Office of the Official Opposition
For Immediate Release

St. John’s, NL (July 16, 2020) – Tony Wakeham, PC Opposition critic for Finance and MHA for Stephenville – Port au Port, is questioning the double standard for COVID-19 testing as the province enters into an arrangement with a private lab.

Wakeham says, “What makes absolutely no sense is that the Premier, and the Minister of Health and Community Services, have repeatedly dismissed testing at points of entry – referring to our testing type as a ‘diagnostic test’ and not a ‘screening test’. At the same time, our public health lab is being used to validate the exact same type of testing on behalf of a private lab to be used as a ‘screening test’.”

“Why the double standard here? If we have extra capacity for testing in our healthcare system, why we aren’t using those resources to test people entering our province instead of benefiting a private lab? This baffles me,” says Wakeham.

Wakeham is the former CEO of Labrador – Grenfell Health, a regional health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“As reported by CBC, Atlantic Laboratories has entered into an arrangement with the province to verify testing results from the private lab. In my experience with the province’s healthcare system this type of arrangement is unusual,” said Wakeham.
 

Contacts:

Bradley Russell

Director of Policy and Research

(p) 1.709.729.3668

BradleyRussell@gov.nl.ca

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