Stop U.S. Healthcare Corporation’s QUEST for Profit: Open Letter Calls on BC Government to Fully Bring LifeLabs into the Public System
This morning, the BC Health Coalition released a critical open letter to the BC government calling for an end to the province’s contract with U.S.-owned Quest Diagnostics, the corporation now controlling LifeLabs — B.C.’s primary provider of outpatient laboratory services.
We are calling on the government to act now and bring lab services fully into the public system — where they belong.
📄 Read the full open letter here
This call to action comes just ahead of today’s rally, where BC Health Coalition members and allies will stand in solidarity with striking LifeLabs workers, who have been on the picket lines for eight weeks.
These workers are raising the alarm about what happens when essential health services are driven by profit: chronic understaffing, long delays, and declining care.
“As a senior and as a patient, I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these striking healthcare workers,” said Barbara Mitchell-Pollock, member of the BC Health Coalition Steering Committee and the Council of Canadians.“They’re not just defending their rights—they’re standing up for every British Columbian who relies on a strong, public health care system. They’re defending our services, and I thank them.”
The Kilshaw Report, commissioned by the BC government in the 1990s, showed that dual public-private lab systems lead to inefficiencies, higher costs, and poor coordination. These problems have only worsened in the decades since.
A fully integrated, public system would reduce wait times, save public money, improve working conditions and improve service delivery.
The BC Health Coalition is calling on the government to:
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Terminate contracts with Quest Diagnostics
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End the fee-for-service funding model for private labs
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Implement a workforce strategy addressing wage parity, short-staffing, and safety
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Fully integrate all outpatient lab services into the public, hospital-based system