The provincial government is defending its decision to pause construction on seven long-term care home projects in B.C., revealing the estimated costs had ballooned to a whopping $1.8 million per bed, CTV News has learned.
A rally over the weekend has sharpened weeks of criticism since the move was announced as part of the provincial budget last month, but the infrastructure minister says her staff have been working with health authority personnel to get those costs under control.
“There is absolutely no question that more long-term care beds are needed here in B.C. and they are needed at a scale that we are currently unable to achieve because we are looking at a cost per bed of upwards of $1.8 million per single bedroom,” said Bowinn Ma in a one-on-one interview with CTV News.
“It is not sustainable for governments to deliver long-term care beds at that rate, and it will be impossible for us to achieve peak sheer volume of beds that are required to support an aging population in the province.”
Her staff are now working with the health authorities, which construct and operate public care homes, to see where changes are needed to control costs and allow the projects to move forward.
Soil conditions and gold standards
Fraser Health’s chief project officer told CTV News that escalating construction costs since the pandemic and U.S. tariffs are contributing to the monstrous price hike, but also pointed out that they were building above the required standards.
“We were designing at the acceptable level of standard which was given to us, (so) now if that acceptable level of standard will be lower, we will be happy to adapt,” said Parveen Goel.
Having spent years working for Ford, he put it in automotive terms: a Ford Escape and an Audi 3 both have steering systems, but one is a superior vehicle with more comfort. Taxpayers will now be getting more basic design and finishings instead of the original gold standard.
“We go through public procurement process, we go through the competitive process,” explained Goel, adding that in the case of the Delta and Chilliwack care home projects, the soil conditions were unexpected and each require $10 million to stabilize those sites.
Expectations may differ
B.C. seniors advocate Dan Levitt says some of those costs are due to designing those facilities more like hospital rooms than homes that seniors needing care would want to live in.
“Hospitals are fine when you need acute care, but we should be building the infrastructure that feels like a home and gives seniors choice and provides them that a warm, welcoming, comfortable environment,” he said.
Private care home operators can build their facilities at much lower per-bed costs, sources tell CTV News, and Levitt confirms that’s the case.
The seniors advocate said he is “cautiously optimistic” that Ministry of Infrastructure staff will move towards more home-like design guidelines that are “much less expensive.”
Alberta’s Continuing Care Association published a report saying that while costs have nearly doubled in that province, the per-bed cost is still in the $550,000 range.
A Vancouver Coastal Health “Small Homes” project refurbishing detached houses for seniors to have their own room and bathroom, with shared kitchens and recreational space is “well below the million-dollar mark,” according to Levitt.
Ma would not give a timeline on when construction can resume but hinted that it would be next year at the earliest, when the next provincial budget is announced.
She noted the Beedie Long Term Care Centre in Delta, in particular, had come in “significantly over budget.” Her staff said the project cost had increased by hundreds of thousands of dollars per bed, but would not provide specific numbers.
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