The Alberta government has pulled the plug on the nearly $600 million superlab project in Edmonton.
The project would have consolidated medical lab testing under one roof and under provincial control.
Construction of the project, near the University of Alberta’s South Campus, was stopped in April to allow the newly elected UCP government to review it.
The superlab was first approved by the NDP government in 2016 and $23 million has already been spent on the project.
“Again this government is looking for opportunities to appear to be creating savings for Albertans,” said NDP Health Critic David Shepherd.
“They are creating additional costs in cancelling this project and leaving us again after a decade without any plan to move forward infrastructure that is needed by Albertans,” he said.
However, the UCP said the cancellation will save Albertans $50 million by cancelling a planned buyout of DynaLIFE in 2022.
“Our campaign commitment was to increase health care spending and we made it very clear that also includes spending in infrastructure and that includes lab services infrastructure so we’re going to continue to engage with our stakeholders,” said Tyler Shandro, Health Minister.
“Unfortunately because of their drive to be able to use this as an opportunity to nationalize DynaLIFE, you’re right, in Edmonton, there’s unfortunately been for the last four years under the previous government, there was a deficit in investigating lab infrastructure,” Shandro said.
The health minister said there are no plans for the site yet.
The Ministry of Infrastructure tells CTV News Edmonton it is too soon to know the full cost of the cancellations.
With files from Joey Slattery...
