Concerns over closures of the Nicola Valley Hospital and Health Centre’s emergency department have been top of mind for Merrittonians, and now an association representing 14,000 physician members, is sounding the alarm about the state of emergency departments across B.C.
A petition created by the organizer of the recent rallies against ongoing closures of the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency department is gaining steam, including more than 8,000 signatures, and an introduction in the BC Legislature.
Nurses in B.C. have ratified a new agreement with the provincial government, securing a three-year deal that spans from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025.
A former long-time BCNDP MLA and cabinet minister has announced that he will join the newly renamed B.C. United, citing concerns with his former party’s direction.
During a recent legislative break week, Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart and Surrey-South MLA Elenore Sturko held a community conversation at the Best Western on Saturday (April 29) regarding mental health, addictions, and community safety.
In the third display of what organizers have unofficially dubbed as Rallies for Healthcare, over 200 Nicola Valley residents gathered at Central Park to show their support and call for action on ongoing service disruptions at the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency department.
The provincial government is asking feedback of internationally trained professionals that have experience with B.C.’s foreign credential recognition process, looking to inform future legislation and identify any possible inefficiencies.
In a display that evoked essences of the biosolids protest that took place in 2015, nearly 300 residents of the Nicola Valley took to Central Park on Saturday (April 15) to protest ongoing service disruptions at the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency department.
To mixed reactions, the provincial government has announced it will raise its general minimum wage by over $1 in the coming months.
According to Tegart, both as a member of the riding and as its MLA, they are tired of being “tweaked.”
During the tenth diversion of emergency department services at the Nicola Valley Hospital since the beginning of this year, residents of the valley gathered on the hospital’s green space to rally against what many see as a lack of provincial action on the issue.
The provincial government has announced that it is permanently doubling the number of seats it subsidizes at the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) through a multi-million dollar investment.
With B.C.’s Legislative Assembly on recess for the past two week, members have been travelling their ridings to connect with constituents and hear concerns firsthand. Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart is not exception, conquering her rather geographically large riding one community event and meeting at a time.
As protesters gathered for their weekly effort to share their ‘Free the Permit’ message, MLA Jackie Tegart arrived in Merritt with other opposition members to support the Aspen Planers employees and contractors affected by recent closures and curtailments at the company’s Merritt mill.
Following two day-long closures in the span of just 72 hours, Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz is calling on the provincial government to take action and acknowledge the ongoing healthcare challenges the community is facing.
The 2023 B.C. budget has been released, and government said it focuses on creating affordable housing, growing a clean economy, providing health and mental-health care, and creating opportunities—especially for those most affected by global inflation—to access help with costs.
Employees of Aspen Planers in Merritt, along with local forestry contractors, are gathering at the Ministry of Forests’ Cascades Natural Resource District office on Airport Road, protesting what they see as a lack of action by the provincial government on the approval of local cutting permits.
Aspen Planers has announced that it will restart its Merritt mill, which has been closed since early December due to a lack of approved cutting permits, for an undetermined amount of time.
The provincial government is looking to reassure British Columbians of their decision to apply for an exemption from Health Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act amid some public backlash.
One of Merritt’s major economic powerhouses currently lies dormant, closed by a lack of timber supply and government approval of timber harvesting.
