Ministerial Statement – Minister Loveless Acknowledges Employment at Adult Mental Health and Addictions Hospital Construction

  • Transportation and Infrastructure

May 11, 2022

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Elvis Loveless, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure:

Speaker, I am pleased to inform my Honourable colleagues today of a significant accomplishment of the workforce at the new adult mental health and addictions hospital, which is currently under construction.

When we announced in 2020 that Avalon Healthcare Partnership had been selected to design, build, finance and maintain the much-needed facility, we were confident in the jobs and economic benefits that would be created for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Speaker, since the start of construction, the percentage of hours worked by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on that site has been 98 per cent.

In January, February and March of this year, 100 per cent of the hours worked on the site were by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Speaker, we can all take pride in the considerable skills and knowledge of the women and men of the local construction workforce who are so key to these critical infrastructure projects.

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing what the inside of the new hospital will look like when I joined the Premier and the Minister of Health and Community Services on a visit to mock-ups of the patient room, therapeutic quiet room, and nursing station.

Construction of the new adult mental health and addictions hospital is on schedule and I look forward to it being completed in late 2024.

Speaker, our construction projects are leading to employment and improved services for residents of this province. This year, through Budget 2022, we are investing $567 million in infrastructure and we look forward to this investment paying similar dividends for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you, Speaker.

2022 05 11 2:15 pm