SURREY – Residents of Cloverdale deserve to know if BC Liberal MLA Marvin Hunt agrees with Andrew Wilkinson’s refusal to commit to the hospital that John Horgan started.

Yesterday, Wilkinson was asked about his plans for health care in Surrey. He said:

“It’s time to start planning for further hospital expansion in Surrey. Whether that’s a branch of Surrey Memorial or another hospital altogether is another question.” (Video)

Wilkinson’s refusal to endorse a second standalone hospital in Surrey follows his 2014 sale of a government property that had been acquired by the BC NDP in the 1990s. In 2005, Gordon Campbell held a campaign event at the site, promising to build a second hospital. The BC Liberals delayed that promise for years and then permanently abandoned it in 2014 when Wilkinson sold the site.

Wilkinson’s decision meant that the BC NDP government had to work to acquire a site before moving ahead with the hospital.

Jinny Sims, MLA for Surrey-Panorama:

“It’s troubling that Andrew Wilkinson has refused to commit to finishing the second Surrey hospital that John Horgan has started. Surrey needs more than another branch at Surrey memorial – it needs a new hospital. That Andrew Wilkinson doesn’t understand that shows how out of touch he is with people in Surrey. He’s a risk people in Surrey can’t afford to take.”