A "NO" uttered from the deepest conviction
is better and greater than a
"yes"
merely uttered to please,
or what is worse,
to avoid trouble.
- Ghandi
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING
(NO GHCS/GHCF AFFILIATION)
PROPOSED GABRIOLA CLINIC
CONCERNS, FACTS & QUESTIONS
Providing an open forum for full and accurate disclosure
of information pertaining to the inception, development,
and proposed building of the Urgent Care Medical Clinic
of information pertaining to the inception, development,
and proposed building of the Urgent Care Medical Clinic
including rezoning issues
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10
7:00 p.m.
ROLLO SENIORS CENTRE
For more info please contact
Shena Meadowcroft or Tony Gibson
(250) 247-9354 or shenam@shaw.ca
www.proposedgabriolaclinic.blogspot.com
Pledge Agreement Due Diligence
In the agenda package for the LTC meeting tomorrow, Thursday January 27, 2011 there is a "pledge agreement" between Potlatch Properties Ltd. and the Gabriola Health Care Foundation that is being presented.
Here are notes from a conversation with a real estate attorney regarding this "agreement":
· Why is the document not dated? It is not valid if it is not dated.
- Who signed the document? What are their names and why are they not printed on the document? Do these people actually represent the parties they claim to, that is Potlach Properties Ltd. and Gabriola Health Care Foundation? If not, the document is useless. Who witnessed the signatures? We need their names and contact information to ascertain that these are actual signatures, validly obtained. Why is there no corporate seal attached to a document of this significance?
- What is the legal description of the land being pledged? We have the legal description of the total parcel, but not that of the actual piece being pledged. All we have is a drawing with a black square outlined, but no specific legal description of it. Too easy for the donor to change his mind, move the lines, or deny it altogether.
- Owner (pledgor) should be the one who undertakes the subdivision, then we would have a legal description of the land in question and would actually know what we were talking about. The pledgee could then register a caveat against it in the agreement and have some legal power. Right now, we just have a black line in the approximate location of where we think the land might be.
- What proof do we have that Potlach Properties Ltd. actually owns the land? Could it be held by the donor personally, or by one of his other corporations, or by someone else altogether?
- What bankruptcy searches have been undertaken to ensure that the holder of the land is not facing bankruptcy charges, either here or in the US, which could result in loss of the land?
- What court searches have been undertaken to determine who might be suing the landholder or anyone associated with him or his corporations, which could result in loss of the land?
- Has there been a search undertaken to prove that the property taxes have been fully paid to date? If not, the land could be seized.
- Has there been a corporate search undertaken to ensure that Potlach Properties Ltd. is indeed a corporation in good standing according to Canadian law? Are they properly registered, with all corporate taxes paid to date, and year end reports duly filed?
- Is there an assurance in the agreement that the property in question will not be sold to another party during the five year term of this Pledge Agreement? If not, and a sale should occur, do the terms of the agreement still stand?
- Who is the attorney representing the GHCF, and thus representing the community of Gabriola, in this endeavour? If they want our support, we need to know they are adequately represented and advised by appropriate legal counsel.
Directors of GHCS & GHCF are NOT Members of the Societies they Represent
The question of the nature of the membership lists for both the Gabriola Health Care foundation (GHCF) and the Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) came under question at the January 6, 2011 extraordinary meeting of the GHCF. There has been much concern in the Gabriola community as to how the GHCS/GHCF could, according to their constitutions, simply conscript all residents of Gabriola Island into membership in their societies, without even consulting anyone. That is, though, the basis on which these two societies are operating. This means that everyone who is a resident of Gabriola, be it full time, part time, property owner, renter, or long term visitor is a member of both the GHCS and the GHCF. However, when questioned further at the Jan 6/11 meeting about the exact structure of their membership list, Brenda Fowler, president of both societies, admitted that they don’t really maintain actual membership lists. She stated instead that, “The telephone book is our membership list”. Okay, so be it, the Gabriola telephone book, not residency, is the basis for their membership lists.
HOWEVER:
The Gabriola Health Care Society lists a total of nine members on their Board of Directors. Of those nine members, only four names appear in the telephone book, while the remaining five do not. That is, according to the president’s statement about their membership list being the telephone book, only 44% of the Board of Directors of the GHCS are actually members of the society. The remaining 56% are not members!
The Gabriola Health Care Foundation fares a little better. They list a total of fourteen members on their Board of Directors, of which eleven names appear in the telephone book, and three do not. That means, according to the president’s statement, 79% are members and 21% are not.
How can these people claim to represent the best interests of the community of Gabriola Island, via their position as Directors of the GHCS and GHCF, when a large percentage of them are not even, by their own definition, legitimate members of these societies?
Verna Gregson
FREE (Clinic) FOR ALL???
At the Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday January 6, 2011 one of the questions raised was whether a poor person would have access to the clinic for free once it was built.
Brenda Fowler, President of GHCF/GHCS and Chairperson of the meeting assured the individual that EVERYONE could attend the clinic FOR FREE, residents, non-residents, Americans and (agreeing with another member of the audience) even the Brits!
CORRECTION Madam Chairperson.
NOT EVERYONE CAN COME FOR FREE
~ people without BC Health Coverage, CAN'T
~ people from out of province who do not have their provincial health care coverage with them, CAN'T
~ Americans, CAN'T
~ even the Brits (or any other nationality for that matter) CAN'T
Would you P L E A S E stop misleading the public on such an important issue as our health?
Brenda Fowler, President of GHCF/GHCS and Chairperson of the meeting assured the individual that EVERYONE could attend the clinic FOR FREE, residents, non-residents, Americans and (agreeing with another member of the audience) even the Brits!
CORRECTION Madam Chairperson.
NOT EVERYONE CAN COME FOR FREE
~ people without BC Health Coverage, CAN'T
~ people from out of province who do not have their provincial health care coverage with them, CAN'T
~ Americans, CAN'T
~ even the Brits (or any other nationality for that matter) CAN'T
Would you P L E A S E stop misleading the public on such an important issue as our health?
Thoughts from a medical perspective
Gabriola Sounder
The Editor,
Monday, November 6 2006
The Editor,
Monday, November 6 2006
Before the Health Centre locomotive - lobby gets up more steam, we should all try to agree where its going. As one of the Island doctors offering medical care, I venture also, to offer my thoughts on the choices of destinations and on the chances of arriving.
