Manitoba Clinic future linked to province’s review of $1.5-B Tory-planned HSC project

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This article was published 22/11/2023 (737 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A planned $1.5-billion rebuild of Health Sciences Centre’s adult bed towers, announced last summer as the largest health-care capital spending project in Manitoba history, may not happen under the new NDP government.

Premier Wab Kinew has said the previous Progressive Conservative government made plans that are financially unsustainable. The HSC tower reconstruction is one of several projects now under review by the province, Kinew said Tuesday during a news conference following the reading of the throne speech.

The fate of the Manitoba Clinic hangs in the balance. The 10-storey Sherbrook Street private clinic entered creditor protection proceedings last year and had been looking for a buyer when the former provincial government and the Health Sciences Centre Foundation agreed to acquire the building and rebuild the hospital bed towers within the 232,038 square-foot facility.

The foundation entered into a real-estate purchase agreement Aug. 1 for the Manitoba Clinic. The sale is subject to court approval in the ongoing insolvency proceedings in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench. The deal will be considered closed seven days after approval is granted, according to a report filed Monday by the Manitoba Clinic’s court-appointed monitor. The next court hearing date is set for Friday. The purchase price and deposit paid by the HSC Foundation is being kept confidential and was redacted from the report.

Manitoba Clinic CEO Keith McConnell declined to comment.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara’s press secretary, Naline Rampersad, reiterated Wednesday that the government is currently reviewing the HSC reconstruction proposal.

“Once we have a decision we will let Manitobans know,” she wrote in an email.

Tory health critic Kathleen Cook said she surmises the current government is considering cancelling the project to fund its own election promises.

“I find it very concerning that the government is considering putting this project on the chopping block, and I think cancelling the project would have very negative impacts on HSC, on the health-care staff who work there and most importantly, on Manitoba patients,” said Cook (Roblin).

Some HSC facilities haven’t been upgraded in more than 100 years and this project would have created more than 240 new patient rooms, allowed the adult ER to expand and helped retain and attract medical staff, she said.

“I don’t think that cancelling the project aligns with Manitobans’ priorities at all,” Cook said, saying she also has questions about Manitoba Clinic’s fate if the project is cancelled. Asked about the financial sustainability and long-term budgeting of the project, Cook said the rebuild is “demonstrably necessary” for many reasons.

“I can’t fathom why the current government thinks that of all of the decisions that they could be making, that this would be a smart decision at this time.”

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com