Sanikiluaq man asked to change residency for health treatment

Harry Sala of Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, says he’s upset with the Nunavut government, after being told to change his residency to Manitoba in order to continue receiving the kidney dialysis he needs.

Sala, a 68-year-old elder, has been receiving treatment in Winnipeg for the last 15 months, because he can’t get dialysis in Sanikiluaq, or anywhere else in Nunavut.

“I don’t know how this exactly works, but I was told by a nurse my residency will be changed,” says Sala.

Sala says that does not make him happy.

In the legislature last week, Sanikiluaq MLA Allan Rumbolt demanded answers from Health Minister Monica Ell.

Rumbolt says the health department put Sala up in an apartment with nothing but a bed. He says there was an announcement on community radio in Sanikiluaq seeking donations of money and household items for Sala.

"Now it seems that he is being pressured to become a resident of Manitoba and Nunavut's department of health no longer wants to provide for his medical treatment.”

Ell says she'll get back to Rumbolt.

CBC submitted a request for comment to Nunavut's health department. Officials are expected to respond this week.

Sanikiluaq, pop. 850, is a community on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay. 

Lke most communities in Nunavut, it has a local health centre staffed with nurses, but residents must travel to a larger centre — in this case, Winnipeg — to receive more complex care.