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SARNIA, Ont. — Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory says a massive cost overrun at a new hospital in Sarnia, Ont., is a perfect example of Liberal government waste and mismanagement.
Mr. Tory said there should be a full audit along with criminal probe into what he calls a 'smelly' fiasco.
The Sarnia Observer reports Saturday that Health Ministry documents show the cost of the building could reach $319 million. The project was supposed to cost $140 million.
An Ontario Health Ministry spreadsheet obtained by the Observer is dated August 2007 and shows Bluewater Health and local taxpayers responsible for $76-million of the total with the province providing $243-million.
The cost-sharing details came to light just hours after Health Minister George Smitherman made a campaign stop in the city in support of beleaguered incumbent Liberal candidate Caroline Di Cocco and down-played speculation over hospital costs.
Mr. Smitherman told supporters construction will begin shortly at a locked-in price of $214-million, thanks to a “bricks and mortar” contract signed Thursday with builder EllisDon.
Mr. Smitherman acknowledged the total price will exceed the $214-million figure he cited repeatedly for supporters, but denied it would surpass $300 million.
“It's a guaranteed price,” he said.
Ms. Di Cocco has been under siege since Mr. Smitherman pegged the cost at $276-million in an Aug. 14 letter to local officials, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer and published Tuesday.
That figure, which Mr. Smitherman compared Friday to the pre-approved limit on a mortgage, is nearly double the $140-million the hospital was estimate to cost in 2006.
Contacted Friday night, John DeGroot, acting chairman of the Bluewater Health board, verified the authenticity of latest document.
“Over the weekend we will try to reconcile the numbers and hold a news conference Tuesday,” he said. “To my knowledge that ($319-million) number is accurate.”
Hospital officials said Friday the $214-million doesn't cover everything.
That's the guaranteed price for the EllisDon portion of the work, which is just one phase in a multi-phased project, said Don Hall, Bluewater Health's vice-president of facilities, planning and development.
“There are a multitude of additional costs associated with this project above and beyond the $214-million," said Mr. Hall.
Mr. Tory said it's especially unfair to expect local residents to have to raise $36-million more dollars after they've already raised $40-million for the project.
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