Eby pledges $75M in loan forgiveness to boost rural health care

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby is promising a $75 million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and health professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.

Eby's provincial election campaign pledge comes as hospitals in rural B.C. face periods when emergency rooms close, primarily because of staff shortages.

"We need to win the competition for doctors and nurses, both nationally and internationally," Eby said at an outdoor news conference at a municipal park in Vernon on the shores of Okanagan Lake.

Interior Health said Friday that emergency rooms at South Okanagan General Hospital in the Okanagan community of Oliver would be closed Saturday due to "limited physician availability." Patients are advised to travel to Penticton for emergency care.

Eby said the NDP program will offer student loan forgiveness of between $10,000 and $20,000 in return for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals promising 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 centres 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.

Midwives will also be able to provide intrauterine device (IUD) insertions, sexually transmitted infection tests and provision of care for sexual assaults, he said.

Tory leader touts new wildfire strategy

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, who also campaigned in the Okanagan Saturday, promised to improve wildfire prevention and protect communities.

Kelowna and West Kelowna in the Okanagan 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.

"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.

Rustad also committed to "bring an end" to tent cities across the province, with measures that would include strict enforcement of public safety laws, and building more supportive housing that will have zero tolerance for drugs and crime.

"We will be stopping David Eby's approach of handing out free drugs and crack pipes in British Columbia," Rustad at a news conference Saturday in Kelowna. "These are arguably the policies that are helping to fuel these evictions and making the situation far worse."

B.C. NDP candidate for Port Coquitlam Mike Farnworth said in a statement that Rustad's plans will lead to more encampments. Farnworth has been the public safety minister under the B.C. NDP government since 2017.

Farnworth said when Rustad was working as a B.C. Liberal cabinet minister, he had a long record of blocking housing construction and making cuts to health care and housing.

B.C. Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau spent Saturday canvassing and attending a series of events in Victoria.

In her party's platform, Furstenau promised she would eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy in the health-care system and increase funding for nurses.

The Greens have also pledged to look at loan forgiveness and paid practicums for all health-care students to "incentivize sufficient staffing and support training."

Election day is Oct. 19. British Columbians will be able to begin voting in advance polls on Oct. 10.