Campbell River’s city manager says after years of working with the province on opening a much-needed long-term care facility, she was incredibly disappointed to hear it was now on hold following Tuesday’s budget announcement from the province.

Elle Brovold, city manager for Campbell River says before Tuesday, she had no indication from the province that a planned build of long-term care facility would not move forward.

“We were all incredibly disappointed yesterday when the announcement came out,” says Brovold.

The project was first promised in 2023, then construction was slated to start in 2025 and open in 2027.

“The city for a couple of years had been pressing on the province for a timeline.”

The province first announced plans to build the three-storey long-term care facility with 153 long-term care beds on the west side of the North Island Hospital at 375 Second Ave. in Campbell River in June 2023.

With an estimated capital cost $134 million from B.C.’s Island Health, and $53.6-million from the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District, Island Health was slated to build and later operate the facility.

In the fall of 2024 and 2025, Brovold says Campbell River city staff and council met with the Minister of Health and the Minister of Infrastructure to check on the progress of the project.

“When we saw that the 2025 construction date was very unlikely because we hadn’t heard anything, the city and council advocated quite strongly to the province, asking for an update and a timeline,” she says. “They acknowledged that there was a delay but they said that they were still committed to the project moving forward.”

Over the past six months, the city had continued working with the province’s consultants, providing feedback on plans and designs, with no awareness that it would be delayed. They were just waiting on the province to submit the development application, which did not happen.

On Tuesday, when the province announced a $2.8 billion investment for health-care over three years, it added that at the same time, this investment mean other areas, including long-term care facility projects, would take a backseat.

In a statement Tuesday, the government said it’s “adjusting the timing of delivery for several approved long-term care projects to incorporate the lessons learned from projects already underway and from its ongoing review of the long-term care infrastructure program.”

However, according to Brovold, there has been no timeline provided as to when the project will get back on track.

“It’s incredibly disappointing. Long-term care beds aren’t a future need, they’re a need right now in Campbell River. We already have existing wait lists for people to get into long-term care, and with an aging demographic, we know that need will only grow. So yeah, it’s very disappointing,” she adds.

This budget announcement not only delays the Campbell River long-term care facility project, but also projects in Abbotsford, Chiliwack, Kelowna (Cottonwoods), Delta, Fort St. John and Squamish.

The province it’s “taking action to deliver beds more efficiently through a review of long-term infrastructure program to achieve cost efficiencies while maintaining safe, high-quality care for seniors.”

With this week’s announced $2.8 billion investment towards health-care, the bulk of this ($2.3B) is earmarked for increasing capacity and supporting the growing need for more services including doctors, nurses and health-care workers. It also supports the “planning, development and operations of new and expanded hospitals and health-care facilities throughout the province,” it states.

Another $131 million over the three years will go towards mental health and addictions treatment, including more spaces for involuntary care patients.

The final $34 million annually is to provide access to in-vitro fertilization for almost 1,800 B.C. families, the province says.

With the $2.8 billion set aside for increasing capacity, supports, services and resources, other areas are taking the backseat, which includes long-term care projects and the continuation of job cuts.

“Right now, there are added fiscal pressures on government finances. To mitigate construction cost escalation and maintain a competitive debt-to-GDP, the Province is adjusting the pace of the capital plan to continue building the schools, hospitals, and transit people need in a sustainable way,” stated the province on Tuesday.

For now, she says the city plans to follow up with their MLA and the province to better understand the government’s plans to fund the long-term care units.

“Right now it says they’re deferred, but there’s no money at all in the budget for those. So it just begs the question of where we’re at with all the current work that’s been done…and when we can potentially look to move something forward.”

Currently there is one existing long-term care facility in Campbell River, the Yucalta Lodge, operated by Island Health with capacity of 95 people.

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