To the Honourable Josie Osborne,
BC Minister of Health
I am a resident of Pender Island, a community of about 3,000 people – though, I swear it more than doubles over the summer. We host thousands of other British Columbians on day trips, weekend getaways, or while attending one of the amazing concerts and festivals we have each year.
I am also president of The Pender Post Society, a father of two, and partner to a brilliant doctor whose career predicated our move to the Southern Gulf Islands. And all of those urge you to address the wanting support for the Pender Island Health Care Society – a non-profit organization working tirelessly to maintain our access to proper health care.
The Pender Island Health Centre is a modern, society-run facility that punches well above its weight, and is a model that should be emulated in remote communities across the province.
Yet it is – as usual – the commitment and dedication of our local community that makes the clinic possible. With a funding shortfall tagged at about $200,000 each year, finding a way to provide primary health care services on the island has been left too much to the PIHCS.
Perhaps due to its somewhat remote nature, Pender Island attracts those with a stubborn streak of independent self-sufficiency that should not be underappreciated. When there’s a problem, we assemble a team, roll up our sleeves, and make a solution.
Our community newsletter, The Pender Post, was born from this mindset. Each month, we do our best to support the dozens of non-profit clubs, groups, and societies that have built an unfathomable network of social, artistic, and recreational opportunities right here at home.
Pender Island hosts some of the province’s best arts festivals, thanks to local groups like Ptarmigan Arts, and features a thriving scene of local musical talent, fostered by local musical talent.
Our fire department mobilized local support to build a training facility that is now an asset to the entire region. And when Pender needed a new place to come together, we built our Community Hall from volunteer labour and donated wood, on land provided by a local benefactor.
A non-profit society maintains our world-class disc golf course, and our library – stocked and staffed as well as any you might visit in the city – began as someone’s good idea and a better name: The Pender Lender. A thrift store turns our trash into cash and donates that cash right back into the community.
I am proud that so much of life on Pender is borne from the ingenuity of those who choose to live here, is fueled by our enthusiasm, and designed to benefit both locals and visitors alike.
But when it comes to healthcare, our local network of support could really use some proper support of its own.
Matthew Coutts
President, The Pender Post Society
president@penderpost.org
Emailed to:
HLTH.Minister@gov.bc.ca,
Rob.Botterell.MLA@leg.bc.ca,
Elizabeth.May.C1@parl.gc.ca.