NDP Leader David Eby is promising to offer a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and health professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.
Eby’s pledge comes as hospitals in rural B.C. face periods of emergency closures, due primarily to staff shortage issues.
“There are challenges out there, like rural emergency rooms and staffing in smaller centres, and that’s what today’s announcement is all about,” said Eby at an outdoor news conference at a municipal park in Vernon on the shores of Lake Okanagan.
“We need to win the competition for doctors and nurses, both nationally and internationally.”
Interior Health said on Friday that emergency rooms at South Okanagan General Hospital in the community of Oliver will be closed Saturday due to “limited physician availability.” Patients are advised to travel to Penticton for emergency care.
Eby said the program will offer student loan forgiveness of between $10,000 and $20,000 in return for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals guaranteeing to stay in a rural community for a minimum of five years.
“The goal here is to make sure that when people are looking for a place to practice, they think about smaller centers in British Columbia, and they think about British Columbia and they prioritize working here,” he said.
Eby also pledged to reduce administrative restrictions facing midwives to enable easier access to abortion care, especially in rural areas.
The midwives will also be able to provide intrauterine device insertions, sexually transmitted infection tests and and provision of care for sexual assaults, he added.
Eby and B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad both campaigned in the Okanagan Saturday, with both leaders making morning announcements in Vernon.
Rustad, who was also scheduled to be in Kelowna, promised to improve wildfire prevention and protect communities, especially in the Okanagan area which has been hit hard by wildfires.
Kelowna and West Kelowna were ravaged by wildfires last summer that forced thousands of people from their homes and damaged or destroyed almost 200 structures.
A statement from the B.C. Conservative Party says that if elected, they will call for a comprehensive review of current wildfire policies while shifting the focus to wildfire prevention, including investing in new technologies to reduce wildfire risks before the fires start.
Rustad said in the statement that the Okanagan and other parts of the province have suffered devastating losses because the NDP continues to focus on firefighting rather than fire prevention.
“We need to flip the script. The math is backwards — under Eby, we’re spending nine times more fighting fires than we are preventing them. It’s time for a better strategy that prioritizes prevention and safety,” Rustad said in the statement.
Green Leader Sonia Furstenau spent Saturday canvassing and attending a series of events in Victoria.
Election day is on Oct. 19 and British Columbians will be able to begin voting in advance polls on Oct. 10.