Cape Breton Regional Hospital gets $5.7M for a new roof and flooring
Much of the funding comes from the federal government's COVID-19 infrastructure stimulus spending
Cape Breton Regional Hospital will be getting a new roof and improved flooring to increase the facility's lifespan, part of a $5.7-million restoration project announced Wednesday.
The funding will be used to replace the building's 25-year-old roof, and to repair and restore hospital flooring.
Separate funding
The funding is in addition to $38 million already announced for health-care redevelopment in Cape Breton, the MLA for Sydney-Whitney Pier Derek Mombourquette said.
"This is completely separate from all the other money that's going towards infrastructure that's already going on here."
'We need it'
Mombourquette told reporters projects are meant to help maintain the resources that already exist in the region.
"This building is still going to be well-used into the future," he said. "We need it [and] we need to do the upkeep on that."
The project will be jointly funded by the federal and provincial levels of government, with $4.5 million coming from Ottawa's COVID-19 resilience stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
Nova Scotia will cover roughly $1.2 million.
"We've heard Canadians loud and clear, we've heard Cape Bretoners loud and clear — that health is at the forefront of the priorities," said MP for Sydney-Victoria Jaime Battiste.
Officials say infrastructure projects help improve access to care and help to retain and recruit health-care professionals.
With files from CBC's Brent Kelloway.