ROTHENBURGER: Regulation ought to be modified to permit cities to provide money to docs

On Galiano Island, residents yearly increase $70,000 to assist their well being clinic and maintain their physician.

It’s usually repeated that a million British Columbians are with out household docs. Final week, dozens of specialist docs despatched a letter to Well being Minister Adrian Dix warning that the system is deteriorating, and that persons are getting sicker as they wait to see one of many diminishing variety of specialists.

The issue is complicated, and the solutions definitely don’t all relaxation on the native stage. However municipal governments and businesses aren’t helpless. Yesterday, fairly a couple of concepts had been steered: forgiveness of residential taxes, free tourism packages, golf and ski packages, free boat moorage and so forth.

A few of these issues could also be authorized and a few not, however all contain monetary incentive, direct or oblique. It’s about cash. So why doesn’t the provincial authorities change the Neighborhood Constitution to make direct monetary incentives for the attraction of docs authorized?

The province has already created a “stabilization” fund to assist maintain clinics afloat. Docs aren’t plumbers or lecturers or electricians — all honourable careers — however the well being practitioner scarcity is determined.

It requires distinctive measures.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He’s an everyday contributor to CFJC Right this moment, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion web site, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He might be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Observe: This opinion piece displays the views of its creator, and doesn’t essentially characterize the views of CFJC Right this moment or Pattison Media.