The Dalton McGuinty effect: Vancouver-Toronto private surgery merger now off the table; Centric pulls out

By Pamela Fayerman

Politics and controversy surrounding the proposed merger between two private surgery centres in Toronto and Vancouver  has now sunk the deal.

About six weeks ago, I told readers about a takeover deal in which Centric Health would buy Toronto’s  Shouldice Hospital for $14 million. Centric bought the False Creek Surgical Centre in Vancouver earlier this year for $24 million which  you can read about here.  

Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty

Centric is a publicly traded (TSX) chain which includes seven surgery centres encompassing 19 operating rooms and 86 beds. If you click on the Centric link above and pour through information for investors, you’ll observe the chain’s excess operating room capacity. That makes me wonder why an expansion was ever even contemplated.

Abandonment of the deal has been partially attributed to uncertainty over the Ontario political landscape, ever since the resignation of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty,  according to this story in the National Post. 

As I mentioned in this post, BC has traditionally been the most hospitable environment for patients seeking care at private surgery centres, although I might eventually have to retract that statement, depending on the outcome of a court case between Dr. Brian Day and the provincial government.