Good morning, Westshore! I’ve been absolutely loving this warm summer weather, exploring all the best places to swim and pick berries. I just got a flat of strawberries that need to be processed before the fruit flies come calling, so please send me your favourite strawberry recipes!
Reporter, The Westshore
HEALTH
Medical retainer ‘withdrawn’ while under review
A local doctor has walked back her plan to offer a $125 a month “retainer” program after outrage from the community and a review from the province.
Last week we reported that Dr. Perpetua Nwosu had sent a letter to her patients advising them of the coming program. The details were unclear, including whether patients who decided not to pay the optional fee would be able to remain under the doctor’s care.
We received dozens of comments from readers, and hundreds more were posted online.
“If I was suddenly forced to pay $125 a month for basic medical care, that money would have to come out of my food budget,” one reader wrote. “I am very aware that we have an extreme shortage of doctors on the Island, all over BC, and across Canada. Despite this fact, we can't allow any doctors to bully or blackmail anyone—especially seniors.”
Another wrote he’d be glad to pay $1,500 a year for his wife to have one doctor treat her heart condition. “Sixty percent of Victorians don’t have a family doctor. I don’t know what you would call it, but I wouldn’t call it a health care system,” he wrote. “Canadians are so proud of the "health care system" we have. What is there to be proud of? My plumber makes more than my doctor. It’s no wonder they’re all leaving. Their expenses are skyrocketing, and their income is capped. Optometrists make money. Dentists make money. Veterinarians make money. Family doctors? It’s a joke and I don’t blame them for finding alternatives.”
Then, on Sunday evening (Aug. 14), Dr. Nwosu emailed her patients telling them that “the scheme as it was originally stated is withdrawn while it is under review.”
She did not specify whether the program was withdrawn under direction from the Medical Services Commission, which is reviewing the situation, or whether the review she referenced is internal to her clinic.
“Perpetual Health Centre is committed to providing safe and efficient medical services for all patients,” the brief email continued.
Dr. Nwosu did not reply to multiple requests for an interview with Capital Daily, but did post a response on Facebook a few days after we published the initial story. She wrote that her idea to charge $125 per month was an attempt to provide patient-centered care that would provide access to a team of professionals, under her supervision. Her vision was to provide “family medicine that stays with you from birth until you take your last breath.”
The scheme wasn’t a two-tiered system, she wrote, and she never planned to cut any patients.
“A good number of my patients are happy to be part of it. It is sad that the original plan has been derailed by lack of proper information. My clinic will now restructure to give us the opportunity to provide care that is well intended and patient-centered,” she wrote.
“I wanted to show for once that a system can work in Victoria, one that carries everyone along, one that I did not want to do secretly. I wanted something open that can face scrutiny.”
It’s unclear whether the $125 retainer payment is allowed under the current policy and agreements. Health Insurance BC allows for an annual non-medical fee, to support administrative aspects of the business, but it has to be optional. Dr. Nwosu’s letter to patients called the fee non-medical, but most of the services it listed were medical.
The Medical Services Commission, which is investigating the matter, said in a statement through the Ministry of Health that it's "pleased to hear that this practitioner has communicated to her patients her plans to suspend the proposed fee." The BC College of Physicians and Surgeons also said it would not comment until a full review is complete.
One of the Westshore-based patients we interviewed in early August, who we called Hayley, was relieved when she saw the email.
“That’s going to make my life easier, because we do still have a GP,” she said. “It seems to be getting a lot more press, and I think that’s good. I think it will put pressure on politicians to get busy and come up with solutions so it’s not just me who’s fortunate to still have a GP, and that everyone can have one.”
ELECTION
Langford and Colwood don’t offer mail-in voting, and no one can make them
(📸 Elections BC)
If you’re planning to be out of town between Oct. 5 and 15, you might not be able to vote in the Westshore’s municipal elections.
Though advance voting options are required in municipal elections, voting by mail is not. In fact, a lot of the election procedure is up to the local governments.
Municipal elections in BC happen on the third week of October every four years. Each community follows the same deadlines for candidate registration and advanced voting; campaign financing is monitored by BC Elections; and the voter registration list is administered by the province. That’s all laid out in the Local Government Act. But the similarities, at least legally, end there.
For example in Sooke, automated voting machines are allowed. Colwood requires names of the candidates to be printed in a random order on the ballot, whereas in Metchosin they appear alphabetically. Highlands hasn’t updated its election bylaw since 2002, and in View Royal, election signage is not permitted sooner than 30 days before the election.
And, in all but Sooke and View Royal, there are no provisions for mail-in ballots.
Sooke has offered mail-in voting since 2002, when it was an option only for people with a physical disability that prevented them from voting in person.
A handful of readers were alarmed when they learned Langford wasn’t planning to offer mail-in voting, but it’s not a practice many voters take part in at the municipal level. In 2018, 22 people asked for a mail voting ballot in Sooke—but only 14 came back. The last election was the first time View Royal opted to offer mail voting, and only eight people took advantage. View Royal’s chief election officer Ken Schaalje expects to see a few more this year because COVID has changed the way we participate in public, but even he was surprised to see how few votes were cast by post.