Would the lobby please define/refine their expectations of the Health Centre!
My sense is of an expectation that the facility will be staffed 24 hours/year round and have a friendly, competent person to listen and look, assess and treat. Great! Should it also have Xray, Lab and the techs to operate them - probably not!
Staffing appropriate to such a facility would require 4 to 6 nurses, working 12 hour shifts, say 4 days on, 3 days off and allowing for holidays. I am not at all sure that Government, in our case VIHA, is about to cross the line to fund 24/365 nurse staffing, where it presently does not exist, for an island, geographically, a ferry-ride-suburb ofNanaimo
Hornby Island Gabriola Island
However, in my opinion, THE critical limitation of manning the centre will be the availability of doctors willing to provide extended on-call coverage. Such a doctor will run an office in the day and will be available, on-island for on-call rota, one night in two, three or four, depending on how many wish to take call. This level of on-call is the norm for doctors working in under-serviced, isolated communities such asHornby Island or, as in my former practice in remote Northern BC
Present Health Ministry policy, currently spending 38% of the total BC Budget for 2006/07, is going to be reluctant to make the quantum step of commencing on-call stipends for a ferry-ride suburb ofNanaimo
What do I suggest? NURSE-PRACTITIONERS - government loves them - doctors have reservations. Dr. McPherson and I were invited byAthabasca University
Three to five nurse practitioners could offer constant staffing (or a lesser number for only after-hour call) in the setting in a small emergency room where they would assess and triage, usually with doctor consultation. Clearly, illness or injury beyond the Centre’s scope for instance, serious fractures, heart attack, acute abdomen e.g. appendix would be transferred to Nanaimo, as at present with the aid of our excellent Paramedics.
I do not see the need for doctors to transfer their day-time office to a purpose-built building: We should recognize the effort, time and money, present and past doctors have invested in their offices. Doctors would continue to bill fee-for-service and offer to be available as back-up for the out-of-hours nurse practitioners. My doctor colleagues may criticize my concentration on the dollars - sorry it HAS to come into the equation because it is important to ALL parties, Government and staff.
We should be aware that building, staffing and maintaining a facility will be in the millions of dollars.
Do we need a new building at a proposed site (with view) nearly a kilometer from the Village? Not really. The present Gabriola Professional Centre accommodates in 6,000 sq/ft of its nearly 10,000 sq/ft, a cohort of independent health professionals, namely Dentist, Doctors, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Acupuncture, MDS Metro Lab and soon, a replacement for the previous Physiotherapist. Presently, there is a nearly 2,000 sq/ft wing of the building potentially available which would make an adequate small emergency room and possibly even also a doctors office. It is ground floor, well lit, has adequate parking and is central. I think Government would be more amenable to rent such space than build and maintain a dedicated building.
Finally, my argument is, yes, let’s make our island less dependent onNanaimo General Hospital
Sincerely, Dr H.G. Harding
Would the lobby please define/refine their expectations of the Health Centre!
My sense is of an expectation that the facility will be staffed 24 hours/year round and have a friendly, competent person to listen and look, assess and treat. Great! Should it also have Xray, Lab and the techs to operate them - probably not!
Staffing appropriate to such a facility would require 4 to 6 nurses, working 12 hour shifts, say 4 days on, 3 days off and allowing for holidays. I am not at all sure that Government, in our case VIHA, is about to cross the line to fund 24/365 nurse staffing, where it presently does not exist, for an island, geographically, a ferry-ride-suburb of
However, in my opinion, THE critical limitation of manning the centre will be the availability of doctors willing to provide extended on-call coverage. Such a doctor will run an office in the day and will be available, on-island for on-call rota, one night in two, three or four, depending on how many wish to take call. This level of on-call is the norm for doctors working in under-serviced, isolated communities such as
Present Health Ministry policy, currently spending 38% of the total BC Budget for 2006/07, is going to be reluctant to make the quantum step of commencing on-call stipends for a ferry-ride suburb of
What do I suggest? NURSE-PRACTITIONERS - government loves them - doctors have reservations. Dr. McPherson and I were invited by
Three to five nurse practitioners could offer constant staffing (or a lesser number for only after-hour call) in the setting in a small emergency room where they would assess and triage, usually with doctor consultation. Clearly, illness or injury beyond the Centre’s scope for instance, serious fractures, heart attack, acute abdomen e.g. appendix would be transferred to Nanaimo, as at present with the aid of our excellent Paramedics.
I do not see the need for doctors to transfer their day-time office to a purpose-built building: We should recognize the effort, time and money, present and past doctors have invested in their offices. Doctors would continue to bill fee-for-service and offer to be available as back-up for the out-of-hours nurse practitioners. My doctor colleagues may criticize my concentration on the dollars - sorry it HAS to come into the equation because it is important to ALL parties, Government and staff.
We should be aware that building, staffing and maintaining a facility will be in the millions of dollars.
Do we need a new building at a proposed site (with view) nearly a kilometer from the Village? Not really. The present Gabriola Professional Centre accommodates in 6,000 sq/ft of its nearly 10,000 sq/ft, a cohort of independent health professionals, namely Dentist, Doctors, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Acupuncture, MDS Metro Lab and soon, a replacement for the previous Physiotherapist. Presently, there is a nearly 2,000 sq/ft wing of the building potentially available which would make an adequate small emergency room and possibly even also a doctors office. It is ground floor, well lit, has adequate parking and is central. I think Government would be more amenable to rent such space than build and maintain a dedicated building.
Finally, my argument is, yes, let’s make our island less dependent on
Sincerely, Dr H.G. Harding
Intimidation long term problem
Except from: The Flying Shingle
Thursday, May 15 2008
Democracy requires debate
Which brings me to the topic of informed decision. What became abundantly clear to me while I was investigating this issue, is the level of fundamentalist fervour among the fans of the clinic.Among the many questions the Shingle received about the GHCS project, came comments about the discomfort folks felt about asking questions about it. Some said they were treated disparagingly, were subjected to sarcasm, or treated like pariahs for not immediatley jumping on board. Others simply found it hard to ask questions about such a “motherhod” issue.As I was given less than subtle invitations to drop the subject after the last edition of the Shingle, I have no problem believing this is true.
