The last few years have seen a catastrophic public health crisis overwhelm countries worldwide; its ravages did not spare Canada. The COVID-19 pandemic poured salt into the festering wounds of a healthcare system already stretched to its limits here in British Columbia. We have all experienced three-hour-long wait times at walk-in clinics or the emergency room or have had relatives wait months for a routine procedure like an MRI scan. I am no exception: two years before the pandemic hit, a family friend was run over by someone running a red light on a Friday night. Even though this was two years before the peak of the healthcare system's crisis caused by COVID-19, they were only able to see a doctor on the following Sunday morning.

All of this is to say that the organization British Columbia Health Care Matters is right to demand an increase in healthcare funding from the provincial government. There is simply no denying this: clinics closing when more should be opening and expanding shows a clear shortage in healthcare funding. Even in times of relative stability and no pandemic-induced urgency, healthcare is among the most important, if not the most important outright, of all public spending priorities. That status is unquestionable in what even Premier John Horgan has called a "health care crisis." "ВС Health Care Matters" has reasonably proposed a drastic increase in the hiring of doctors to address this crisis. However, there is a need for a careful re-examination of what this proposal entails and how it might best be implemented.

One concern about this proposal is that it intends to primarily focus its healthcare efforts on Victoria. "BC Health Care Matters" has issued statements that include language like "on Vancouver Island and elsewhere," relegating the vast majority of BC's population and landmass to an appendix of the provincial capital region.

There is a continued attempt to convince the public that "BC Health Care Matters" is not hyper-focused on Victoria. They claim to advocate for "every resident of British Columbia." However, these statements do not seem particularly convincing in the full context of their statement. According to the article "Victorians Prepare to Rally amid Region's Doctor Shortage," Victoria has the most extended walk-in clinic wait times of any Canadian city, which might explain this focus. However, the rest of Canada is experiencing similar issues, particularly in other areas of British Columbia, and as such, needs similar healthcare service improvements.

All this is to say that fixating on the situation in Victoria is likely to blind policymakers to the suffering of other communities. For example, cities in BC's interior, with far smaller populations and even fewer doctors, are at risk of being excluded from this narrow vision of health care reform. Any increase in funding and doctor hiring should be broad-based and consider the needs of every community in the province, not just those who happen to be closest to the corridors of provincial power. While Victoria is certainly in need of the health care reforms proposes by "BC Health Care Matters," provincial lawmakers are responsible for the entire province's wellbeing—not just that of the city they happen to work in.