Richmond North Centre MLA Teresa Wat is keeping the coals hot for a new acute care tower at Richmond Hospital, but Health Minister Adrian Dix claims it took her too long to ignite them to begin with.
Liberal Wat pressed New Democrat Dix at a committee meeting Oct. 20 for a timeline for the new tower.
“In the ministry’s updated budget, 2017, there’s no mention of Richmond Hospital. So health spending is going to increase by $603 million over three years but no new money was earmarked for Richmond’s acute care tower replacement,” argued Wat, who repeatedly noted the NDP promised to expedite the project prior to the May 9 election, in which the NDP formed a minority government with Green Party support.
“We are proceeding. The commitment is out there,” said Dix, who found it puzzling that Wat pressed him on a timeline.
“It is, I think, unbelievable that Richmond cabinet ministers, who absolutely failed to deliver this hospital project for years, are now standing up months into their opposition and saying it’s taking too long,” said Dix at one point during a 25-minute exchange.
“This hospital has needed work for six years. I can assure you we will be way faster than the previous Liberal government,” said Dix.
Wat said $27 million is sitting in trust with the Richmond Hospital Foundation and half of those donations are dependent on a 2020 construction start date.
As the two sparred, they each noted their respective parties had sent out numerous campaign press releases with commitments.
“After 15 years and 10 months, all the people of Richmond got was a lousy press release,” said Dix, noting the hospital hadn’t seen a major improvement since the late 1990s when the Westminster Tower was built by the NDP.
Wat quickly jumped to her own track record on the hospital, noting she personally had only been elected in 2013, thus didn’t have as much time to respond to the hospital needs (according to a 2005 seismic report of the hospital, the north (acute care) tower would likely collapse, or partially collapse with “moderate shaking.” This fact was reiterated to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) in a 2011 report.).
“You have to give credit to the previous government for starting the concept plan,” said Wat, who said she put the pressure on past health minister Terry Lake.
This year, the Liberals claimed to expedite the business plan, but Dix said the ministry was still in the concept stage when he arrived in office.
“It is a fact Richmond city council had to take out an ad to get the attention of Richmond MLAs. It is a fact this project has been stuck in the mud for years,” said Dix, noting under the Liberals it takes at least three years to go from concept to construction.
But when pressed again by Wat for a timeline, Dix couldn’t specify.
“The commitment is clear from the current government and we’re proceeding as we should, expeditiously through the process for a project that has a high priority in Vancouver Coastal Health,” said Dix.
He charged that Wat was being too political but he himself mentioned how the NDP gained significant votes in Richmond because of the hospital issue.
“My share of votes went up in 2017,” Wat told Dix, who concluded the discussion was “shabby political games.”
