BC NDP Leader David Eby pledged to improve health care in rural B.C. by offering financial incentives and cutting red tape, while BC Conservative Leader John Rustad pledged to improve provincial efforts to fight wildfires.
Both announced their respective pledges at around the same time Saturday morning mere kilometres apart in Vernon. Eby spoke near Kin Beach with Lake Okanagan as background while Rustad spoke near an insurance business in Vernon's north end.
Eby started off by announcing a $75 million program to forgive the loans of B.C. trained medical graduates who chose to stay in rural communities for five years. He also announced steps to speed up the licensing of medical professionals trained outside of B.C.; cut red tape for doctors looking to work across health authorities and expand the scope of midwives to administer the morning-after pill among other measures around reproductive health.
Eby said the measures will help communities like Merritt and others dealing with emergency-room closures.
“Our plan is helping us win the competition for doctors and nurses during a global shortage by making it more attractive for them to work and stay in our province," he said. ""This will have a big impact on rural communities who have been hit hardest by the shortage of health care workers.”
BC NDP candidates Harwinder Sandhu (Vernon-Lumby), Loyal Wooldridge (Kelowna Centre) and Anna Warwick Sears (Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream) joined him in making the announcement. Vernon Mayor Cumming was among the audience listening to Eby's announcement.
The state of health care generally and in rural areas specifically has emerged as a key election issue with the Conservative Party of B.C. promising to introduce a European-style universal health care system delivered by governmental and non-governmental agencies. Rustad has said on several occasions in the past that a Conservative government under his leadership would switch spending away from administration toward patients among other steps to improve health care.
Speaking later at the Vernon-Lumby all-candidates meeting, Sandhu offered a rebuttal when she pointed to on-going efforts to address the health care crisis, including the announcement Saturday morning. She added that this is not the time to reverse course.
Eby's appearance in Vernon coincided with Rustad's appearance where he pledged to improve efforts to fight wildfires.
"First and foremost, we want to make sure that we put a significant effort into (wildfire) prevention," Rustad told a crowd of roughly 50 supporters. "That means we want to be focused on interface areas, making sure that we do some thinning, make sure that we remove fuel loads, do the work that's needed to help prevent fires from becoming a catastrophe going into communities."
The Conservatives announced three key components of their wildfire management plans, the first being "prioritizing prevention over firefighting," which the party says will include investing in forest management and new technologies to reduce wildfire risks before they start.
The Conservatives also said they will conduct a comprehensive fire management review, as well as a plan for private and public investment in fire prevention in which the government would foster public-private partnerships to encourage investment in fire prevention technologies, forest management and fire-resistant infrastructure.
Asked what the price tag of his party's wildfire management plan would be, Rustad said a precise target hasn't been set but he expects spending on prevention alone to be "in the hundreds of millions on an annual basis."
Rustad said a goal of his party will be to ensure that local crews are able to get involved in firefighting work without government getting in the way, while making sure they have the training and support they need. He gave examples of past fires — including one in his Nechako Lakes riding from a couple years ago — that got out of control after local crews were not cleared to assist.
Rustad highlighted the wildfire challenges in the Okanagan, which has seen increased wildfire frequency and intensity in recent years.
Roly Russell, B.C. NDP candidate for Boundary-Similkameen, questioned Rustad's sincerity in a statement.
"Rustad doesn’t believe in the science of climate change - the same science firefighters use to fight wildfires. How can you fight fires and keep communities safe when you believe that the science is a ‘hoax’?" Russell said.
Rustad has previously said that climate change is a real phenomenon with humanity contributing to it, but adding that the real crisis is "affordability."
Rustad had also campaigned on Friday in Kelowna with area candidates Gavin Dew (Kelowna-Misson) and Kristina Loewen (Kelowna Centre). Rustad Saturday afternoon also announced plans to end homeless camps in B.C. through a combination of tougher enforcement of laws against camps where legally permissible and drug use in supportive housing units and additional supports around housing, treatment and mental support.
“Tent cities have turned our streets and public spaces into unsafe, chaotic zones where crime flourishes, and law-abiding British Columbians no longer feel safe," he said.
Rustad acknowledged various difficulties, including potential legal challenges, but steps are needed now, including steps that have not been tried before.
Mike Farnworth, B.C. NDP candidate for Port Coquitlam and public safety minister before the dropping of the writ, questioned Rustad's plan in a statement. "Encampments are closed by building housing and providing people with treatment," he said. "John Rustad has committed to cancelling housing across the province."
With files from Brendan Shykora
