The Progressive Conservatives say they will build a new emergency department at St. Boniface Hospital, part of a $2-billion funding increase for health care they promise to deliver if elected.

Brian Pallister said his party is acting on the advice of the wait times task force by building a new ER, which the PCs estimate would cost around $90 million.

The additional $2 billion in health-care funding for operating and capital expenses would be spaced out over the next four years.

Pallister did not provide a breakdown of what would be spent annually.

"This guarantee is a reflection of our enduring commitment to improving health care. This is our number 1 priority and this is about Manitobans. This is about giving them the patient-centred care they needed," he said Wednesday morning, across the street from St. Boniface Hospital.

New ER 'badly needed'

Pallister estimated health-care funding would increase by more than two per cent annually.

Karen Dunlop, chair of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board, said she is thrilled by the long-awaited pledge to boost capacity at St. Boniface.

"A new ED is badly needed," she said. "We've needed one for 20 years."

Dunlop had no knowledge of the size of the new department or the number of staff that would be required.

The new building would not make the ongoing renovation of the hospital's existing emergency department redundant, she said. The renovation was estimated to cost around $5 million.

"The renovations were never a replacement for a new emergency department," she said.

Habitat of underspending: rivals

The opposition parties say the Tories' promise lacks credibility, since they've consistently budgeted more money than they've spent.

"We've seen in the past, the past three years, he's underspent his own health-care budget," NDP campaign spokesperson Erin Selby said.

Budget documents show the Tories did not spend $198 million of their health budget in the last fiscal year.

The Manitoba Liberals said Pallister has a habit of overstating how much his party would spend.

"The reality is that the PCs have promised more and more every year, only to deliver cuts and freezes, and there is no reason to believe that will change," Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said in a statement.

The Progressive Conservative government has built new emergency rooms at Winnipeg's Grace Hospital and the health-care facilities in Flin Flon and Dauphin.

The provincial election is on Sept. 10.

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