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The government is renovating and expanding the emergency department of the Health Sciences Center, but it will cost about four times the price of the original budget.
Yesterday, the province awarded the contract for the construction of the new ER to Marco Group, at a price of $40.5 million. That’s a significant increase from the $10 million allocated in the 2022 budget.
Infrastructure minister Elvis Loveless says the cost increase is no different from other projects, such as roads, which have seen costs rise this year due to what he calls global pressures around material and labor costs.
But, he says that they will not put a stop to the project, because the infrastructure is very necessary.
Meanwhile, the province’s opposition parties are raising concerns about the proposed updates to the Health Science ER.
Both PC Leader David Brazil and NDP Leader Jim Dinn agree that improving health care infrastructure is a good thing, but question the merits of this $40 million expansion.
Brazil is wondering how the cost of the project has increased by about $ 30 million when nothing has changed since last spring’s budget.
He says the bill does nothing to address the province’s immediate health problems, and points out that “another friendly liberal company” is benefiting to the amount of $30 million more than was budgeted.
Brazil calls the announcement an “embarrassment” and “an insult to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador” that will only delay access to emergency rooms.
NDP Leader Jim Dinn says it’s like the province wrote a blank check to get the project done, which he finds frustrating.
He says whenever he raises issues around things like guaranteed basic income, housing and the minimum wage the province uses its financial constraints as reasons not to do it. However, Dinn argues, when it comes to awarding a contract, the mind is not to worry about the cost.
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