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The Saskatchewan politician who first announced what became the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital says it’s unfortunate he and other New Democrats were not invited to the facility’s ceremonial grand opening.

Hours later, the provincial government apologized, describing the omission as an oversight.

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Photo by Liam Richards / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

John Nilson, who served as health minister under former Premier Lorne Calvert and left politics in 2016, said he was not invited to the event, and that the decision to “extend gratitude reflects whether people are broad-minded or not.”

“It’s unfortunate they didn’t invite all of us because we worked on that project for as long as the Saskatchewan Party has,” Nilson said hours after the grand opening event for the $285.9-million facility adjacent to Royal University Hospital.

The facility is set to accept its first patients on Sept. 29.

Nilson, who confirmed in 2005 that the province was on board with plans to build a children’s hospital in Saskatoon, was not the only prominent New Democrat absent from Thursday’s event, which featured a host of dignitaries and speakers.