Forget the fact that such responses are a signal to any semi-decent editor that deeper investigation is necessary. Let’s consider the harm this does to any legitimate enterprise and democracy in general.
What does it tell community members about a project when queries and/or doubt are met with snideness and hostility? And what good advice does the Board miss out on when those who counsel caution are frozen out of the conversation? In many ways this project appears to have been the victim of being loved unwisely and too well, and that has done no favours to the GHCS Board.The Board, on the other hand, has answered the Shingle’s questions (many of which were both blunt and pointed) civilly and quickly, and have welcomed the opportunity to clarify their project and intentions. Hopefully others will take instruction from this.
Online source: www.FlyingShingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20080530084590900622
An Obituary to Common Sense
An Obituary printed in the London Times. Interesting and sadly true:
"Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, "Common Sense", who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouth wash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust. His wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility, his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights; I Want It Now; Someone Else Is To Blame; I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Rezoning Application for Medical Health Clinic
Letter to Islands Trust,
Local Trust Committee,
Gabriola Island, B.C.
December 10, 2010
Re: Rezoning Application for Medical Health Clinic
Gabriola Professional Centre Ltd. does not support the application for rezoning the identified parcel of land for purposes of building a medical clinic. Our commercial building hosts as tenants, Gabriola Health Centre, representing the majority of the licensed health care providers on this island. Our health care tenants include a medical clinic, dental clinic, medical laboratory, physiotherapy clinic, massage therapy clinic, chiropractic clinic and an acupuncture clinic.
Gabriola Professional Centre has, on three occasions in the last four years, presented the GHCS with proposals for rental space in our building. We have offered to accommodate their clinical and office needs as a whole, or on an as needed basis, allowing for growth and future development as it occurs. They could have joined our existing complement of excellent health care providers and avoided the costs of building and maintaining a separate facility. In none of these instances has the GHCS given any consideration to our proposals. They have never inquired as to rental costs, leasing terms, or conditions of tenancy. They have never even looked at the spaces available and, in fact, have actually refused to do so when offers have been made. It is unreasonable to require rezoning and public funding for a new location, when there is adequate space available in existing and compatible facilities on the island. The GHCS & GHCF have already stated that if they construct a brand new building, they will need to lure our physician and medical laboratory tenants from us to help cover their costs. This does not help the economy of the island, as a whole.
There has been no demonstrated need for the creation of more commercial rental space on Gabriola Island. Our population is not significantly increasing and there is no justification to zone for more space. All major commercial properties on the island now have at least one vacancy, and many businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy. We are facing difficult economic times and must tread carefully, lest we lose even more of our valuable island merchants and services. The GHCS cannot claim to represent the needs and interests of the community if they continue in their quest for rezoning and new construction, because Gabriola can barely support that which is currently in existence.
The Gabriola Health Care Society and its associated societies of Gabriola Health Care Foundation and Gabriola Health Care Auxiliary do not represent the needs and interests of the health care providers in Gabriola Professional Centre, nor do they include us in their activities, discussions, meetings or health care consultations. In fact, they have consistently excluded us from their endeavours. We have requested representation on their boards of directors and have been refused. We have requested that we be invited to their meetings with VIHA and Ministry of Health officials, and are denied or misinformed. These societies have demonstrated they are determined to represent only those health clinicians currently working at Twin Beaches, and do not speak for or collaborate with the health care providers at Gabriola Professional Centre.
Sincerely,
Gabriola Professional Centre Ltd.
590 North Road, Gabriola Island, B.C.
Health society accepts Rooks land offer
Monday, August 23 2010
The Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) has accepted an offer of free land on which to build a community-owned medical clinic from Dr. Bob Rooks of Potlatch Holdings.
GHC Foundation President Brenda Fowler said at a general meeting Tuesday at the Roxy, that the property is ideal as it is at the top of Church Street, close to the ambulance garage, the fire hall and the helicopter pad.
As previously reported, the society wants to build a permanent community-owned medical clinic and emergency room for doctors currently operating out of Twin Beaches. In the process they would like to expand the emergency room to three beds and increase the size of the clinic, in the hopes of attracting a third doctor who is willing to work on call to the island. Although Gabriola already has four doctors on the island, only two are covering after-hour emergencies. The society believes a third emergency doctor is needed to prevent them from burning out.
Also as previously reported, the Gabriola Women’s Institute (WI) first offered their land beside the Post Office on South Road for free. When the society decided the space was not large enough for possible future expansion, Gabriolans Clyde and Andrew Coats offered to subdivide off a parcel of land for the clinic on the ferry hill on North Road for $100,000 and tax concessions.
At Tuesday’s general meeting, Gabriolan Jamie Lawrence asked what the terms or conditions of the Rooks offer were. Fowler said: “When we first went to see Dr. Rooks in March, the offer was more complicated than this because he was trying to accommodate several things in his offer to us. He said: ‘I will give the community the road’ (that would be the fire access from Spruce to Church road), ‘I will give the foundation land for the clinic, and in return I would like the foundation to go the community and get my land divided into four severances’ ”.
The board “decided that we didn’t want to become part of that discussion”, Fowler said, “… so that’s why we met with Coats and took him up on his offer”. She said Rooks was off the island when they made that decision. She said when he returned Rooks “learned what had occurred” and called with a less “complex” offer. She said the offer as it now stands was a better one “because this one affects only us”. She said Rooks has also offered to pay for the survey, site preparation, and road installation.
Fowler said under the current deal the road access would only cover the extent of the clinic property, and that the clinic had to be built within five years. She was not sure five years from when.
The 4.1 acres Rooks is offering the society will have to be rezoned from Forestry to Institutional, Fowler said. She said there is similar zoning in the immediate vicinity and noted that planners usually prefer that to be the case in rezoning applications. She added that they had met with Planner Chris Jackson and Trustees Sheila and Malcolmson and Deborah Ferens, and were told that the rezoning process could take six months to two years to complete. Fowler added that the trustees and planner had said if asked they would make the application a top priority, and would waive half the application costs.
Reached for comment Malcolmson clarified that: “Trustee Ferens and I met separately with the Health Care Society reps, when they were discussing the Coats property, but did not and cannot make promises on behalf of the (Local Trust Committee (LTC)). The LTC could receive a request to sponsor the application cost, from the LTC’s own budget. This was done with the Commons, Borsuk density transfer, and the Coats density transfer the Gabriola Conservancy sponsored. The LTC would discuss and vote on that in a public meeting”.
