B.C. Health Coalition urges province to end contract with U.S. owner of LifeLabs

A public health advocacy group is urging the B.C. government to end its contract with the American company that owns LifeLabs, the province's main provider of outpatient lab services.

The B.C. Health Coalition has issued an open letter asking Premier David Eby to follow through on a directive he issued last week for all government bodies to review their connections to U.S. firms amid the tariff dispute, and cancel its contract with Quest Diagnostics. 

The American firm acquired LifeLabs locations across Canada last year for $1.35 billion, and is now involved in a labour dispute with its B.C. workers, who are eight weeks into strike action.

The 1,200 striking workers, who are members of the B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU), have been conducting rotating job action, temporarily closing labs on certain days. 

WATCH | Rotating strikes continue at LifeLabs in B.C.:

Rotating strikes continue at LifeLabs in B.C.

10 days ago

Duration 6:16

It's been over seven weeks since workers began job action against their employer LifeLabs, which provides diagnostic care under contract to the government. Union president Paul Finch said the company, whose ownership is based in America, should be reviewed as part of the B.C. government's directive to rip up contracts with U.S. companies.

The B.C. Health Coalition, which has about 800,000 members, says laboratory services should be fully brought into the public system. It says doing so would reduce wait times, save public money and improve both working conditions and patient care.

Coalition members and striking LifeLabs workers rallied outside the B.C. Legislature on Wednesday, calling on the province to take action.

"There is no economic justification to allow a U.S. corporation to provide outpatient diagnostic services in the province," BCGEU president Paul Finch said in a statement earlier this week. "Workers and the public are already noticing a decline in services since Quest took over last year."

A poll commissioned by the employees' union suggests 74 per cent of British Columbians oppose American companies running health services in the province.

In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Health said the province is currently in a 10-year contract with LifeLabs, which runs through March 2031.

"Cancelling the province's contract with LifeLabs right now would cause significant delays in basic lab testing and put patients at risk," the ministry said. "It would also cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take resources away from frontline services elsewhere."

While LifeLabs is now owned by Quest, the ministry noted it remains a Canadian-incorporated company. It is responsible for more than two-thirds of outpatient lab tests in B.C. — about 42 million, annually.

The province said it will ensure LifeLabs complies with all contract terms to maintain the quality, accessibility and cost of lab services.