Phase 2 of Burnaby Hospital redevelopment was green lit to go ahead in September 2023 The NDP spent $45 million on the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment, cancelled the second phase, and now has another $61 million listed for the project in the province’s Public Accounts, with no start date for construction. If the NDP cancelled the project, what is happening to the $61 million set aside for it? The Phase 2 project was expected to cost between $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion and was intended to expand the hospital’s capacity. With Burnaby’s population growing and residents struggling to access healthcare, the government should be investing in healthcare capacity, not leaving millions of dollars tied up in limbo. “The NDP spent $45 million on this project before cancelling it, and now $61 million remains listed for it in the Public Accounts,” said MLA Misty Van Popta, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure. “If the government isn’t going to build the hospital expansion, it should explain whe...
To me, this looks like the Leader of the Opposition doing what he often does politically. The Prime Minister, by contrast, has taken off the table the idea that Ottawa is categorically opposed to pipelines and, through the MOU, effectively put the ball in Alberta’s court with defined parameters.
ReplyDeleteThat said, there’s a broader disconnect between political rhetoric and corporate reality.
Pipelines make the most sense in a high‑growth environment where production is scaling rapidly. But if companies are prioritizing cash flow over expansion, incremental egress may be sufficient for a long‑lived, stable production base.
After the 2014–16 collapse and the 2020 shock, the industry shifted. Windfalls today are largely used to pay down debt, strengthen balance sheets, and fund dividends and buybacks — not to launch new mega‑projects.
Yet many conservative politicians, including Smith and Poilievre, still talk as if we’re one pipeline away from another 2006‑style boom. The industry itself is behaving like a mature sector: disciplined capex, long‑lived assets, cash returns.