'Blame to go around': BC United accepts role in Surrey hospital crisis while pledging investment
A day after the NDP government presented its 30-point plan to address the crisis at Surrey Memorial Hospital, the official Opposition is pledging to build a tower, while acknowledging their role in the situation.
Front-line sources at SMH tell CTV News they’re cautiously optimistic about the expansion of the hospital, but worry the provincial government may not see it as a “first step in the right direction” as they do, with more investment and attention needed in the future.
Members of the BC United party toured the hospital Thursday morning and spoke to reporters about crowded conditions and frustrated staff they observed.
“We can't incrementalize ourselves out of a crisis, we have to treat it like a crisis,” said leader Kevin Falcon, slamming the New Democrats for holding a flurry of meetings only after health-care workers went public with warnings they say were ignored by Fraser Health and the province for months.
“They're in their sixth year of government and only now they're deciding this is a crisis because the doctors have been speaking with one voice?” said Falcon.
BC United is promising another tower to further expand the hospital, acknowledging that when Falcon was finance minister and approved a $500 million expansion it should’ve been an $800 million investment instead.
When CTV News asked if that meant he was accepting some responsibility for the current government’s need to play catch-up to years of underfunding relative to the population growth in Surrey, Falcon said he did.
“I've always said that about Surrey – whatever we think we have to do, we should do more,” he responded. “Let's just assume there's enough blame to go around.”
Health Minister Adrian Dix has repeatedly blamed the then-Liberal party for under-resourcing Surrey, but his government has continued this trend. An analysis by the Surrey Hospitals Foundation concluded that Fraser Health residents see a per capita spend of $2,229 per year in provincial funds, compared to $3,677 per capita for Vancouver Coastal Health residents.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.