VICTORIA, B.C. – The Council of the Federation meets for its second day with continued discussion on healthcare and calls for more federal funding. Sonia Furstenau, Leader of the B.C. Greens and MLA for Cowichan Valley has issued the following statement:
“Premier Horgan admitted yesterday that he is asking the federal government for money on healthcare with no plan on how to spend it. Meanwhile, millions of British Columbians are without a family doctor, emergency rooms are closing, and our public system is being weakened by private corporations.
“If the Premier was listening to doctors, nurses, patients, and healthcare experts, he wouldn’t be without a plan. Their calls for change are clear: immediately modernize the fee-for-service system, recruit and support nurses, cover psychologists under MSP, and create community healthcare infrastructure so that healthcare providers can work independent of government as teams.
“If the federal government follows through with increased funding, they should stipulate clear outcomes required with the spending that include attaching all British Columbians to a family doctor, increasing transparency of healthcare data - especially related to COVID-19 - and free access to personal records, as well as a unified pandemic response that include airborne protocols in public buildings and increased protocols in hospitals.
“As the Premiers from across the country meet to lobby the federal government, it’s time for Premier Horgan to take accountability for the state of healthcare in our province.”
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Media contact
JoJo Beattie
Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | [email protected]