Members of three GNWT departments found themselves in the hotseat on Jan. 15 as they were grilled by MLAs over the the Auditor General of Canada's report on the Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Project.
The project entailed the construction of a new, modern hospital in Yellowknife, which opened in 2019. A secondary aspect of the project was the renovation of the old hospital building, with the intention of using it for outpatient care and other community health services.
The Office of the Auditor General published its 44-page report on the project in October, 2024. The analysis found that residents of the territory did not get "good value for money," as the estimated cost ballooned from $750 million to $1.2 billion. It also revealed that the government ended up leasing the old hospital building to a third-party developer called Ventura, and that it is now paying Ventura to sublease the property back.
On Jan. 15, deputy auditor general Andrew Hayes returned to Yellowknife for a public review of the report. He was joined by deputy Infrastructure minister Steve Louttit, deputy Finance minister William MacKay, and Perry Heath, the assistant deputy minister of Health and Social Services. All three department representatives were questioned by the MLAs in attendance, as well as several who joined the session virtually.
Much of the questioning surrounded the GNWT's decision to lease the old hospital to Ventura, only to end up paying rent back to the developer.
Shauna Morgan, MLA for Yellowknife North SA国际影视传媒� the district where the new hospital was built SA国际影视传媒� was among those to raise questions.
"What are the benefits to the public? Because itSA国际影视传媒檚 really not clear at this point," she said during the proceedings. "What is the benefit of us leasing our own building to a company, to then lease it right back?
"If thereSA国际影视传媒檚 other benefits weSA国际影视传媒檙e not seeing, ISA国际影视传媒檓 sure weSA国际影视传媒檇 all love to see the detailed cost breakdown to see where is the value added."
Louttit responded the old hospital is "a fantastic facility" that is nearby to the new hospital.
"The hospital itself having private rooms [available in the old hospital] is a huge benefit to the residents of the NWT," he added.
After the hearing, Morgan told SA国际影视传媒 she was not satisfied with the answers she received from Louttit and his colleagues.
"There are so many questions remaining," she said. "What is particularly frustrating is the shroud of secrecy around the outrageous arrangements with Ventura, where we have leased to them SA国际影视传媒� for 30 years SA国际影视传媒� the building the government still owns, and then turned around the next year and leased it back from them, allowing them enormous profits.
"During this time of fiscal restraint when we are often told there is no money for important programs and services that NWT residents rely on, it is maddening to see so much money flowing to private developers with so little accountability and huge gaps in oversight," Morgan added.
Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya asked whether it would be possible to cancel the lease with Ventura if it was deemed beneficial to do so, but Louttit said he wasn't sure how that would work, and that such a process would likely be complex and expensive.
Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely likened the hospital renewal project to the Dehcho bridge, which was incurred substantial cost overruns. He asked the GNWT representatives if the lease with Ventura could be altered in any way, but Louttit again couldn't answer.
The auditor general's report on the Stanton hospital project included eight recommendations aimed at ensuring similar situations do not occur in the future. The GNWT agreed to seven of those eight recommendations. The lone point that the government did not agree to was the last, which called for all costs related to the Ventura leasing arrangement be made public.
SA国际影视传媒淎s we noted in our response, the Department of Finance considers the leasing costs related to the legacy hospital building over the 30-year term of the project to be separate from the public-private partnership (P3) Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Project," MacKay said, reiterating the GNWT's position on the matter. "These are two distinct projects."
