By Cheryl Jahn

Commitment from all parties to build the tower

Aug 16, 2024 | 4:15 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Just over a week ago, Health Minister Adrian Dix came to Prince George to announce a project that has been on the sidelines for years. A new surgical tower. But, as with two previous announcements around the same project, it’s an election year. So we sought to get the opinions of the other two parties contested in this election.

“There’s no question in my mind that we need a new surgical tower there, as many other services we need in Prince George as well,” says John Rustad, Leader of the BC Conservative Party. “I’ve been supportive of this project for a decade. And so I’m glad to see that the NDP has actually announced this.”

Kevin Falcon was in Prince George in mid-July with a very specific message: “Build the Tower.” His position and that of BC United was clear.

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“I want to be clear about that. Not only are we committed, but the B.C. Liberals now called BC United, have a long record of making commitments in Prince George and fulfilling them. That is the key, because, as you know, that tower was promised by Adrian Dix prior to the last election. In fact, the day before the election, he phoned around saying he was going to build the tower.”

However, much has changed since that July visit, particularly the bill which went from $600- to $700-million dollars four years to $1.6 Billion. For Falcon, he says the NDP’s track record is not great and should be taken with a grain of salt.

“I’m not going to take their numbers to heart at all. I can tell you what we will do is we will be smart in how we procure this project. We will make sure that the risk transfer on schedule and budget is over in the private sector and we will get it built. I have no doubt the costs have gone up, but it’s remarkable that years of delay by the NDP in their own incompetence in building anything has resulted in that kind of a budget escalation.”

Rustad agrees, the NDP’s track record is not great to procurement of projects. He admits the bill wasn’t as high as he expected and, while he wouldn’t necessarily re-visit the business plan in terms of dollars and cents, there’s something he would do in advance.

“I would want to make sure we look at that project, make sure it’s meeting all of those sorts of needs, then plan for the construction, but at the same time, make sure we’re planning for the recruitment because a building without people does not deliver health care,” says Rustad.

With the project not slated to get off the ground at the site of the current Health Unit on Edmonton Street until 2026 and with the provincial election in October, there is plenty of time to look at how that tower will look. But at least there is a commitment from all parties to make it happen.