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The Nova Scotia government could pay Shannex more than $2 billion over the life of the contract to operate a transitional care facility in West Bedford, a figure senior health officials say might seem large but will actually amount to an overall savings for the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re quite pleased and proud of the work that we\u2019ve done \u2026 to make sure Nova Scotians are getting value and best value out of this facility financially,” Derek Spinney, chief financial officer for Nova Scotia Health, told the legislature’s public accounts committee Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“Most importantly as well is the 18,000 patient days that folks didn\u2019t have to stay in a hospital.”<\/p>\n
Spinney and other senior members of the health authority and Health Department appeared before the committee to discuss the facility, which provides beds for patients who no longer need acute care or those who are awaiting a long-term care placement.<\/p>\n
The site\u2019s origins created controversy for the government, which bought what was an unfinished hotel construction site for $34.5 million and poured millions more into it to convert the building into a 68-bed health-care facility.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769072533_364_default.jpg\")
Derek Spinney, chief financial officer for Nova Scotia Health, speaks to reporters following an appearance before the legislature’s public accounts committee on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Galen McRae\/CBC)<\/p>\n
After being selected to operate the site on a five-year contract, Shannex made an unsolicited proposal to the government to buy the property, finish construction, build an addition bringing the number of beds to 178, and operate the facility once completed.<\/p>\n
Spinney told the committee the agreement with Shannex is for 25 years, with a 10-year option after that.<\/a> Based on a cost of $685 per bed, per day, and adjusted for inflation over the life of 35 years, Spinney said the total value of the contract could reach around $2.7 billion.<\/p>\n But he told MLAs that it\u2019s also important to note the operation cost of a bed at the West Bedford site is about $300 less than an acute care bed in a hospital, meaning a savings of more than $1 billion over the life of the deal with Shannex.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to put it into context,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n MLAs heard that in the first year of operation,<\/a> the wing with 68 beds has seen more than 400 patients pass through, including people who were able to wait for a long-term care bed without taking up space in a hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cThe impact on the system can\u2019t be overstated,\u201d Dr. Aaron Smith, the executive medical director of the health authority\u2019s central zone, told the committee.<\/p>\n Spinney said the expansion Shannex is building is on track to accept patients on April 1. Construction cost is slated to come in at $114 million, down from the initial estimate of $120 million,<\/a> and the province has been made whole for the money it put into the property prior to getting the offer from Shannex.<\/p>\n Opposition MLAs have raised concerns about the government\u2019s decision to do a deal with Shannex without going to public tender. It\u2019s a concern the province\u2019s auditor general also raised in a 2024 report<\/a> in which Kim Adair called the government\u2019s purchase of the site a \u201chighly unusual transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials acknowledged the approach introduced new risks, but insisted they were able to mitigate and meet them to deliver a good product.<\/p>\n Deputy health minister Dana MacKenzie told MLAs that value for money is always top of mind for people in her department. Despite the concerns from the auditor general, she noted the government used a legally permissible approach in doing the deal with Shannex.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769072534_214_default.jpg\")
Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette says open tenders are the best safeguard of public money. (Galen McRae\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769072534_573_default.jpg\")
NDP finance critic Lisa Lachance says without public tenders it’s difficult to know if the government got the best deal. (Galen McRae\/CBC)<\/p>\n