Suzanne Gammon
Tribune
Plans to rebuild the 62-year old Au Château Home for the Aged have been discussed for over a decade and then put on the backburner in recent years as government funding dried up while construction costs and interest rates climbed. However, with the province newly focused on modernizing long-term care and committing dollars to that objective, the facility’s board and management have dusted off the project and hope to submit it for provincial approval this year.
The plan is preliminary and has yet to be costed, but Au Château’s administrator and two board members presented it to West Nipissing municipal council on June 16. The town co-owns Au Château with the municipality of Temagami, and would thus be responsible for the redevelopment.
Administrator Andree Quesnel and board members Royal Poulin and Dan Gagné outlined that the Ministry of Long-Term Care recently updated the standards for homes and, in July 2025, committed to financing 85% of costs for redevelopment projects with the aim of creating 30,000 new beds and upgrading another 28,000 beds for long-term care residents across Ontario. Homes that do not adapt to meet the new standards could be phased out, they warned.
“Many existing homes, including Au Chateau, were built under outdated design standards that no longer meet today’s expectations for privacy, safety, and quality of care. Homes that do not meet these standards are expected to redevelop over time or exit the system,” Quesnel stated, with Gagné echoing the statement in French. Both also urged quick action to adopt a plan and submit it, saying that “delays in decision-making impact access to funding and provincial prioritization.”
Au Château currently has 162 beds, with 118 people on a waiting list to get into the facility and demand constantly growing. The home was already behind on upgrades required to meet standards adopted in 2015, with the newer standards even harder to attain using structures built over 60 years ago.
Gagné said they considered two options, namely a full redevelopment that would increase the number of beds to 224 in seven 4-storey residential buildings, or a renovation project that would reduce the beds to 160 in five 3-storey buildings. Obviously, they were recommending the redevelopment option in order to meet increasing demand, enhance the living space, limit disruption and seize the current funding opportunity.
