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January 22, 1988 News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337 80 pages 25¢

ALL THREE North Shore municipalities will cease local
health department funding by July 1 if a cramatic increase
in the provincial government's contribution fails to materi-

alize.

Simultaneous ultimatums were
read as notices of motion at all
three North Shore council meetings
Monday night stating
“whereas...Chis municipality's
public health share of costs are far
greater per capita than any other
health unit in the province...the
(municipality) will withdraw all
funding of public health as of July
1, 1988 unless this inequity (is)
corrected."*

**We have been pushed into a
corner,’’ West) Vancouver Ald.
Rod, Day said Wednesday. ‘We
are at wits’ end.”*

The motions follow a Jan. 10
News story chronicling the ine-
quitable share of provincial fun-
ding for the North Shore Union
Board of Health's (NSUBH)
preventive programs budget.

Though provincial funding of
the health board's total $4.6 mil-
lion 1987 budget is $4.7 per cent,
the province funds only 2.5 per
cent ($63,835) of the board's $2.4
million preventive programs
budget. The balance is paid by the
four remaining NSUBH funding
members: North Vancouver’s
School District 44 and the three
North Shore municipatities.

The provincial percentage allot-
ted the North Shore’s preventive
programs is aa fraction of what is
allotted other metropolitan health
board preventive programs that
service comparable populations.

For example, the Richmond
health department, which services
a population of 104,999, gets 47.2
per cent ($962,275) of its $2 mil-
lion preventive programs budget
from the ministry.

Burnaby’s health department,
servicing almost the same size
population as the the North
Shore’s 142,000, with an identical
$2.4 million preventive programs
budget, has 36.4 per cent of that
budget funded by the ministry.

“We are being double taxed,”’
North Vancouver City Ald. Rod

Clark said Thursday. ‘‘We are be-
ing taxed for health care by the
provincial government, but it is
not coming back to us. All we
want is a fair shake under the
law."

Seventeen of B.C.’s 22 boards
are provincial and 100 per cent
funded by the province; the other
five boards are metropolitan health
departments and receive partial
provincial funding.

Said Day: ‘‘The situation has
been going on for 20 years, but the
crunch is hitting us. The health
department's equipment is falling
apart, its people are underpaid and
its facilities are falling apart. It's

NORTH Vancouver City Aid. Rod
Clark...‘‘We are being double tax-
ed."’

just appalling. 1 am amazed at how
an affluent area like this could
have a public health department
with such primitive conditions."
The July 31, 1987 withdrawal of
West Vancouver’s School District

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