Malcolmson added that rezoning takes a minimum of nine months, “and the LTC would have to consider how to prioritise such an application against its current top priority which is the OCP review”. She said the LTC has not received a rezoning application or a request for fee sponsorship.
Fowler estimated they could begin building in April 2011, and that it would take 26 weeks to lockup. She thought it was possible the clinic could open late fall 2011. She said raising the million dollars necessary to build the clinic needed to be done quickly in order to attract another emergency doctor as soon as possible.
Fowler said local contractors have already volunteered to do much of the building, that Architrave has been helping with the design, and that a retired architect who specialised in medical clinics will consult with Architrave.
GHC Foundation President Brenda Fowler said at a general meeting Tuesday at the Roxy, that the property is ideal as it is at the top of Church Street, close to the ambulance garage, the fire hall and the helicopter pad.
As previously reported, the society wants to build a permanent community-owned medical clinic and emergency room for doctors currently operating out of Twin Beaches. In the process they would like to expand the emergency room to three beds and increase the size of the clinic, in the hopes of attracting a third doctor who is willing to work on call to the island. Although Gabriola already has four doctors on the island, only two are covering after-hour emergencies. The society believes a third emergency doctor is needed to prevent them from burning out.
Also as previously reported, the Gabriola Women’s Institute (WI) first offered their land beside the Post Office on South Road for free. When the society decided the space was not large enough for possible future expansion, Gabriolans Clyde and Andrew Coats offered to subdivide off a parcel of land for the clinic on the ferry hill on North Road for $100,000 and tax concessions.
At Tuesday’s general meeting, Gabriolan Jamie Lawrence asked what the terms or conditions of the Rooks offer were. Fowler said: “When we first went to see Dr. Rooks in March, the offer was more complicated than this because he was trying to accommodate several things in his offer to us. He said: ‘I will give the community the road’ (that would be the fire access from Spruce to Church road), ‘I will give the foundation land for the clinic, and in return I would like the foundation to go the community and get my land divided into four severances’ ”.
The board “decided that we didn’t want to become part of that discussion”, Fowler said, “… so that’s why we met with Coats and took him up on his offer”. She said Rooks was off the island when they made that decision. She said when he returned Rooks “learned what had occurred” and called with a less “complex” offer. She said the offer as it now stands was a better one “because this one affects only us”. She said Rooks has also offered to pay for the survey, site preparation, and road installation.
Fowler said under the current deal the road access would only cover the extent of the clinic property, and that the clinic had to be built within five years. She was not sure five years from when.
The 4.1 acres Rooks is offering the society will have to be rezoned from Forestry to Institutional, Fowler said. She said there is similar zoning in the immediate vicinity and noted that planners usually prefer that to be the case in rezoning applications. She added that they had met with Planner Chris Jackson and Trustees Sheila and Malcolmson and Deborah Ferens, and were told that the rezoning process could take six months to two years to complete. Fowler added that the trustees and planner had said if asked they would make the application a top priority, and would waive half the application costs.
Reached for comment Malcolmson clarified that: “Trustee Ferens and I met separately with the Health Care Society reps, when they were discussing the Coats property, but did not and cannot make promises on behalf of the (Local Trust Committee (LTC)). The LTC could receive a request to sponsor the application cost, from the LTC’s own budget. This was done with the Commons, Borsuk density transfer, and the Coats density transfer the Gabriola Conservancy sponsored. The LTC would discuss and vote on that in a public meeting”.
Malcolmson added that rezoning takes a minimum of nine months, “and the LTC would have to consider how to prioritise such an application against its current top priority which is the OCP review”. She said the LTC has not received a rezoning application or a request for fee sponsorship.
Fowler estimated they could begin building in April 2011, and that it would take 26 weeks to lockup. She thought it was possible the clinic could open late fall 2011. She said raising the million dollars necessary to build the clinic needed to be done quickly in order to attract another emergency doctor as soon as possible.
Fowler said local contractors have already volunteered to do much of the building, that Architrave has been helping with the design, and that a retired architect who specialised in medical clinics will consult with Architrave.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Forest lands rezoning ‘done deal’?
Letter to the Editor
The Flying Shingle
Monday, September 13 2010
Dear Editor,
The enthusiasm of the Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) for building a medical clinic on land donated by Dr. Bob Rooks is perfectly understandable; yet, I wonder if I am alone in being increasingly irritated by assertions by GHCS members to the effect that the rezoning of this land is a foregone conclusion and merely a formality.
I would have thought that the exchange of forest land for a building, road, and car park, no matter how laudable the objective, would be something for the community and for the Islands Trust, with its mandate to “preserve and protect”, to seriously think about.
How long after such a rezoning can we expect application for the remainder of the land with those magnificent views over
Nick Doe
www.FlyingShingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20100913202451832531
No changes to urgent treatment funding: VIHA
The Flying Shingle
Monday, December 6 2010
Monday, December 6 2010
There will be no change in the kind of funding the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) provides for an “urgent treatment room” once a permanent community clinic is built, according to VIHA Communications Director Shannon Marshall.
Marshall, who responded last week to a number of questions from The Shingle added: “… it’s important to understand that (the clinic has) an urgent treatment room NOT an urgent care center or emergency room. (The urgent treatment room) provides services consistent with those that can be provided in any GPs office but because supplies for sutures, wound care etc. are expensive we are helping to underwrite those costs”.
Marshall
“Urgent care”,Marshall
At the Advisory Planning Commission meeting at the Community Hall on Wednesday, Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) President Brenda Fowler further clarified the differences saying that very specific definitions attach to those words. “… so for instance”, she said, “when you go to an emergency room in a hospital you’ve got very sophisticated equipment … and you have trained staff onsite who know how to work the machines and are delivering the responses, and coverage is 24/7”. She said VIHA and GHCS are “very clear” with each other “we will never have an emergency room. We cannot with our population ever support an emergency room”.
Marshall
The on-call doctors on Gabriola “participate in a level 2 MOCAP”,Marshall
Marshall
Marshall
www.FlyingShingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20101206463207955203
Marshall, who responded last week to a number of questions from The Shingle added: “… it’s important to understand that (the clinic has) an urgent treatment room NOT an urgent care center or emergency room. (The urgent treatment room) provides services consistent with those that can be provided in any GPs office but because supplies for sutures, wound care etc. are expensive we are helping to underwrite those costs”.
