Re: “Woss man sent by taxi to Victoria hospital — a $2,148 round-trip fare,” June 18.
I believe I have the solution to both transporting people to hospitals in Victoria and the dilemma of the doctor shortage for seniors.
I would gladly be paid over $2,000 per day to be a taxi service for people who need medical services in Victoria.
That being said, here’s a solution. Hire people like me. Pay me a healthy per diem, say $500 and mileage. The caveat is, though, that I am healthy and it needs to be proven. Therefore a doctor would have to give me a physical.
Done and done. Solutions.
Susan Worrall
Chemainus
Re: “Drug coverage to be discontinued for Langford girl with fatal condition,” June 18.
I cannot believe that our provincial government is cutting funding for a terminally ill child named Charleigh Pollock.
She is a Canadian citizen. She is a British Columbia resident.
The provincial government’s stand is simple. They say she is going to die anyway, so why should we continue to pay for her treatment?
What? Yes, they said what they said.
It hurts my heart to watch a young girl refused treatment for a disease that has ravaged her. I feel for her family. I cry over this decision.
Why doesn’t every MLA donate a mere five per cent of their yearly wage, which is paid for by the taxpayers of this province, to help support her care? Of course not, the greed is too great.
A pox on you all.
Quit paying for the so-called “most vulnerable” on our streets, and start supporting the truly “most vulnerable” who need our help the most.
My heart goes out to the family. My absolute disgust goes out to the government’s heartless officials who are refusing to help young Charleigh. It seems her life means nothing. So sad.
Dewane Ollech
Mill Bay
Re: “Drug coverage to be discontinued for Langford girl with fatal condition,” June 18.
Rather than cutting off the critically ill who are suffering from degenerative and rare diseases, many of which are genetic or hereditary, the government should be ending 100 per cent the free narcotics handout to street junkies and criminal addicts just so they can get high at the cost of taxpayers.
Then they need to stop supporting financially or other those employed in government suffering from “You can’t fix stupid syndrome,” which includes most of the entrenched snivelling service and the majority of politicians also suffering from “incompetent politician disease.”
James Cooper
Victoria
Re: “Drug coverage to be discontinued for Langford girl with fatal condition,” June 18.
I was saddened to read the news that the B.C. Health Ministry has decided to follow non-binding recommendations from the Canada Drug Agency and discontinue drug coverage for a nine-year-old Langford girl with a terminal disease.
The drug slows the decline in patients’ ability to walk and talk until they reach the end stage of the disease, and helps avoid multiple daily seizures.
As a result, this child’s quality of life will plummet and her final days will be lived in discomfort and severely increased disability.
The drug treatment for the child costs about $1 million a year. Provincial and federal levels of government (both of which fund the CDA) want to end the coverage, yet these governments wantonly spend taxpayers’ money on bloated pensions and severance packages for politicians, as well as examples of other reckless spending too numerous to list here.
For instance the B.C. government spent more than $150 million on VIP suites, a VIP stadium entrance and a walkway to a casino, so that rich soccer fans could watch some World Cup matches.
The Health Ministry claims that “the cost of an individual drug is not a factor considered by the expert committees in recommending coverage,” which I find hard to believe about this decision.
Richard Konopasek
Victoria
Re: “Let’s look out for each other downtown,” comment, June 18.
Thank you to the Victoria resident who told her story of being helped when she fell on a downtown street.
Thank you especially for reminding us that unhoused people are people just like you and me. We have all had different experiences in life and yet humanity remains in us regardless of who we are. Let’s be kind to each other.
Karen Langenmaier
Courtenay
Re: “B.C. must aggressively recruit family doctors,” editorial, June 13.
I read with some sadness the editorial’s statement that the Doctors of British Columbia, back in the 1990s, were instrumental in limiting the number of new doctors being trained.
Everyone who read this would have made up their mind in a negative way toward the Doctors of British Columbia for doing that.
But lo and behold, this is not the way it took place. The Doctors of B.C. did not do such lobbying or make such recommendations. It was the politically created Barer-Stoddart report of 1991 that made the recommendation to reduce the number of new doctors being trained. We now know the consequences of that, and it is totally based on the government listening to that report.
It certainly was not anything to do with the Doctors of B.C.
Looking at the way the world is today with all the false reports reminds me that such activities have been existent for centuries. Our own local government officials have been doing it for a long time, as well as lots of other entities, so I would hope that the editorial board of the Times Colonist would do deeper research into anything that they are making pronouncements about so the facts are the facts that actually exist and the reading public are not misled.
Harlow Hollis, MD
Oak Bay
Re: “Throw a bone to Saanich dog owners,” letter, June 18.
I, too, would like to request something for Saanich dog owners. I walk my dog primarily in PKOLS (Mount Douglas) Park. There used to be trails where I could walk my dog off leash, benefitting us both. Yet, despite the fact that there are more than 21 kilometres of trails in the park, Saanich has recently seen fit to grant us only two kilometres of off-leash friendly trails.
This is patently ridiculous. Most trails are largely deserted. The park is under-utilized. Other than dog owners, I do not see people scrambling up the rocks on the back side of the park. Why are we dog people so restricted? It is unjust.
Clearly Saanich does not care about my physical and mental health levels. I could not be less interested in a fenced dog park. I get no exercise there.
Give us better access to the trails in PKOLS. You have already taken the beaches away from us. Give something back.
Suzanne Bell
Saanich
Re: “Throw a bone to Saanich dog owners,” letter, June 18.
Not only do the municipalities in the Capital Regional District need to seriously consider the need for more dog parks, but they should consider all types of dogs.
Estimates of the dog population in the CRD range from 36,000 (licensed) to 72,000 if we include those that are unlicensed.
The CRD is a dog town, which behooves us humans to make adequate provisions for their health and well-being.
As a small-dog owner, I think dog parks are a good idea. But not all dogs are alike. I’ve spoken with dozens of other small-dog owners asking where we can take our pets that weigh 20 pounds and under.
The answer is nowhere. Dog parks and fenced runs are filled with giant dogs that could seriously harm a little pooch. We’ve all seen dog owners who have little control over their charges.
Where am I to safely take my little dog for a run?
So, here’s what I suggest:
1. Build dog parks with one half for big dogs and one half for small dogs.
2. Require all dog owners to complete basic obedience training. Everyone needs a common language with their dog to maintain some control.
3. Enforce dog licensing requirements for all dogs in the CRD to fund the construction of dog parks.
Janet Baker
Victoria
Re: “Capital region should build outdoor pools,” letter, June 18.
The letter is not wrong; we need swimming pools in the Capital Regional District. Not only is swimming great fun for all ages, it is a life skill.
We live on the coast surrounded by water, and anyone who goes to the beach, or rides in a boat or ferry, needs swimming skills. People need to be able to save themselves or help others in distress. Swimming pools are a safe environment in which to learn these skills, participate in recreation and develop social decorum in a crowded pool.
Build more pools. It will help keep the population fit and alive.
Janet Baker
Victoria
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