Victoria Lodge in Fishing Lake open after renovations

Elders in Fishing Lake Metis Settlement will have a place to stay in their own community.

Victoria Lodge after multiple years of being closed has re-opened. Originally built in 1995, the building underwent several renovations this spring, including a new wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical, flooring, and a fireplace. 

“I’m happy that we’re done,” said lodge manager Sarah Chalifoux. “We’re offering a service that’s needed in our community and neighbouring communities. I’m happy that it’s a beautiful building. When you walk through it — it’s a beautiful building,” she said. 

“A lot of the stuff in the building was dated and it should be brought up to the present time. At that time when we had closed, we had some structural issues that we addressed. We did some preventative measures and had radon gas abatement as a preventive measure in our facility. We had expanded our deck and just little finishing touches that makes it more welcoming, as opposed to the typical hospital feel of the other facility.” 

Shirley Calliou, board member for the facility, said the community showed interest in having the building re-open. She commended the work Daniels has done in getting to Victoria Lodge to this point, while being fully certified.

With it’s close proximity to several amenities in Fishing Lake, she hopes local elders consider it as a potential home.

“I’m hoping that they [members] see the importance of keeping our seniors here at home to be able to retain, like Sarah said, to be able to keep that knowledge and keep their stories within our community. And not only that, but to be passed on to our youth and children.

“We also want them to be comfortable and feel safe here in their own community. And we encourage seniors here, as well as within our surrounding community to come in and take a look and see if they would like to call Victoria Lodge their home,” she said. 

The space has room for 10 elders to stay at the lodge.

“Now that we’ve had the reopening, we are now putting applications out and advertising for building. So we’re looking to eagerly take seniors from our community and the neighboring towns within our facility,” said Chalifoux. 

“I’m happy that I had good staff and I’m excited to move forward and welcome in residents and see what that brings for us.”