly for our First Nation elders,” he said.
Pasqua is using interest returns from settlement money, $145 million, which it received in 2018, to build the Elders Centre. Peigan said a four per cent interest rate on that initial sum has allowed the community to grow the pot.
Interest and investment returns have grown the sum to the point where Pasqua doesn’t need to touch the original $145 million, he said.
After the Elders Centre is built, the community intends to convert its current seniors living centre to a 40-bed youth centre, Peigan added.
He estimated there are 72 people aged 65 and older living on the reserve.
