As Goose Bay celebrates new housing for seniors, Labrador West says they've once again been left out

Plans for housing for seniorsin Happy Valley-Goose Bay has people in the community excited for the future, but those in Labrador West say they feel like they've been passed over again after years of waiting.

The federal government announced funding for 28 two-bedroom apartment units to be built in Happy Valley-Goose Bay's West Hefler Development subdivision, which will also include a community garden andequipment for outdoor activities and seniorservices.

Yvonne Jones, the Liberal MP for Labrador, said the development will become a gated community to allow seniors access to the services they need while maintaining independence.

"The vision for Goose Bay is to use this area to develop a minimum of 100 seniors' units over the course of the next five years," Jones told CBC Tuesday.

"There's already people that have approached us to talk to us about putting [a] Level 1 and 2 seniors' care facility in this area as well, and the decision has been made [that] it's a good idea to do that So it's going to have a dual purpose."

Jones said there are also plans to begin work on four new units for low-income families on Learning Street, and is hopeful that the model announced in Happy Valley-Goose Bay can work in other places across Canada.

Tony Michelin hopes to avail of a unit when work is completed. He's tried to find places to live in the community that he can't afford,and said the announcement was music to his ears.

"We're aging, and we really need the space," he said.

"This is brilliant. It just makes me relaxed for a change, you know, that I know something is coming [that's] available to me."

Lab West feeling overlooked, resident says

But as Happy Valley-Goose Bay celebrates new housing, frustrations are building in Labrador West where residents say housing projects for seniors have been rejected and delayed for years.

Tammy James moved back to Labrador City in 2017to tend to her elderly father, who desperately wanted to stay in the region.She hoped something would be in place by now, but recently made a devastating decision to move him to Edmonton to be closer to family.

"I think he just can't believe that nothing has been done up to this point," James said.

"This has been such an ongoing issue for such a long time, that the feeling that I'm getting from seniors when I talk to them and their families is a sense of disappointment and being overlooked."

Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown voiced his frustration around the delays this week, telling CBC News he believes the biggest roadblock the region faces in getting housing is the federal government.

"I'd like that the federal government be just cut out of this equation altogether," Brown said.

"I think it's time that we just do it and get it done here in-house. Clearly, this Liberal federal government is just not playing ball when it comes to what's going on here in Lab West. We need some housing. It's been stressed enough. Now I think it just needs to be a [provincially] funded project."

Speaking at the announcement in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Jones assured residents of Labrador West that they aren't being left behind when it comes to housing. She's eager to see a housing proposal for the region soon.

"I don't have an application yet, but what I can say is that when I do get an application for Labrador West, it will be a priority for me to look for funding for that," she said.

"I know what the need is, and I want to do seniors' housing in Labrador West so badly. But in government, you got to have that application."

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