DELTA, B.C.: Local MLA for Delta South Ian Paton and MLA for Langley-Walnut Grove Misty Van Popta, Critic for Infrastructure, were joined by hundreds of residents at the Fairness for Fraser Health rally on Sunday March 29, calling on the province to restart paused long-term care projects and to start equitably funding the Fraser Health region.
The rally took place across from the stalled Beedie Long-Term Care site in Delta, where site works have already started and is well under construction. Scores of people attended including doctors and nurses in the system, Delta’s Mayor and Council, multiple representatives from hospital foundations across the region, and an important statement was read by the BC College of Family Physicians.
Fifty percent of the “paused” projects in B.C., including Delta, are in Fraser Health, despite $85 million dollars of work already started. Fraser Health is the largest health authority, serving over 2.2 million people, yet is grossly underfunded and neglected by this NDP government.
“Our seniors can’t afford delays,” said Van Popta. “People want answers, and they want to see it moving again.”
“This project was ready to go,” said Paton. “This community stepped up and got this project moving, now we need the government to do the same.”
“Seven thousand seniors are already on waitlists in this province, and this government’s answer is to freeze the very beds they’re waiting for,” said
Brennan Day, Critic for Seniors Health. “That’s not planning. That’s failure.”
-30-
