Alberta government keeps promise to cancel construction of medical superlab
Alberta is cancelling construction of a medical superlab in Edmonton and scrapping a plan to put all laboratory services under government control.
Premier Jason Kenney promised to do so before his United Conservative government was elected in April.
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The former NDP government had announced the project in 2016 to bring existing labs and staff under one roof and put all its services under the control of one agency.
Kenney argued the changes would do nothing to improve patient services.
Construction of the $595-million superlab near the University of Alberta south campus was halted shortly after the election while the UCP conducted a review.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro says the province will save all but $23 million in construction costs and another $50 million will be saved by cancelling the planned buyout of private lab testing provider DynaLife.
“We’re standing by our commitment to cancel the expensive and disruptive superlab project and the ideologically driven plan to nationalize DynaLife,” Shandro said in a statement Thursday.
“We’re going to put patients at the centre of the health system and invest health-care dollars where they’re most needed.”
Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda said vendors with the lab project will be compensated for the termination of contracts and the construction site will be restored.
Watch below: In April, Jason Kenney’s UCP government paused work at the construction site of the planned $590-million superlab in south Edmonton
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