Planned health clinic for The Pas to be named after late NDP MLA

A primary care clinic that is expected to be built in The Pas will be named after the MLA that once represented the area.

The Manitoba government announced the new clinic will be named after Amanda Lathlin, the NDP MLA for The Pas-Kameesak.

She was the first First Nations woman to be elected to the Manitoba legislature back in 2015. Lathlin passed away in March at the age of 49.

“Health care for northerners was one of her top priorities and so it’s only fitting that the clinic is going to carry her name and carry on her legacy,” said Premier Wab Kinew at a news conference Monday.

“She was also an advocate for The Pas to get this very clinic, and so when we included it in the budget this year, we knew that this was an important step to paying tribute to the late Amanda Lathlin.”

Also speaking Monday was Lathlin’s daughter Elyse. She said she is honoured to see her mom being recognized in this way and that her legacy will continue on.

She shared a story about her mom when they were driving by a school that was named after her late grandfather.

“I asked her if she thought that anything would be named after her once she passed and she told me probably not, and she brushed it off and she said, ‘I’m not that important. I don’t think anything like that.’ I wish I could tell her that she was wrong and that she’s being honoured today,” said Elyse.

The town passed a motion earlier this year to name the clinic after Lathlin, which Kinew said was a very moving gesture.

The clinic is expected to be open in 2030 and could cost up to $60 million.