OTTAWA, ON – This week Carleton Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre will put forward a motion asking the House of Commons Health Committee to study the Liberal government’s delay of the construction of the new Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus.
The motion asks the committee to demand the Ministers of Environment, Heritage, and Agriculture and the CEO of the National Capital Commission (NCC) answer questions on the matter. The motion will get formal notice on Monday, June 13, 2016 and will likely be debated two days later.
The previous Conservative government accepted the decision of a hospital-appointed expert panel, which studied twelve locations and recommended the federal land across the street from the existing campus. Since forming government, the Liberals have slammed the brakes on the location and they have asked the hospital to provide multiple options for a future location. The hospital provided four options with a full analysis of each in a report last month.
Still not satisfied, the Liberal government then moved the matter over to the National Capital Commission for a decision, even though the Commission is not responsible for health care and doesn’t own the land in question.
“This week I will ask that the health committee study the government’s delay of the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus,” Poilievre said. “I will be asking the committee to examine why the government is delaying construction, and call individuals to be held accountable for their actions.”
“Heath care is a responsibility of the provincial government, so it’s extraordinary that the federal government is delaying the construction of a new hospital,” said Poilievre.
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