THUNDER BAY – What can be done with the site of the long-closed Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital is one of many topics city officials raised with provincial ministries this week in Ottawa during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference.
The 140-acre property on Algoma Street near St. Ignatius High School has been unused for many years, and city officials want to see it put to use.
For that to happen, the province would have to transfer the property to the municipality.
“We get asked as councillors all the time to do something with that property,” Coun. Shelby Ch’ng, vice-chair of the city’s intergovernmental affairs committee, said after a media briefing on Thunder Bay’s activities in the AMO conference.
“It is 100 per cent provincially owned, so we can’t just do whatever we want,” she added.
“One of the key messages we wanted to send to provincial government is that we want to work with our local neighbours, Fort William First Nation. I think they’re going to be critical in moving anything forward with the LPH grounds.”
Just what would become of the land and building once a property transfer occurs is unclear, Ch’ng said.
“There’s still an issue of heritage status that needs to be sorted out.”
Once a property transfer happens, there will be “some sort of collaboration” to transform the property into something Thunder Bay residents can be proud of, she said.
“Again, what that looks like I don’t know, but I want the community to know that city council has definitely heard that the LPH is a priority.
“It’s a gem in our city. It’s a beautiful property that we really want to see redeveloped, retooled.”
Ch’ng said the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing showed “probably the most interest in hearing what we have to say” about the LPH property during the AMO conference, which ran Aug. 17-20 and had more than 2,500 participants.
Ch’ng, intergovernmental affairs committee chair Coun. Kristen Oliver and Coun. Kasey Etreni briefed reporters Thursday morning on the conference.
The proposed Northwest Arterial Road, homelessness, crime and the need for a forensic pathology unit in Thunder Bay were among many topics they said were discussed with provincial officials.