“Urgent care”,
At the Advisory Planning Commission meeting at the Community Hall on Wednesday, Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) President Brenda Fowler further clarified the differences saying that very specific definitions attach to those words. “… so for instance”, she said, “when you go to an emergency room in a hospital you’ve got very sophisticated equipment … and you have trained staff onsite who know how to work the machines and are delivering the responses, and coverage is 24/7”. She said VIHA and GHCS are “very clear” with each other “we will never have an emergency room. We cannot with our population ever support an emergency room”.
The on-call doctors on Gabriola “participate in a level 2 MOCAP”,
www.FlyingShingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20101206463207955203
Why not a covenant?
Letter to the Editor
The Flying Shingle
The Flying Shingle
Monday, December 13 2010
Dear Editor,
I feel compelled to report on a point that was raised at the Advisory Planning Commission meeting and which was missed by both local newspapers.
The Local Trust Committee cannot request a covenant as a condition of rezoning that would affect whether the clinic will be private or public; for-profit or not-for-profit. To reassure the community that the clinic will indeed be run on a public, not-for-profit basis, the health care foundation was asked if it would volunteer to register such a covenant on the title of their property . The answer was “no”. I will leave to the foundation the opportunity to explain why not.
Every resident of this
Jacinthe Eastick
Thanks Jacinthe, there is a report on this discussion in this edition. ~ Ed
www.FlyingShingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20101213472990527225
Eastick queries clinic covenant possibilities
The Flying Shingle
Monday, December 13 2010
Is it possible to require the Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) covenant not to sell community built medical offices and a three bed urgent treatment room to private owners, Advisory Planning Commission (APC) member Jacinthe Eastick wonders.
At a Dec. 1 meeting at the Gabriola Community Hall commissioners met to discuss an application to rezone 4.1 acres of Forestry zoned lands at the top of Church Street off North Road to “Institutional 4”. The rezoning would make way for the future subdivision of the 4.1 acres.
Noting that it is the community’s intention that the clinic, which will be built from money raised mostly from the community, not be sold to private owners, Commissioner Jenny MacLeod asked if the clinic could be designated as a “public health facility”.
Commissioner Jacinthe Eastick said that Planners have been clear that the Local Trust Committee (LTC) must zone for how the land will be used, not who will use or own it. However she noted that the foundation could be asked to make a covenant on the title that says the community clinic will be for the use of the community “in perpetuity on a non-profit basis”.
Regional Planning Manager Chris Jackson said that the Local Trust Committee (LTC) could take such an offer into consideration when they decide whether or not to rezone, if it was offered. He said the LTC did not have the authority to hold such a covenant, however. Eastick wondered if another organisation could hold the covenant.Jackson
GHCS President said the society had not contemplated this idea. Proponent Brian Henning said that because everyone in the community is a member of the clinic, in order for the clinic to be sold there would have to be an advertised “special general meeting”, and members would have to agree to the sale.
At a Dec. 1 meeting at the Gabriola Community Hall commissioners met to discuss an application to rezone 4.1 acres of Forestry zoned lands at the top of Church Street off North Road to “Institutional 4”. The rezoning would make way for the future subdivision of the 4.1 acres.
Noting that it is the community’s intention that the clinic, which will be built from money raised mostly from the community, not be sold to private owners, Commissioner Jenny MacLeod asked if the clinic could be designated as a “public health facility”.
Commissioner Jacinthe Eastick said that Planners have been clear that the Local Trust Committee (LTC) must zone for how the land will be used, not who will use or own it. However she noted that the foundation could be asked to make a covenant on the title that says the community clinic will be for the use of the community “in perpetuity on a non-profit basis”.
Regional Planning Manager Chris Jackson said that the Local Trust Committee (LTC) could take such an offer into consideration when they decide whether or not to rezone, if it was offered. He said the LTC did not have the authority to hold such a covenant, however. Eastick wondered if another organisation could hold the covenant.
GHCS President said the society had not contemplated this idea. Proponent Brian Henning said that because everyone in the community is a member of the clinic, in order for the clinic to be sold there would have to be an advertised “special general meeting”, and members would have to agree to the sale.
Does Gabriola need to build a new medical clinic?
The Daily News notes that some people on Gabriola don’t think we need to build a medical clinic on the island. The paper points out the new blog that Shena Meadowcroft and Tony Gibson have started: Proposed Gabriola Clinic – Concerns, Facts & Questions.
(The Flying Shingle told us about this blog yesterday. I’d link to the relevant page on the Shingle site, if I could find it, but the Shingle site won’t un-freeze for me this morning.)
I love it when people show up with different opinions, and I love that blogging gives anybody the opportunity to publish their ideas. (I’m also pleased that we have so many Gabriola blogs.)
But anyway: the medical clinic. Is it a good idea for Gabriola to go ahead and build the proposed clinic?
Related links:
(The Flying Shingle told us about this blog yesterday. I’d link to the relevant page on the Shingle site, if I could find it, but the Shingle site won’t un-freeze for me this morning.)
I love it when people show up with different opinions, and I love that blogging gives anybody the opportunity to publish their ideas. (I’m also pleased that we have so many Gabriola blogs.)
But anyway: the medical clinic. Is it a good idea for Gabriola to go ahead and build the proposed clinic?
Related links:
- Gabriola Health Care Society – ghcs.ca
- Health centre fundraisers closing in on $1M target – Nanaimo News Bulletin
Filed in Gabriola Island 3 Comments so far
3 Responses to “Does Gabriola need to build a new medical clinic?”
Give us time Gabriolans advise Dr. Rooks - Could this be DEJA VU???
Give us time Gabriolans advise Dr. Rooks
Tuesday, June 7 2005
About 100 people attended the long-awaited three-hour information meeting on the proposal to transfer four residential densities from Cox Community Park in return for community parks and trails, held Wednesday evening, June 1st.
For some it is a dream come true, for others, a worst nightmare, and for everyone on the island, a Rubik's Cube, complex, controversial, and a long way from being solved.
The meeting was divided in two, the first half chaired by Gail Lund, Gabriola's Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) director, focusing on information and opinion from the public that she needed before recommending the density proposal, or not, to the RDN Board.
