Michael Gardener received a $17,000 bill from the Nunavut government in July for his stay at the Larga Baffin. (CBC)

A retired Anglican minister from Iqaluit says he ended up not having to pay a hefty bill from Nunavut's Health Department for staying at an Ottawa medical boarding home for Inuit.

Michael Gardener, 79, said he is thankful for the support of Nunavummiut after he had received an invoice for almost $17,000 for staying at the Larga Baffin, a boarding home for eastern Nunavut patients who have to travel to Ottawa.

Gardener stayed at the Larga while he was accompanying his wife, Margaret, who had been getting medical treatment since January.

Gardener received the bill in July for his stay at the Larga Baffin because he is not an Inuit land-claims beneficiary and therefore does not qualify for a program that covers relevant health-care costs for Inuit patients.

But after his situation became public last month, Nunavut Health Minister Tagak Curley said his department won't make Gardener pay the bill.

Gardener told CBC News he hopes his experience highlights the need for policies to address people in similar situations.

"The issue for those of us who are longtime residents of the North [is], 'What is the policy if you're not covered to go to Larga?'" Gardener said in an interview.

"What happened to me, I hope, [will] raise this issue to help other people, and something that I'm sure will be addressed and remedied in the near future."

While he was in Ottawa, Gardener said a social worker there was able to help him find another place to stay.

Gardener said both he and Margaret, who have lived in the North since the 1950s, are happy to be back in Iqaluit following months of treatment in Ottawa.