An operating deficit caused by escalating labour costs has forced Prairie Diagnostic Services Inc. to close its Regina lab.
PDS chief executive officer Marilyn Jonas said the decision to close the lab March 6 and consolidate operations in Saskatoon will save nearly $500,000 a year.
“We have been struggling with an operating deficit for some time,” Jonas said. “We needed to find a solution.”
Thirteen people are affected, including technicians, veterinarians and clerical staff.
Ten are members of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union.
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Some will have the opportunity to move to Saskatoon and others may find new jobs within the government.
PDS employs 60 people. Jonas said labour accounts for 67 percent of the company’s budget and those costs have increased 41 percent in the last three years.
She said the closure will help wipe out the ongoing deficit.
The organization is also planning to increase its business volume and has asked for more money from its main funders, the provincial government and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Between this move and other initiatives, we should be sustainable,” she said.
PDS is a non-profit organization that competes with other labs for business from veterinarians seeking tests. It was formed in 1998 after the Provincial Veterinary Lab in Regina and the diagnostic lab at the WCVM were combined. It provides testing for livestock, pets and wildlife.
It also undertakes veterinary-based research, participates in animal health surveillance and monitoring and tests for foreign animal disease such as avian influenza. The Regina lab does about 15 percent of the company’s diagnostic work.
Jonas anticipates clients will notice little change other than having to ship samples to Saskatoon.
However, the logistics of sending carcasses of large animals have yet to be worked out.
The Regina lab is housed in a government building and shares space with the dairy lab, which is unaffected by the decision. Jonas said the building is provided through an in-kind contribution from the province’s agriculture ministry.
The province also contributes $2.046 million to the organization’s operating budget.
Agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud was unavailable for comment Jan. 9 on whether he would lobby for a funding increase in the March budget.
