Province paused the 200-bed Delta long-term care project as part of a cost review with no clear timeline.
Hundreds gathered in Delta on Sunday to demand the province restart construction on a long-term care home that’s now on hold
The delay, say community members and local representatives, will add pressure to an already strained health-care system.
The rally took place across from the Beedie Long-Term Care Centre, a planned 200-bed facility on the Delta Hospital campus, where construction had begun before the province paused the project last month. The care centre was originally set to open in 2027, but its completion date is now listed as “to be confirmed” in B.C.’s 2026-27 budget.
It’s one of seven long-term care facilities across B.C. that have been put on hold or, as the province describes it, “re-paced,” to control rising costs and review healthcare infrastructure projects. “We need this project to move forward,” said Delta South MLA Ian Paton at the rally. “The long term care facility currently has 92 beds and is horribly tired, out of date and in desperate need of infrastructure upgrades,” he added.
Langley-Walnut Grove MLA Misty Van Popta said the Fraser Health authority, which serves more than two million people, is already facing significant strain. “Fraser Health is at a breaking point right at this very moment,” she said, pointing to emergency room closures, maternity ward diversions and service disruptions across the region. Three of the seven halted long term care projects are in the Fraser Health region. “That is your tax dollars waiting in the dirt. Where are seniors supposed to go?” Van Popta said. She says Fraser Health has been inadequately funded and is calling for provincial support to better align with population growth.
“We deserve to be equally funded, like the other five health authorities in this province.” Source: cbc.ca/news/
