The new emergency wing of the Surrey Memorial Hospital, which brings the $512 million expansion to life, was overshadowed by a controversial pick of pricey piece of artwork in front of the building.
The new state of the art facility features brand-new technology and equipment, separate areas for walk-in patients and a mental health zone. It’s now the second largest emergency department in Canada with a $120,000 sculpture from Mexico at the door of their lobby.
“A sculpture from Mexico costing six figures at a time where the health care system is supposedly scrimping for every dollar that is just simply too much,” says Jordan Bateman, Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
But the Fraser Health Authority stands behind the hefty price tag to commission the piece and bring it from Mexico, saying it was part of the entire cost.
“For us the project will still would have cost $512 million dollars because we put out a bid for $512 million dollars,” explains Lakh Bagri, Acting Executive Director, Surrey Memorial Hospital. “So the way I like to look at it is this it the value add that they chose to add, we didn’t ask for it.”
While many hospitals have artwork, in most cases the pieces are donated, not purchased. And in this case, there are many questions around the art not being done by a B.C. artist.
“When we looked at the different art pieces, we just felt that this one met the needs of our campus and our site,” Bagri says. “We didn’t necessarily look at who came from BC and who didn’t.”
WATCH: See Surrey City Councillor Barinder Rasode along with Jodie Emery, Randene Neill and Leigh Kjekstad weigh in on the topic on tonight’s Unfiltered:
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