Tag Archives: Michele Babchuk

Health

B.C. needs to invest in primary care to stem the bleeding of family doctors from rural areas

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Rural communities in B.C. will continue to suffer critical doctor shortages and the knock-on effect of repeated emergency room closures until B.C.’s primary care system is modernized, an expert says.

New physicians are shunning family practice, while established doctors are abandoning it because of the way primary health care is delivered, said Dr. Rita McCracken, a family physician and researcher with the University of British Columbia’s Department of Family Practice.

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Communications

500 kilometres of fibre optic cable laid

The Connected Coast is a joint communications project undertaken by CityWest and the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). They will bring high speed internet to 90,000 households in remote communities from Haida Gwaii to northern Vancouver Island. As of June 2, they have laid more than 500 of the 3,400 kilometres of the fibre optic cable needed by this project. 

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Health, Opinion

 The Dark Side Of VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority)

(Editor’s note: The following open letter mentions matters of concern to residents of the entire Greater Campbell River Health Area, which includes Cortes, Quadra and other Discovery Islands.)

An open letter to the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health for B.C. from Lois Jarvis, Richard Hagensen and Joanne Banks on Behalf of Citizens for Quality Health Care.

17 years ago, 6 people from the Comox Valley and 4 from Campbell River formed Citizens for Quality Health Care (CFQHC) to lobby for 2 acute care fully functional hospitals as all previous studies indicated were needed for the largest geographical area of Vancouver Island. VIHA had planned to downsize the Campbell River Hospital to a triage centre and replace both hospitals with one hospital located 40+ km south of Campbell River which would have been disastrous for all the people of the North Island and the Campbell River economy. 

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Communications

Connectivity gap closing for B.C.’s isolated coastal communities

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s a landmark moment for an ambitious project to bring rapid internet to a swath of remote communities along the B.C. coast.  

The first 50 kilometres of subsea fibre-optic cable was recently laid at the northern reach of the $45.4-million Connected Coast project that will hook up 139 rural remote communities, including 48 Indigenous communities, to high-speed internet. 

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Forests, Indigenous Nations, Justice

Update From Fairy Creek: interview with Kathleen Code

[Kathleen Code is is a spokesperson for the Rainforest Flying Squad and other land defenders attempting to protect old growth areas at Fairy Creek. She founded the legal team, and is also a member of their media team. Since joining the effort in August, 2020, she’s worked closely with elder Bill Jones to understand the situation of the Pacheedaht First Nation, in particular their interactions with industrial forest company Teal Jones and the NDP government. I interviewed Kathy on December 3rd 2021, asking her for an update to round out the “Cortes At Fairy Creek” story. This is a lightly edited transcript of that interview.]

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