After a 2001 referendum, residents purchased 107 acres of community park on Taylor Bay Road; 87 acres inland along the road created four densities, one for every 20 acres, which the Official Community Plan requires be transferred to Resource land.
The developer Dr. Bob Rooks, through his Potlatch Ventures, responded to an ad in the Sounder. In exchange for the densities he is offering: lot 3, a 1.37 acre waterfront parcel located at the ferry terminal at the corner of Taylor Bay and North roads, the land seen from the ferry line-up; a ten-meter wide trail from the lot to the entrance of Descanso Bay Regional Park; and a six-meter wide trail from the top of Lockinvar east into the Forestry zone above Firehall #1 to Spruce Road, near the entrance to Cox Community Park.
Lund had reported that the monetary value of the four densities was comparable to an 80-acre forest, about $70,000 to 80,000 per density. She said she is comfortable supporting the "sale," saving the "entrance to Gabriola," relieving congestion in the area; and legitimizing the popular trail to Spruce, heavily utilized, although on private property.
In the second half of the meeting Rooks and his agent, surveyor Brian Henning, offered much more: including rock removal for ferry line-up safety along Taylor Bay Road, a second turnaround, an agreement for the fire protection hydrant; a public road from Church Street followed by emergency access to Spruce Road from Church Street; a 60-acre public forest wilderness area between the two roadways and a developed helicopter landing for Medivac purposes adjacent to Church Street.
The meeting was complicated by the fact that the audience hadn't heard the proposal until half way through, further complicated by the presence of local trustees which disallowed any mention of the proposed Borsuk density transfer, complex to start with, it took on dimensions of the famed "puzzle inside a riddle, wrapped in an enigma."
"Interesting and frustrating," is how Henning described the process, already a year in the making, involving the RDN in the density transfer, the Islands Trust in land use bylaws and the province in subdivision approval, as well as providing for public input even before an application is made.
"Like buying the front end of a horse and coming back to purchase the rest at a later date," is how one speaker described it.Rooks said his motivation was philanthropic. "I have no hidden agenda. I intend to live here and after listening to concerns in the community about what Gabriola needs, I'm trying to do what is right." Although there is no mechanism to provide for much of the proposal he said he would sign an agreement, and if the community didn't like the proposal he would take another route. In that case all bets would be off. This is a package deal, take it or leave it.
His banker Charles Roach said he was being "overly generous," but some in the crowd weren't buying that. "Money speaks," said one. Others cautioned the community to hold out for more, to wait until the densities skyrocketed in value. Some said scrap the densities, altogether.
"Let's buy the land ourselves," a few suggested. "That would take a million bake sales and a rise in taxes," another countered. "The ferry line-up and emergency access are government responsibilities, not up to private individuals," insisted one speaker, despite being told repeatedly that the community had failed after years of trying to resolve both problems.
"Septic fields," "slippery slopes," "screwy," "handcuffs," and "straitjackets," "manipulation," "a lovely bit of anarchy," "looking for leverage in terrible situations," were some of the terms tossed about. One lady said she was both "excited and heart-broken" by the proposal.Others, most notably Kerry Marcus, president of Gabriola Lands and Trails Trust, pointed out a potential connectivity to the proposed 707 wilderness recreation zone, public road access from a new 60 acre public forest parcel, though Tin Can Alley, across North and Tansy Roads, a trail route from a park at the ferry, connected to Descanso Regional and Cox Community Parks, a foot path along Taylor Bay Road, to River Place, off Spruce to Tin Can Alley, all the way through to Coats Rd, half way down the island!
In the end there was widespread agreement on something: more time and information is needed. Coming up in the Sounder, the proposal, as clear and detailed, as possible.
Tuesday, June 7 2005
About 100 people attended the long-awaited three-hour information meeting on the proposal to transfer four residential densities from Cox Community Park in return for community parks and trails, held Wednesday evening, June 1st.
For some it is a dream come true, for others, a worst nightmare, and for everyone on the island, a Rubik's Cube, complex, controversial, and a long way from being solved.
The meeting was divided in two, the first half chaired by Gail Lund, Gabriola's Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) director, focusing on information and opinion from the public that she needed before recommending the density proposal, or not, to the RDN Board.
After a 2001 referendum, residents purchased 107 acres of community park on Taylor Bay Road; 87 acres inland along the road created four densities, one for every 20 acres, which the Official Community Plan requires be transferred to Resource land.
The developer Dr. Bob Rooks, through his Potlatch Ventures, responded to an ad in the Sounder. In exchange for the densities he is offering: lot 3, a 1.37 acre waterfront parcel located at the ferry terminal at the corner of Taylor Bay and North roads, the land seen from the ferry line-up; a ten-meter wide trail from the lot to the entrance of Descanso Bay Regional Park; and a six-meter wide trail from the top of Lockinvar east into the Forestry zone above Firehall #1 to Spruce Road, near the entrance to Cox Community Park.
Lund had reported that the monetary value of the four densities was comparable to an 80-acre forest, about $70,000 to 80,000 per density. She said she is comfortable supporting the "sale," saving the "entrance to Gabriola," relieving congestion in the area; and legitimizing the popular trail to Spruce, heavily utilized, although on private property.
In the second half of the meeting Rooks and his agent, surveyor Brian Henning, offered much more: including rock removal for ferry line-up safety along Taylor Bay Road, a second turnaround, an agreement for the fire protection hydrant; a public road from Church Street followed by emergency access to Spruce Road from Church Street; a 60-acre public forest wilderness area between the two roadways and a developed helicopter landing for Medivac purposes adjacent to Church Street.
The meeting was complicated by the fact that the audience hadn't heard the proposal until half way through, further complicated by the presence of local trustees which disallowed any mention of the proposed Borsuk density transfer, complex to start with, it took on dimensions of the famed "puzzle inside a riddle, wrapped in an enigma."
"Interesting and frustrating," is how Henning described the process, already a year in the making, involving the RDN in the density transfer, the Islands Trust in land use bylaws and the province in subdivision approval, as well as providing for public input even before an application is made.
"Like buying the front end of a horse and coming back to purchase the rest at a later date," is how one speaker described it.Rooks said his motivation was philanthropic. "I have no hidden agenda. I intend to live here and after listening to concerns in the community about what Gabriola needs, I'm trying to do what is right." Although there is no mechanism to provide for much of the proposal he said he would sign an agreement, and if the community didn't like the proposal he would take another route. In that case all bets would be off. This is a package deal, take it or leave it.
