Questions raised about cost, timeline of future Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus

Liberal MPPs from Ottawa are raising questions about the timeline and cost for the new Ottawa Hospital campus at Dow’s Lake. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

Questions are being raised about the construction of the new Civic Campus for the Ottawa Hospital, with critics warning the project could stretch well into the 2030s and balloon in cost, some of which will fall on Ottawa taxpayers.

At Queen’s Park on Tuesday, Ottawa-South Liberal MPP John Fraser said while the project is now roughly a decade removed from receiving its first found of funding, its visible progress at the site remains limited.

“All Ottawans have is a large parking garage and a hole in the ground with no end in sight,” said Fraser. “And a consultant saying it will be well into the 2030’s.”

Fraser raised the concerns after comments made last month at a City of Ottawa public works and infrastructure committee meeting. Graham Bird, president of consulting firm GBA Group, which is advising the hospital on the project, told the committee the hospital campus remains years away from completion.

In 2021, The Ottawa Hospital foresaw construction beginning in 2024, with the facility opening four years later.

Fraser suggested the project’s price tag could climb billions beyond the original estimate of nearly $3 billion. He also warned the city’s local share of the project could approach $1 billion, up from earlier estimates of roughly $300 million.

“That’s a lot for the residents of Ottawa,” Fraser said.

Residents near the Dow’s Lake construction site along Carling Avenue, east of the current Civic Campus, say they are not surprised by concerns about delays and costs.

“We’re used to them screwing up and we’re paying with our tax dollars,” said Ottawa resident Lee Boucher, adding he still believes the finished facility will be worthwhile. “We go to the Civic now and we’ve got top-notch doctors and nurses … The new hospital, it’s going to be awesome, but I might not be around when it’s built.”

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra called the pace of the project “horrifying,” arguing the region’s healthcare system is already under significant strain.

“The hospitals are completely overwhelmed,” said Mehra. “They’ve got portables outside, they’re using garages. At what point do we say it’s an emergency and get all the boots on the ground to fix the hospital system in Ottawa? This is outrageous and I just think it’s partly because there hasn’t been enough considered political pressure to force the government to actually just put boots on the ground and make it happen.”

In a statement, The Ottawa Hospital says construction at the new campus is continuing, with the parking garage expected to open this summer. It adds site preparation work is ongoing, including foundation preparation where the hospital will be built.

“We are currently finalizing the design and construction timeline with the build partner, the Ministry of Health and Infrastructure Ontario,” the hospital said. “We will be able to confirm these details once this phase of the project is complete.”

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