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Hospital dollars sought

The Queen Charlotte Islands General Hospital replacement is still at the top of Northern Health's list, but there is no word on funding from the province.Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins says, "it is still the number one proposed facility replacement project on Northern Health's current capital plan."But she emphasized that it is a "proposed" project and that no funding has ever been committed."We are continuing to work with the community and with our funding partners (the province and the Northwest Regional Hospital District) in the hopes of moving the project forward," she said.Queen Charlotte mayor Carol Kulesha said she will look for more answers while at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Vancouver next week.She's noted in the past that rollout for major capital projects takes at least seven years from approval of funds to end of construction.A similar topic will come up at UBCM about a pot of federal cash that was meant for "shovel-ready" stimulus projects. According to the UBCM president it's now at risk of disappearing because the province has been stalling on putting up the matching funds.Mayor Kulesha said she'd keep an eye on those discussions as well. She and three other councillors, Kris Olsen, Greg Martin and Gladys Noddin, will attend UBCM this year.