KENNEY MUST REVERSE HIS BROKEN PROMISE AND FUND THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE RED DEER REGIONAL HOSPITAL: NDP

RED DEER - Alberta’s NDP are calling on Premier Jason Kenney to fund the redevelopment of the Red Deer Regional Hospital after breaking his promise to do so by not funding the project in this year’s budget. 

In February 2020, Kenney promised $100 million towards a full redevelopment project with construction starting in 2021. However, the UCP’s most recent Capital Plan only provided $5 million for the hospital redevelopment this year.  

“You cannot start construction on the expansion of a major hospital with $5 million. Promise made, promise broken by Jason Kenney,” said NDP Leader Rachel Notley. 

“Red Deer Regional Hospital is a crucial healthcare facility, not just for the people of the City of Red Deer, but for families right across Central Alberta. But the city and the region have outgrown the hospital. We need more capacity in the emergency department and we need more specialized care,” said NDP Infrastructure Critic Thomas Dang.

“Now more than ever we all understand just how critical hospital capacity is. Jason Kenney promised to redevelop the Red Deer Hospital, but like so many of his promises, he has failed to deliver.”

Red Deer Hospital did not receive the promised funding to begin construction despite UCP MLA for Red Deer-South Jason Stephan campaigning on a promise to advocate for an expanded hospital.

“Jason Stephan has spent more of his time seeking to expand the number of people who will need the current hospital rather than expanding the actual hospital. He took an international Christmas vacation while the rest of us were locked down and many Alberta families made excruciating sacrifices. Now he’s publicly undermining the health measures that we all need to uphold to keep our families friends and communities safe,” said Notley.  

“It’s an incredible failure of leadership from Jason Kenney to abandon his promise to the people of Red Deer to expand this hospital and then allow a quarter of his caucus to put lives at risk in Red Deer and across Alberta.”