More than 100 residents of Delta, many of them seniors, rallied in the shadow of a delayed care home project as political leaders denounced the lack of funding to Fraser Health. Organized by MLAs Ian Paton and Misty Van Popta, the noon-hour gathering reiterated long-running complaints that British Columbia’s most populous health authority doesn’t get the funding allotment it should from the Ministry of Health. “The new long term care project took years for approval, and will be 200 beds and a very much needed state-of-the-art facility that provides dignity and more privacy for our seniors,” said Paton of the Beedie Long-Term Care Centre, which has been put on hold, or “re-paced” due to fiscal constraints revealed in last month’s provincial budget. “It means the NDP government is deferring this project indefinitely and the completion date has been completely removed from the budget,” said Paton.” Joined on stage by doctors, municipal leaders, and the Delta Hospital foundation, Paton and Van Popta urged the NDP government to restore funding for the care home project, since it’s not just a matter of seniors waiting longer to be placed in a safer and more supportive living environment, but also has a direct impact on emergency department wait times. Elders often wait months in hospital since it’s not safe for them to go back to living alone, lest they are re-injured or are unable to care for themselves. “Fraser Health is at a breaking point right at this very moment,” said Van Popta, pointing out Mission Memorial’s emergency department was under a partial closure while Peace Arch Hospital was turning away patients in labour as the rally was underway. “In my work researching why the government consistently delivers projects over budget and years behind schedule, I started to notice a trend (that) 50 per cent of all the canceled projects that were ‘re-paced,’ as the government likes to call it, are in Fraser Health.” She noted 40 per cent of the province’s population is in Fraser Health, but the health authority receives only 22 per cent of the health-care funding. In the past, the Ministry of Health has pointed out that specialist services, including the Level 1 trauma centre at Vancouver General Hospital, cardiac services at St Paul’s Hospital, and the BC Cancer Agency provide care to patients from every corner of British Columbia despite being located in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. “Premier, you broke your promise,” said Delta Mayor George Harvie, who noted the community raised millions of dollars in donations to help build the facility. “The provincial government has paused the construction at a time when our population is aging, when families are struggling to find care for their loved ones, and when the need has never been greater.” In total, there are three care homes in Fraser Health that are being “re-paced,” including those that have already seen millions spent in site preparation. Despite pausing some infrastructure projects and making other unpopular spending cuts and tax hikes, premier David Eby’s government is forecasting a record $13 billion deficit for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
