City council has given staff the approval to prepare a sale agreement with the PAGC for the Margo Fournier Centre. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Margo Fournier building

City favours selling Margo Fournier Centre to PAGC

Jun 21, 2022 | 11:00 AM

By a five to two vote in favour, council decided yesterday that they will prepare to sell the Margo Fournier Centre to the PAGC.

The building is underused, said Mayor Greg Dionne and the Senior’s Heritage Centre will still be allowed to use their space as long as the group exists.

“Their building burned down so that put on extra pressure. I do think it’s the right move and I think they’ll be a great neighbour to the Heritage Centre,” stated Dionne.

The city and PAGC have an agreed price of $375,000 and a condition of sale that allows the Heritage Centre to continue for an annual $1 lease which will be held by the city.

“Urban services they provide many services for urban members and, you know, not just our people but the general public,” Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte said.

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The PAGC is renting a building at the moment and pay quite a bit, Hardlotte explained and the building does not meet their needs.

They have been negotiating with the city for a while to buy the Margo Fournier building, which is in a good location in the downtown area.

“This building is going to be the Urban Services office and many services we offer,” Hardlotte said.

Council rules don’t allow for members of the public to speak during meetings except in specific circumstances, which he regrets.

“I would have liked the opportunity to address some of the concerns of some of the city council and especially some of the seniors. Our culture and myself are taught to really respect our Elders and if they have programs in there, we’re certainly not going to leave them out there,” Hardlotte said.

Seniors, which he calls Elders, need to keep the programming to keep their health, he said.

Councillor Dennis Ogrodnick said in the meeting that while he understands the worry of the Heritage Centre users, people need to realize that there is more than one government operating in the city and PAGC is one of them.

“We have the Grand Council, they’re a government, we have the Métis Nation, they’re a government, and they’re all partners in our community and part of our large population,” he said.

There is no need for concern by the seniors, he said.

Some of the things PAGC hopes to offer in the future include social supports, open gym nights, social nights for Elders, single parents, families and youth, a transitional shelter for those rehabilitating back into society and a daytime warming/cooling place.

The vote on Monday means that staff were given the nod to prepare a sale agreement that will come back to the next council meeting for a final vote.

Yesterday, both Terra Lennox-Zepp and Charlene Miller opposed the sale. Lennox-Zepp said there was no public consultation done before hand and that she preferred a five-year lease with the PAGC over an outright sale.

Some of the programming that is now done in the building will move to new locations, such as the Alfred Jenkins Field House or the Arts Centre downtown.

If the sale proceeds, the arts centre could also be re-named to honour Margo Fournier’s contribution to the city.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow