B.C.'s new short-term rental rules could impact organ transplant recipients, advocates say
B.C.'s new short-term rental rules officially came into effect this week and advocates say the new restrictions could have unintended impacts for those getting an organ transplant.
Jude Kornelsen, co-director of the Centre for Rural Health Research, says the province needs to consider accommodation options for those seeking care.
"We do need to facilitate making sure people can get to where the care is," she told CTV News Vancouver. "I think that's the issue at the heart of this."
The short-term rental rules, which came into play on May 1, restrict hosts to renting out space in their primary residence, as well as an additional unit, secondary suite or laneway home on the same property. The restrictions are meant to open up thousands of potential long-term housing units that are currently being offered year-round on apps such as Airbnb and VRBO.
But those coming to the Lower Mainland for a transplant can require several months of after care in the region and hotels are expensive.
In fact, the high cost of accommodation has led to drastic measures for some like Christina Derksen-Unrau. She needs a double lung transplant, but discovered she'd first have to save tens of thousands of dollars to live in Vancouver for three to six months after surgery at Vancouver General Hospital. She temporarily took herself off the transplant list because of that high cost, but has since put herself back on.
Now, with the new short-term rental rules, rural health-care advocates are worried it'll be another barrier for those needing care. While they say they aren't against the restrictions, advocates say they'd like to see some sort of exemption for those seeking medical treatment.
"We just want to make sure that they're not faced with the choice between life and death because they don't have money," Paul Adams, executive director for B.C. Rural Health Network, told CTV News Vancouver.
The province acknowledged that some British Columbians need to travel for transplant surgery and stay in the Lower Mainland. Even so, the province said in a statement the focus has to be getting "more units back into the long-term rental market so (British Columbians) can find an affordable place to call home."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Isabella Zavarise and Michele Brunoro
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Dangerous brew: Ocean heat and La Nina combo likely mean more Atlantic hurricanes this summer
Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Potential tornado 'surreal' for residents who witnessed damaging storm in southern Ontario
Witnessing a potential tornado was 'surreal' for residents who caught a glimpse of the damaging storm in southern Ontario on Wednesday night.
Jennifer Lopez's response to question about Ben Affleck is a reminder of their decades of love in the spotlight
Plenty of people are wondering if Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are having problems in their marriage, but one person had the nerve to ask in a public forum.
Was this the bug that stung you? Wasp sightings revive murder-hornet concerns; no detections confirmed
As temperatures rise out of a mild El Nino winter, Canada's buggy season is already upon us again, and this year, the bugs are looking especially big.
New bill would let Canadians pass citizenship rights down to children born abroad
A new government bill tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday would allow Canadians to pass citizenship rights down to their children born outside the country — a move that would add an unknown number of new citizens.
WestJet planning new fare category for travellers willing to forgo carry-on bag
WestJet Airlines plans to launch a new cheaper fare category that would be available to travellers willing to fly without a carry-on bag.