John Horgan announces Richmond Hospital revitalization

Premier John Horgan has unveiled plans to upgrade Richmond Hospital’s 52-year-old patient care tower.

Horgan says community members have been pushing him about the current tower being out of date and not meeting the community’s demands.

The premier says there is currently no timeline in place for the replacement, but that the concept has been approved and the province is looking at a business plan.

“We’re moving forward with a business plan to build a new tower in Richmond. This project is a go,” Horgan said at Thursday’s announcement.

“We’re committed to moving as quickly as we possibly can, and construction will certainly be underway before 2020,” Horgan said.

The number of beds added to the hospital will be announced as part of the business plan. Funding for the project is being split between donors, Vancouver Coastal Health and the government.

But Richmond-Queensborough MLA Jas Johal accused the NDP of “smoke and mirrors,” and taking credit for a project the BC Liberals had set in motion while in government.

“Today’s announcement is a re-announcement of an April 2017 BC Liberal release,” said Johal in an email. “The NDP will tell you the business plan wasn’t budgeted, however we had it in our election platform.”

Johal said once the business plan is done, the NDP could delay the start of the actual build, and that there was no guarantee shovels would go in the ground for several years.