Mayoral candidate calls on Chilliwack MLA candidates to back 2 critical health care investments

According to stats from Fraser Health, and provided by Lum, approximately 8,000 MRI scans were performed at Abbotsford Regional Hospital in the year preceding October 2025. While Abbotsford recently completed a $4.95-million MRI upgrade, Lum says additional regional capacity is essential as the population continues to grow.

“Right now, residents from Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope and surrounding communities often have to travel to Abbotsford or elsewhere for an MRI,” said Lum. “That adds demand to an already busy regional system. Putting an MRI in Chilliwack could help take pressure off Abbotsford, improve wait times across the region, and allow patients to receive care closer to home.”

Lum says the recently-announced $18-million MRI project at Delta Hospital, which is expected to provide between 7,500 and 10,000 scans annually, as an example of expanding diagnostic capacity.

“If we can recognize the need for additional MRI capacity in Metro Vancouver, we should recognize the same need in the eastern Fraser Valley,” said Lum. “Chilliwack General Hospital serves a large and growing regional population. It’s time to make this investment.”

Lum is calling for a firm provincial funding commitment, an expedited planning and approval process with Fraser Health, and construction to begin no later than October 2027.

Lum is also calling for the reinstatement of the planned 200-bed long-term care facility that would replace the outdated 90-bed Bradley Centre at Chilliwack General Hospital.

The project, previously announced in August 2024 by then-NDP Health Minister Adrian Dix, would have added 110 net new long-term care beds, provide modern private rooms, and include a 32-space adult day program. Lum says despite significant planning and land acquisition, the project was subsequently placed on the province’s deferred capital projects list.

“The Bradley Centre redevelopment was announced, the land was acquired, and our community was told that these desperately needed long-term care beds were coming,” said Lum. “Now the project has been deferred, while the need for seniors’ care continues to grow.”

Lum, who has served on the Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District Board, said additional long-term care capacity is essential to the functioning of the entire health care system.

“When seniors who need long-term care remain in hospital because appropriate beds aren’t available, it creates pressure throughout the system. We need to free up hospital capacity, support families, and ensure our seniors can receive care with dignity in their own community.”

Lum wants the province to restore the project’s funding, establish a firm construction timeline, and move the redevelopment forward without further unnecessary delay.

Lum says these commitments should transcend party lines and easily be supported by whoever forms the next provincial government.

“I’ve spent 15 years on City Council working with governments of different political stripes. I know that getting things done requires relationships, cooperation and persistence. But it also requires standing up for your community and being clear about what we need,” said Lum, who ran as an independent in the 2020 provincial election in the Chilliwack-Kent riding and garnered 23.65 per cent of the vote. “Chilliwack residents deserve to know exactly where every provincial candidate stands on these two important projects before they cast their ballots.”

Lum says he will continue advocating for both investments regardless of the outcome of the provincial election.

“An MRI for Chilliwack. The restoration of the Bradley Centre project. These are reasonable, achievable priorities that will benefit thousands of residents across the eastern Fraser Valley,” Lum said.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Mayoral candidate calls on Chilliwack MLA candidates to back 2 critical health care investments

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