Highlands and Metchosin both say they’re too small to make the mail-in option worthwhile—that, and the fact that no one has asked. (In 2018 the entire Highlands council was uncontested, so literally no one needed to vote.)
Langford, the largest municipality in the Westshore, has never offered mail-in voting. Chief Election Officer Marie Watmough said she’s not aware of there being any requests for mail-in options, except for one person who called this year. If Langford wanted to offer mail in voting, council would have to add it to the bylaw.
Colwood also does not offer mail-in voting. Its Chief Election Officer, Marcy Lalande, thought the cost and timing might be prohibitive. There’s a limited amount of time between when the list of candidates is finalized to when ballots would need to be mailed, and all the municipalities are getting their ballots printed at the same time.
Metchosin and Sooke have relatively high voter turnout (44% and 42%, respectively), higher than the provincial average of 36%.
Colwood got 32% of eligible voters at the polls, and View Royal only had 25%.
Langford, second last in the province, had 18%. That low turnout may have been related to the small number of candidates—only one person challenged Stew Young for mayor and seven people ran for the six council seats—but it was part of a pattern. Langford has been lowest or second-lowest in voter turnout in the province for three elections in a row. In 2014, when 16 people ran for the seven seats, Langford still only had 21% of eligible voters participate.
Around the 'Shore
**🚜 Healthy soil = good food and sequestered carbon:**The MP for Langford (and Malahat and Cowichan), Alistair MacGregor, is the NDP’s Agriculture and Food critic. He’s calling for a national strategy to conserve soil. “Healthy soil is the foundation of agriculture and, by trapping carbon, is a key part of fighting the climate crisis,” he said. His private members’ bill on the topic was just endorsed by the Agriculture Carbon Alliance.
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**🚁 Noisy military flights this week:**TheRoyal Canadian Air ForcePublic Service announced that its Maritime helicopter squadron will be doing flying exercises at Albert Head this week, between 10am and midnight from Monday to Friday. If you hear something unusual in that area, this might be it.
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TOGETHER WITH ABSTRACT DEVELOPMENTS
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Community Events
🏁 **This weekend: The last-ever Daffodil Cup at the Westshore Speedway.**One of the last events before the speedway is closed forever—at least at this location, an association is looking for a new space—the Daffodil Cup is a legendary weekend of racing and fun. The races are Aug. 19-20, plus you can watch the racers practice on Thursday night for free.
🍕 Colwood Church is throwing a free park party with bouncy castles, food, prizes, and more. Aug. 20, noon to 4pm at Colwood Elementary.
🖼Call for artists: Arts & Culture Colwood Society is hosting a plein air painting event, and it's looking for 20 artists to sign up. The event will be a festival for the public, with pre-registered artists painting throughout the day. Sept. 11 at Fort Rodd Hill.
🚴🏾 ♀️ Provincials at the velodrome this weekend: Check out the elite speed cyclists as they race for BC's top medals at the Westshore Velodrome.
What’s Offshore?
Nothing today!
The Election Section
New! Keep an eye out for this section where we'll post news, updates, and call outs leading up to the fall election. Are you planning to run for a council seat in the Westshore, or know someone who is? Let me know: zoe@capitaldaily.ca. I also want to know what Westshore residents care about for this election. It’s still weeks away, so count on me asking again, but if you already have ideas please share them.
**Sooke:**New candidate announced: Nick Dickinson-Wilde plans to run for a council seat in Sooke. He lives in East Sooke, which isn’t actually part of the District of Sooke, it’s governed by the Juan de Fuca electoral district and the Capital Regional District. Incumbent Mayor Maja Tait, and incumbent councillors Tony St-Pierre, Al Beddows, and Jeff Bateman have confirmed their intention to run again. Couns. Ebony Logins, Megan McMath, and Dana Lajeunesse have not announced.
**Metchosin:**Andy MacKinnon, three-term Metchosin councillor, has decided not to run again for district council. Mayor John Ranns, who’s had the top job since 1984, is ready to retire and also will not run for re-election.
**Langford:**So far seven people have announced plans to run for council, six of them new. The mayor and five of the current councillors have not announced their plans: incumbent Coun. Lillian Szpak, five Langford Now candidates—Colby Harder, Mary Wagner, Kim Guiry, Keith Yacucha, Mark Morely—and former mayor of Port McNeill, Shirley Ackland.
**Colwood:**First-term Mayor Rob Martin is planning to run again, and will face a challenge from Coun. Doug Kobayashi, also serving his first term on the Colwood council.
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Westshore Snaps
A beautiful sunrise at Esquimalt Lagoon from last week — Jackie Sheridan, Langford
📸 Snapped a photo you’d like to share? Send it with a caption and don’t forget to add where you live.