Canadian Blood Services is going ahead with plans to close the Saint John production lab. (CBC)Canadian Blood Services is going ahead with plans to close its Saint John production centre and move it to Dartmouth, N.S.

The New Brunswick government had offered to pay to expand the non-profit agency's existing building as a way to maintain the service.

"Canadian Blood Services does not accept the offer that the premier had made with respect to the consolidation of our centre," CEO Graham Sher told reporters Wednesday.

'If one life is lost, I hold them accountable.'—Saint John Mayor Ivan Court

"We intend consolidating our production facility in Nova Scotia."

Saint John Mayor Ivan Court is livid about the decision to move the centre, which is near the provincial trauma and heart centres.

"At the end of the day, if one life is lost, I hold them accountable," he said.

Health Minister Mary Schryer said she is surprised and disappointed.

The province is now considering opting out of the national blood system by possibly creating its own service or teaming with Quebec.

"I've said that publicly on record at the annual meeting in Winnipeg that the province of New Brunswick would look at other options," Schryer said.

Offer rejected

Premier Shawn Graham announced Sept. 24 that the province was willing to pay millions of dollars to cover the costs of a 13,000-square-foot addition to the agency's 40,000-square-foot facility.

But the offer, which suggested the decision to close the Saint John location was a financial one, was based on incorrect information, said Sher.

Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, talks to reporters Wednesday about the decision to close the Saint John production lab. (CBC) "This has never been the primary driver," he said. "The decision is premised on safety and security of supply, first and foremost."

Opposition health critic Margaret-Ann Blaney disagrees. She contends Canadian Blood Services had said the closure was meant to cut costs.

"It's inconceivable they would turn down the premier's offer, and it's almost like they want to save face," she said.

Sher argued that the New Brunswick government, along with all provincial and territorial governments, had agreed to the move in March 2008.

"The time has now come for us to execute on that decision."

Plans to be outlined

Canadian Blood Services will hold a briefing Thursday to outline the distribution options being considered, said Sher.

"There will be no plan going forward that will otherwise jeopardize the care that patients in New Brunswick have," he stressed.

"We will not execute on a plan that will make the care of patients dependent on blood and blood products any worse than they have today. It will be as good, if not better."

Canadian Blood Services will consult with the medical community about hospital and patient needs during the next few months, said Sher.

It has already met with health officials in Saint John and Moncton, he said.

Sher acknowledged the medical community should have been consulted sooner.

"We probably would have earned their trust sooner had we done that," he said. But "we will earn the trust of the medical community, we will work with them in a collaborative manner to find a model of distribution that works for all hospitals in the province."

Canadian Blood Services also plans to keep in regular contact with the health minister and department officials, Sher said.

"We obviously value New Brunswick as an important player in the national system," he said, adding that the benefits of being part of that system "far outweigh" anything that could be gained by operating independently.