LifeLabs communications staff declined to meaningfully clarify how local test result turnaround times will change once they shift to using southern Ontario laboratories
LifeLabs is closing their Sudbury laboratory sometime this spring, meaning specimens such as blood samples will soon be tested in Toronto and Mississauga laboratories instead of locally.
Sudbury.com reached out to LifeLabs communications staff to request a phone interview to explain the change, but they declined our request.
Instead, they sent a written response which only partially answers our questions.
Nowhere in their response did they address our question regarding how many local jobs will be lost, nor did they meaningfully respond to our question regarding whether this change will make it longer for Greater Sudburians to receive test results.
“Test turnaround times and patient care will continue to meet LifeLabs’ high standards and Ministry of Health requirements,” they wrote in their response, which doesn’t address whether these new turnaround times will be longer than what Greater Sudburians currently experience.
Although LifeLabs refused to share how many employees will lose their jobs as a result of the Sudbury laboratory’s closure, Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West shared in Queen’s Park last month that 40 medical laboratory technologists in Sudbury would lose their jobs alongside a broader reduction in medical professionals across the north.
“Wait times for specialists and at hospitals are already too long,” he said. “There are thousands of people without a family doctor or primary care. Ontarians can’t get the access to health care they need. And now, with more health care job losses, there will be less care and longer wait times for Ontarians.”
Nickel Belt NDP MPP and health critic France Gélinas also pointed out in Queen’s Park that Quest Diagnostics, a U.S.-based company, purchased LifeLabs in August 2024.
“To increase their profit, they are laying off medical technologists in Sudbury,” she said. “Now, lab samples from Timmins, North Bay, Algoma, Hearst and Sudbury will be driven to Toronto. When the highways are closed, those samples will age out, and the people will have to redo them.”
In a statement provided to Sudbury.com this week, LifeLabs said the Sudbury laboratory’s impending closure follows “careful consideration.”
“This decision will enable LifeLabs to focus on laboratory locations that accommodate the high testing volumes and a broader range of tests, ensuring we can continue to support the growing testing needs and volume demands we are experiencing across Ontario,” they wrote.
Testing performed at the Sudbury laboratory will gradually transition to Toronto and Mississauga laboratories, “which are equipped to manage higher volumes while maintaining quality and service standards.”
“To support this change, LifeLabs will be introducing new logistics routes to ensure timely and reliable specimen transportation, as well as continued high-quality service throughout the province,” they wrote.
In a radio interview with CBC last month, Gélinas scoffed at this notion, questioning whether this means finally four-laning Highway 69 or other Northern Ontario highways. She added that road closures, particularly during the winter, are frequent.
An email notice of impending termination of employment (and a monthslong working notice period) which was sent to a LifeLabs staff member was recently forwarded to Sudbury.com.
The email, from LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services director Elizabeth Boyajian, encourages the freshly terminated staff member to apply for internal positions within LifeLabs.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.