His banker Charles Roach said he was being "overly generous," but some in the crowd weren't buying that. "Money speaks," said one. Others cautioned the community to hold out for more, to wait until the densities skyrocketed in value. Some said scrap the densities, altogether.
"Let's buy the land ourselves," a few suggested. "That would take a million bake sales and a rise in taxes," another countered. "The ferry line-up and emergency access are government responsibilities, not up to private individuals," insisted one speaker, despite being told repeatedly that the community had failed after years of trying to resolve both problems.
"Septic fields," "slippery slopes," "screwy," "handcuffs," and "straitjackets," "manipulation," "a lovely bit of anarchy," "looking for leverage in terrible situations," were some of the terms tossed about. One lady said she was both "excited and heart-broken" by the proposal.Others, most notably Kerry Marcus, president of Gabriola Lands and Trails Trust, pointed out a potential connectivity to the proposed 707 wilderness recreation zone, public road access from a new 60 acre public forest parcel, though Tin Can Alley, across North and Tansy Roads, a trail route from a park at the ferry, connected to Descanso Regional and Cox Community Parks, a foot path along Taylor Bay Road, to River Place, off Spruce to Tin Can Alley, all the way through to Coats Rd, half way down the island!
In the end there was widespread agreement on something: more time and information is needed. Coming up in the Sounder, the proposal, as clear and detailed, as possible.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Grave concerns over conflict of Interest in Islands Trust
On Monday January 3, 2011 we sent the following email to Islands Trust. The reply received is listed below:
TO:
Louise Bell, Chair
Sheila Malcolmson, Trustee
Deborah Ferens, Trustee
Chris Jackson, Planner
Kaitlin Kazmierowski, Planner
CC:
Linda Adams, Chief Administrative Officer
We would like to express our grave concerns over some issues surrounding the zoning application # GB-RZ-2010.2 for the new Urgent Care Medical Clinic on Gabriola.
We are aware that one of the two island trustees, Deborah Ferens, has excused herself from any further discussion on this issue due to a conflict of interest.
We also understand that at the December 16 meeting, the by-law did not pass first reading due to the fact that considerable more information was required.
However, please consider this:
1) According to GHCS by-laws, all residents of Gabriola are automatically members of the GHCS. Does this not place Trustee Sheila Malcolmson and Planner Kaitlin Kazmierowski in a conflict of interest?
2) As members of the GHCS, does not approving the sponsorship of 50% of the application fee ($2,250.00) from the local LTC’s expense account, constitute a conflict of interest?
3) The Island Trust sponsored half of the fee to the applicant who is the owner of the property represented by Williams and Associates, both private businesses. Nowhere in the Islands Trust Guidelines for Local Trust Committee Sponsored or Initiated Development Applications does it allow for this eventuality.
There is NO letter of agreement between the owner of the property and the GHCS and according to Land Titles & Surveyors of British Columbia, even if such a letter existed, it would provide no guarantee for transfer of ownership and only serve as a means for the society to take legal action in the event that the transfer does not take place.
In essence, the Island Trust has shown no impartiality whatsoever in any part of this application process.
We respectfully request that these issues be addressed and that we be advised of such so that we may place this information on the proposed Gabriola clinic blog for concerned Gabriolans.
We respectfully request that these issues be addressed and that we be advised of such so that we may place this information on the proposed Gabriola clinic blog for concerned Gabriolans.
Yours truly,
Shena Meadowcroft & Tony Gibson
The reply we received was as follows:
hi Shena - this letter will go on our next agenda, which is at the end of the month.
thanks for taking the time to be involved, happy new year
Sheila Malcolmson
Gabriola Local Trustee
250-247-8078 (cell 713-1957)
Some Gabriolans cool to proposed medical clinic
This is an article as a results of an interview by the Nanaimo Daily News a week after we started the blog - what we found interesting was the comments below the article once it appeared online.
Nanaimo Daily News
Dustin Walker
Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010
A
But Meadowcroft said there are many people on
"My goal is to get the truth out there so people can make informed decisions." Meadowcroft thinks more research needs to be done on Gabriola's health care requirements and whether it would make more sense to invest in the
Brenda Fowler, president of the Gabriola Health Care Foundation, said she's heard little criticism about the proposed clinic. She said that the current clinic, located in rented space, was only meant to be a temporary.
"The whole strategy behind owning our own building is so we can control the rent so we can attract the doctor," she said, adding the need for the clinic has been well researched and a cost-analysis has been done.
"We will be able to create a work environment that is supportive, that has strong links with VIHA and young doctors will want to come and work here." She pointed out that one in four
© The Daily News (Nanaimo
COMMENTS ON THIS STORY
rickstir
Wed, Dec 8, 10 at 10:32 PM
we have a facility now. No upkeep etc. This is just going to let Dr Bob rezone his property!!
walter
Thu, Dec 9, 10 at 06:31 PM
no one has said anything about ongoing facility costs. Long term leasing does have its advantages. imagine what $750,000 could mean for equipping a facility already built.
ALLAN
Fri, Dec 10, 10 at 11:39 AM
Actually, a large part of the community is mystified. Although the clinics on Gabe have always been more than adequate, a vocal fringe group has always agitated for a community operated clinic. Within this group there has always been a strong tendency to confuse and promote a gold-plated facility as the key to solving mostly imaginary healthcare problems. (While the concept of consorting with a community 'society' and maybe the VIHA may not bother some physicians others may find it less appealing.) What ultimately attracts physicians is funding--how they're paid for different aspects of medical practise (presently the fee schedule favors Gabriola)--and lifestyle considerations.
Telephone Book is Membership List for GHCS/GHCF
The Flying Shingle
Monday, January 15 2011
Letter to the Editor,
Letter to the Editor,
On January 6, 2011, I attended an extraordinary general meeting called by the Gabriola Health Care Foundation to discuss a special resolution to amend the Foundation’s constitution. At the meeting, other than engaging in initial polite greetings to those seated near me, I did not speak at all, but merely listened and watched the proceedings. I then participated in the vote on the resolution, and left.
