{"id":507164,"date":"2026-01-10T22:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/507164\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T22:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:48:08","slug":"lifelabs-closing-its-sudbury-laboratory-putting-40-technologists-out-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/507164\/","title":{"rendered":"LifeLabs closing its Sudbury laboratory, putting 40 technologists out of work"},"content":{"rendered":"

LifeLabs communications staff declined to meaningfully clarify how local test result turnaround times will change once they shift to using southern Ontario laboratories<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sudbury.com reached out to LifeLabs communications staff to request a phone interview to explain the change, but they declined our request.<\/p>\n

Instead, they sent a written response which only partially answers our questions.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cTest turnaround times and patient care will continue to meet LifeLabs\u2019 high standards and Ministry of Health requirements,\u201d they wrote in their response, which doesn\u2019t address whether these new turnaround times will be longer than what Greater Sudburians currently experience.<\/p>\n

Although LifeLabs refused to share how many employees will lose their jobs as a result of the Sudbury laboratory\u2019s closure, Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West shared in Queen\u2019s Park<\/a> last month that 40 medical laboratory technologists in Sudbury would lose their jobs alongside a broader reduction in medical professionals across the north.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait times for specialists and at hospitals are already too long,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are thousands of people without a family doctor or primary care. Ontarians can\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nickel Belt NDP MPP and health critic France G\u00e9linas also pointed out in Queen\u2019s Park that Quest Diagnostics, a U.S.-based company, purchased LifeLabs<\/a> in August 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo increase their profit, they are laying off medical technologists in Sudbury,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement provided to Sudbury.com this week, LifeLabs said the Sudbury laboratory\u2019s impending closure follows \u201ccareful consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

Testing performed at the Sudbury laboratory will gradually transition to Toronto and Mississauga laboratories, \u201cwhich are equipped to manage higher volumes while maintaining quality and service standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo 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,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

In a radio interview with CBC last month, G\u00e9linas 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The email, from LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services director Elizabeth Boyajian, encourages the freshly terminated staff member to apply for internal positions within LifeLabs.<\/p>\n

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LifeLabs communications staff declined to meaningfully clarify how local test result turnaround times will change once they shift…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":507165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2147,227074,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-507164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-lifelabslifelabs-sudburylifelabs-sudbury-closure","10":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115873244977112766","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}