KLEIN: Imagine making Naawi-Oodena a beacon of health-care innovation

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In the heart of Winnipeg sits Naawi-Oodena — formerly known as Kapyong Barracks — an expanse of land filled with untapped potential. What if we dared to think differently about how to use this land? What if Treaty One transformed it into a world-class medical village, providing innovative health care options, economic sustainability, and opportunities for Indigenous youth to excel in the medical field?

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Imagine a Treaty One-owned and operated medical village — an entire area dedicated to health-care innovation. It wouldn’t be just another development but a health-care hub designed to meet the needs of Manitobans and beyond, offering faster access to services such as MRIs, CT scans, blood tests, and specialized surgeries.

For those willing to pay a fee, it could mean the difference between waiting months or getting help now. And the beauty of this idea? It is not private health care as we traditionally think of it, but a new model provided by Indigenous governments on their land.

The health-care system in Canada is strained. Wait times for vital services like MRIs or joint replacements are painfully long, and that doesn’t even touch the growing need for mental health and addiction services. We need new ideas, and we need them fast. A Treaty One-run medical village could provide a range of medical services, from preventative medicine to dental care, mental health treatment, and even........

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