The qathet Chapter of the Council of Canadians August 19 presentation to Powell River City Council requested that they become an advocate for improved bus service in qathet as well as a connecting service to Vancouver [“Transit issues raised at Powell River City Hall,”August 19].
It is now over 10 years since the Malaspina Coach Lines service between Powell River and Vancouver was abandoned. There have been petitions and proposals put forth with no tangible results. An expensive private system is in place between Earls Cove and Langdale, but it only operates a few months a year.
Because qathet is in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, many people from our community must travel to Vancouver for medical services that are not available here. If driving is not an option, and this is the case for many of our community members, the only public transportation option available is air travel. Not everybody can afford this option. There will be people who simply forego travelling away from home for health care.
All the other health authorities with rural communities provide Health Connections bus service to facilitate medical travel. These services get people to regional health centres as well as to Vancouver when required. For example, part of the Northern Health Connections system is a service between Prince George and Vancouver. It runs three times weekly with a very affordable $40 return fare.
Implementing a Health Connections service between qathet and Vancouver is just common sense. It would greatly improve access to health care for everybody calling the Sunshine Coast home.
Tim Larsen, Area C
qathet Regional District
Last year, Meta censored Canadian news from its feeds, so we built our own social platform: syrupsocial.com – a newsfeed powered by Canadian journalists. Join the Peak on Syrup for the latest news from the Sunshine Coast and beyond, and add the Peak's email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday.
