Former Clarion Hotel now being used as medical boarding home

What was once the Clarion Hotel near Polo Park is being transformed into a home away from home for Nunavut residents seeking health care in Winnipeg.

The former hotel was purchased by Nunavut-based Sakku Investment Corporation in May, and has since been transitioned to be exclusively a medical boarding home for Nunavut residents.

"There's a lot of travel that happens from our region, the Kivalliq region in Nunavut, for medical patients to access services here in Winnipeg," David Kakuktinniq, the president and CEO of Sakku.

He says the hotel has 139 rooms, more than triple that of the former medical boarding home, which means Inuit travellers will be able to stay together under one roof.

"The reality is we're processing close to 200 a day," Kakuktinniq said, adding this caused problems at the former medical boarding home facility. "There was a very large amount of patients that had to overflow into other hotels across the city."

The new medical boarding home includes different aspects to make the stay more comfortable for those having to make the trip to Winnipeg. That includes food services, games and hobby rooms, communal rooms, and of course, the former hotel's pool and water slide.

With its new purpose, the former Clarion Hotel also has a new name – Uquutaq – which means shelter or windbreak in Inuktitut.

"It's significant in that it denotes really that this is a shelter and this is a support during somebody's travel," Kakuktinniq said.

As for the Pancake House, along with the other commercial tenants in the building, Kakuktinniq says they will remain open if the tenants choose.

"Because it was a hotel prior, a lot of the establishments were here because of that, and there's synergy within hotel operations," he said, adding there are changes as the building transitions away from a hotel.

"We're going to be very mindful with what impact we have on our tenants or current service providers and how that transition is going to go. And we'll work through any issues that we have."

With an already full house – there is close to 200 Nunavut residents staying here this week – Kakuktinniq said he's excited as the building continues to evolve into a home away from home.

"It's a very proud moment for it from the Kivalliq region and the Nunavut Territory overall."