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From YouTube: MARCH 24 2021 Statements Tom Shypitka
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
1st Session
42nd Parliament
A
Member
for
klutny
east,
mr
speaker,
no
two
minute
statement
I
have
ever
given
is
as
immediately
important
as
the
one
I'm
giving
today
by
now.
Most
members
in
this
house
know
the
dilemma.
The
constituents
in
my
riding
have
with
access
to
health
care
to
our
neighboring
province
to
the
east,
with
a
thousand
kilometers
and
six
mountain
passes
to
the
lower
mainland,
travel
is
unaffordable
unsafe
and
in
most
cases
without
family
support,
many
people
are
making
life-and-death
decisions
based
on
the
feasibility
of
such
travel.
A
The
plight
for
medical
access
continues
to
worse
worsen
in
kuni
east.
In
my
riding,
we
have
one
ophthalmologist
to
service
over
60
000
residents.
Our
one
ophthalmologist
has
spent
the
past
two
decades
giving
outstanding
care
to
his
patients.
He
has
a
strong.
He
has
built
a
strong
referral
network
to
include
specialists
in
calgary.
Those
relationships
are
now
being
dissolved.
The
albertan
surgeons
he
refers
patients
to
are
willing
to
take
his
patients.
However,
the
alberta
health
services
administrators
are
turning
our
bc.
Patients
away.
A
Mr
speaker,
I
have
a
constituent
in
dire
need
of
access
to
tertiary
ophthalmology.
Eye
care
in
alberta.
Going
to
clone
is
not
a
viable
option,
because
an
intraocular
gas
will
be
placed
in
his
eye
that
does
not
allow
for
travel
at
high
elevations
driving
back
from
kelowna
over
mountain
passes
or
flying
are
not
options
to
keep
himself
in
kelowna
post
surgery
for
about
six
weeks
as
the
gas
dissipates
is
a
financial
burden,
to
say
the
least,
to
make
the
situation
even
worse.
My
constituent
also
receives
dialysis
three
times
a
week.
A
If
he
could
go
to
calgary
for
the
procedure,
he
could
come
home
shortly
after
with
no
disruption
to
his
dialysis
treatments
and
carry
on
with
his
daily
life.
Let
me
be
clear
from
all
the
work
that
I
have
done
on
this
file.
It
is
very
certain
that
this
is
not
a
capacity
issue,
and
it
is
my
contention
that
this
is
a
billing
issue
between
the
two
provinces.