As I was departing, the president of the Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) & the Gabriola Health Care Foundation (GHCF) accosted me and challenged my right to attend the meeting and participate in its proceedings. She questioned if I was qualified to be a member of the society, to which I responded, “Yes, I am qualified”. “But are you a resident of Gabriola?” she asked. I responded, “Yes I am a resident of Gabriola. I maintain a primary residence on Mudge Island (which is within the electoral district for Gabriola) and I maintain a secondary residence on Gabriola Island”. I suggested she check their membership list for clarification of this information, if she was in doubt. She responded that the society does not maintain a membership list. However, during the meeting, when the GHCS/GHCF were questioned about the nature of their membership list, she, the president of both organizations, had flippantly stated that the local telephone book served as their membership list. My name is in the local telephone book.
According to the constitution of both the Gabriola Health Care Society and the Gabriola Health Care Foundation, “All residents of Gabriola Island, B.C. who assent to the purposes of the society and who are at the time at least 19 years of age will be members of the society”. I, therefore, qualify for membership based on residency and age, and I do assent to the purposes of the society, although not to their methods of achieving those purposes.
Additionally, I am co-owner and manager of the island’s only multidisciplinary health center, which includes an excellent medical clinic, and I am, myself, a licensed health care provider. For the past fourteen years, my husband and I have invested our personal finances and many hours of hard work to maintain Gabriola Professional Centre, the facility that serves the majority of the health care needs in our community. And yet, my right to participate, as a member of our community, in a health care decision that will affect us all, was challenged by the president of both the Gabriola Health Care Society and the Gabriola Health Care Foundation.
Additionally, I am co-owner and manager of the island’s only multidisciplinary health center, which includes an excellent medical clinic, and I am, myself, a licensed health care provider. For the past fourteen years, my husband and I have invested our personal finances and many hours of hard work to maintain Gabriola Professional Centre, the facility that serves the majority of the health care needs in our community. And yet, my right to participate, as a member of our community, in a health care decision that will affect us all, was challenged by the president of both the Gabriola Health Care Society and the Gabriola Health Care Foundation.
What were the real reasons behind this challenge? Are you a member of this society? Is your name in the phone book? Do you want to be a member? Did anyone ask you?
Sincerely,
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Keep Politics out of Health Care
The Flying Shingle
Monday, January 3 2011
Dear Editor,
For nearly four years now, the Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) has used the doctors on this island to their own ends by repeatedly stating that the doctors are threatening to leave the island due to burnout if a third on-call physician is not hired, and a new clinic is not built.
We have excellent doctors on this island and none, we believe, are capable of such an act.
First and foremost, any doctor who holds their community hostage by threatening to remove their services if they don’t get a new clinic could be in danger of having their license revoked by their governing body.
Our doctors are here to heal, not threaten. And they all do a wonderful job. We do not believe claims by the GHCS that certain doctors on Gabriola are, in essence, holding their community to ransom.
What patients rely on is stability and continuity with their health care practitioners; working with people who they can establish trust with over the long term is often tantamount to successful healing. Using the “danger in losing our doctors” angle in fundraising efforts, or to push through rezoning applications is a form of emotional blackmail. It establishes an atmosphere of fear that is counter-productive to any doctor/patient relationship. After all, why would anyone go to a doctor who threatens his or her community?
It is utterly unconscionable to try to sully our doctors’ reputations and practices in this way. Spreading rumours of early retirement because of ill-health of one island doctor is again undermining the reputation of our health care practitioners.
This is something to which the community as a whole should take offense, and should tell the GHCS, in the strongest possible terms, is not acceptable.
Our doctors deserve better than this. So do we.
Tony Gibson and Shena Meadowcroft
For nearly four years now, the Gabriola Health Care Society (GHCS) has used the doctors on this island to their own ends by repeatedly stating that the doctors are threatening to leave the island due to burnout if a third on-call physician is not hired, and a new clinic is not built.
We have excellent doctors on this island and none, we believe, are capable of such an act.
First and foremost, any doctor who holds their community hostage by threatening to remove their services if they don’t get a new clinic could be in danger of having their license revoked by their governing body.
Our doctors are here to heal, not threaten. And they all do a wonderful job. We do not believe claims by the GHCS that certain doctors on Gabriola are, in essence, holding their community to ransom.
What patients rely on is stability and continuity with their health care practitioners; working with people who they can establish trust with over the long term is often tantamount to successful healing. Using the “danger in losing our doctors” angle in fundraising efforts, or to push through rezoning applications is a form of emotional blackmail. It establishes an atmosphere of fear that is counter-productive to any doctor/patient relationship. After all, why would anyone go to a doctor who threatens his or her community?
It is utterly unconscionable to try to sully our doctors’ reputations and practices in this way. Spreading rumours of early retirement because of ill-health of one island doctor is again undermining the reputation of our health care practitioners.
This is something to which the community as a whole should take offense, and should tell the GHCS, in the strongest possible terms, is not acceptable.
Our doctors deserve better than this. So do we.
Tony Gibson and Shena Meadowcroft
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Since when has it been acceptable practice to declare a person a member of a society without that person having expressed any interest in being a member or even being aware that he or she has been made a member? This practice, if used more widely, would render meaningless membership in a society and the number of people a society or organization claims to represent.
I went and read the comment that Shena Meadowcroft & Tony Gibson posted on the Gabriola Health Care Foundation blog. The editor of that blog has edited the comment, adding this text:
This strikes me as most unfortunate, particularly as the editor is wrong about the legal repercussions of linking to another site, at least for now. The editor has probably heard about the case that is now before the Supreme Court of Canada, regarding whether links can be considered ‘publication’ or not. In other words, if I link to a blog that says defamatory things about you, am I defaming you just by linking to that site? The court has not ruled on this matter yet. I’m hoping they will say that linking to other sites cannot be considered publication or defamation, because otherwise it won’t be possible for bloggers and others to link to a full range of opinions on a matter.
I linked to Shena and Tony’s blog in this blog post, and also on the list of Gabriola blogs I maintain. I like reading all sorts of opinions.
I don’t like it when ignorant people disagree with me for no reason other than to be combative. However, I love it when people come along with well-considered, well-reasoned opinions that are different from what I think. I learn so much from those people, and I enjoy seeing issues from other people’s perspective. I’ve appreciated reading Shena and Tony’s ideas about the clinic, and the responses that I hear people come up with.