[LabComm] BC NDP Connection Newsletter

Mon Nov 6 15:59:09 PST 2006

BC NDP Connection Newsletter

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November 3, 2006 
<a name="top">In this Issue</a>
<a href="#one"> B.C. deserves better than hallway medicine, James says</a>
<a href="#two"> NDP MLAs fight for Formosa Nursery </a>
<a href="#theweek">This week...</a>
<h1><a name="one"> B.C. deserves better than hallway medicine, James says</a></h1> 
Hallway medicine is the new standard of care in B.C., but NDP Leader Carole James says British Columbians deserve better.
Health Minister George Abbott told a Vancouver radio station Friday that treating patients on stretchers in hallways is entirely appropriate, but James said it's a sign of broken promises and poor decisions.
"With overcrowded emergency rooms across B.C., the only plan Gordon Campbell can come up with is hallway medicine," said James.
Under Premier Campbell's direction, the B.C. Liberals cut one in five acute-care beds and broke their promise to add 5,000 new long-term care spaces. Those two decisions have placed added pressure on emergency rooms and have led to the crisis the province's hospitals now face.
"There are no real solutions coming from the Liberals, only bandaids," James said. "What's worse is they refuse to acknowledge the problem they created."
The admission by the Health Minister that hallway medicine is part of their overall strategy comes just as the Premier's Conversation on Health gets under way. That conversation began with the Finance Minister putting forward some dubious statistics to show that health care is not sustainable.
New Democrats this week released data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information that showed, contrary to Finance Minister Carole Taylor's dire predictions, that health care spending has fallen as a proportion of total government spending.
"This is what Gordon Campbell is using as a starting point for his conversation," said James. "Misleading figures and a blithe acceptance that hallway medicine is okay.
"Well, it's not okay," James said. "British Columbians are looking for real, long-term solutions to the health care problems created by the B.C. Liberals."
<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h1><a name="two">NDP MLAs fight for Formosa Nursery</a></h1>
Two New Democrat MLAs are putting their energy toward saving a productive family farm in the Maple Ridge area.
Michael Sather, who represents Maple Ridge â€“ Pitt Meadows for the NDP and Corky Evans, the party's Critic for Agriculture and Lands, are planning a rally to save Formosa Nursery, an organic blueberry farm threatened by the placement of the Abernethy connector from the new Golden Ears bridge.
Plans for the bridge go back to 1978, but the preferred Abernethy connector route at Formosa Nursery followed the gazetted road right of way. New plans by Translink moved 100 feet from the original, bisecting the farm and destroying a 30-year-old blueberry field.
"It's a travesty," said Evans, who will hold a rally and tour of the farm Thursday, Nov. 9 at noon. "Anybody who visits this farm or reads this story can clearly see that this is just simply wrong.
"This is farm land being worked by a farming family who want to stay on the land and keep it organic and productive."
Evans spent much of the past week in Maple Ridge with Sather, working on raising awareness of the problem.
"This is a local issue, sure," said Sather. "But it has much broader provincial implications. 
"We're not just fighting for the farmland in Maple Ridge. We're fighting for farmland in the Kootenays, in the Okanagan, in the Cariboo, in the Peace and all across this province," Sather said.
"If we allow this indiscriminate road placement to go forward, we're saying that it's okay to sacrifice prime organic farmland for development. Farmland is not a land bank for developers."
Evans, who represents Nelson â€“ Creston, said supporters of farmers Ting Wu and his wife Risa Lin have been sending letters to Translink, the body responsible for transportation infrastructure in the lower mainland. He said pressure needs to be put on Agriculture Minister Pat Bell as well.
"This isn't a partisan issue," said Evans. "This is about farming, food production, and land for food production. Farming is important. And farmland is important.
"People of all political stripes are working to undo this terrible decision."
<a href="#top">Top</a>
<h1><a name="theweek">This Week...</a></h1>
<h2>B.C. Liberals have abandoned their commitment to communities</h2>
NDP Leader Carole James says Gordon Campbell and the B.C. Liberals have abandoned communities in this province. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/carole_james/audio/b_c_liberals_have_abandoned_their_commitment_to_communities">Leader's Radio Address</a>
<h2>Education Minister Must Protect Vital School Programs in Wake of Ban</h2>
Education Minister Shirley Bond must protect vital school programs, such as sports and music, in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling banning school fees, NDP Education Critic David Cubberley says. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/education_minister_must_protect_vital_school_programs_in_wake_of_ban">Read More</a>
<h2>Krog Chides Oppal for Public Comments on Legislature Case</h2>
Leonard Krog, Opposition critic for the Attorney General, criticized Wally Oppal for making public comments about potential evidence and witnesses in the high profile Virk-Basi case. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/krog_chides_oppal_for_public_comments_on_legislature_case">Read More</a>
<h2>Fewer Drunk Drivers Convicted Under the B.C. Liberals</h2>
Fewer drunk drivers are being convicted for their crimes under the B.C. Liberals, NDP Public Safety critic Mike Farnworth says. <a href="http://bcndpcaucus.ca/news_room/fewer_drunk_drivers_convicted_under_the_b_c_liberals">Read More</a>

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