A big health care ask to the province from Lethbridge, Alta., Mayor Blaine Hyggen is getting the green light.
The UCP announced Wednesday $2 million will be provided for the design of a catheterization lab at Chinook Regional Hospital.
When Budget 2023 was unveiled in February, Hyggen expressed disappointment the lab wasn’t included.
“I just thought we were left out on something in particular. That was the health side of things and that was a cardiac facility,” Hyggen said.
“I’m happy that it’s here and excited to go forward.”
Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf said the funding was always part of the budget, but wasn’t specified at the time because additional functional planning was needed.
“That’s where it landed when we were in a budget process, so it was inappropriate to put it in as a line item,” Neudorf said.
“After the budget passed, that work was completed and we were able to allocate the dollars we needed to the design process.”
But the opposition calls the announcement “invisible money.”
“This money does not exist in the budget,” said Lethbridge-West NDP MLA Shannon Phillips.
“It is not in the voted amounts in any way, shape or form and this is just another way for (the UCP) to make a false promise.”
“It’s not invisible money,” said Neudorf. “It’s in the budget and it’s going to be allocated for this project.”
Lethbridge NDP candidates Phillips and Rob Miyashiro made their own cardiac health care promise Wednesday.
If elected, the NDP says it will spend $20 million to support new interventional cardiac services and enable catheterization at Chinook Regional Hospital.
“This is a real commitment based on what we know over a period of years from the studies that have already been done and listening carefully to the community,” Phillips said.
But Neudorf has his own doubts about the opposition’s figures.
“$20 million is a promise based on what design? Based on what requirements for this?” Neudorf said.
“It’s just a number that’s been pulled out of the air.”
The UCP doesn’t have a firm timeline for when the catheterization lab will be operational, but Neudorf estimates design could take six to eight months, with another one to three years for construction.