Hundreds rally in Delta over delay of seniors’ long-term care home | CBC News
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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“The long term care facility currently has 92 beds and is horribly tired, out of date and in desperate need of infrastructure upgrades,” he added.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.”
The province says Fraser Health is receiving the largest share of health-care infrastructure funding in B.C. and that investments are continuing despite the review.
Frustrations are growing over health care for seniors in Delta. On Sunday, dozens rallied against a delay in the construction of a long-term care centre. As the CBC’s Baneet Braich reports, the group is calling for more health care funding in the Fraser Health region.
In a statement to CBC News, B.C. Ministry of Infrastructure said updated estimates for the Delta care centre increased costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars per bed, which the ministry says is “unsustainable” and it is working to deliver long-term care beds that are more cost efficient.
Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said in a statement that the projects will still move forward.
But community members say delaying long-term care projects doesn’t eliminate costs but simply shifts them elsewhere in the system.
“Seniors remain in our hospital beds longer than they should, emergency rooms are overcrowded and care units become unbelievably hard to manage,” said Lisa Hoglund CEO at the Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation.
“Home care services are also pushed beyond capacity and caregivers are the ones that are stressed to utter exhaustion.”
Delta Mayor George Harvie also criticized the delay, noting the community has already raised millions of dollars to support its construction.
“The need has never been greater. Hitting pause is not just disappointing, it’s totally unacceptable,” he said.
In a statement, Fraser Health said it remains focused on delivering safe, quality care while working to strengthen staffing and services across the region.