THE NDP on Tuesday slammed the newly elected BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon for telling media that he would stop progress on building a new hospital in Surrey and move the project out of Cloverdale.

Speaking on Red FM, Falcon said that he does not like the location of the hospital that is to be located in Cloverdale.

“I think the challenge, even frankly with the NDP wanting to put one in Cloverdale, is it’s not a great location,” said Falcon. “I would want to take a hard look at where it’s located.”

“Kevin Falcon wants to put the brakes on the hospital in Cloverdale and move the project out of our community,” said Mike Starchuk, NDP MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale. “The people in Cloverdale that I talk to on a regular basis are excited about this important health project and would be insulted about his comments today.”

The NDP said that when Falcon was Finance Minister, he started the process of selling $1 billion of government land to developers that included a parcel at the corner of Highway 10 and 152 Street that had been set aside for a second Surrey Hospital.

“The bottom line is that the BC Liberals broke a promise to build a second hospital in Surrey and then Kevin Falcon sold off the land,” said Starchuk. “Now his plan would set the project back years and take it away from Cloverdale. It’s clear that he’s not working for people in our community.”