WORD THAT the province has agreed to put more money into the pot to fund the local health department was preeted with enthusiasm Thursday by North Shore Union Board of Health (NSUBH) funding partners who have traditionally been paying the lion’s share of the North Shore Health Department (NSHD) preventive programs budget. Minister of Municipal Affairs Rita Johnston announced Wed- nesday at the Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting in Whistler that communities operating public health units will be eligible for in- cremental revenue sharing grants. The new measure will gradually phase in 70 per cent provincial, 30 per cent local cost sharing. Mh Shore medical chief health officer Dr. Brian O'Connor «.'*We've been working on this for yeurs.”’ NORTH While 17 of the 22 provincial boards are funded 100 per cent by the province, the five metropoiitan health units receive only partial funding from the Ministry of Health. And the NSHD receives the least Ministry of Health funding of ail of the metropolitan health departments. For example, the focal health department, serving approximately 142,000 people, received only 2.5 per cent ($63,835) of its $2.4 mil- lion 1987 preventive programs budget from the health ministry. Richmond, with a population of approximately 105,000, received 47.2 per cent ($962,275) of its $2 million preventive programs budget from the province. Said Johnston, ‘‘This will remove the sting of inequities which we do not hesitate to recognize in many communities around the province,’’ The local health unit is primarily By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter funded by the three North Shore municipalities and = North Van- couver School District 44. West Vancouver School District 45 pull- ed out of the funding partnership in July 1987, and now contracts out services from the NSUBH. Said Dr. Brian O’Connor, the North Shore's chief medical health officer, “Certainly it's good news. We've been working on this for years. The various agreements are an historical fact based on political situations —- some quite cir- ecumstantial such as what favor you held in the ministry, what pro- grams you were implementing ut the time, who your MLA was."" O'Connor expects the three municipalities to discuss new health department = funding ar- tangements in the coming months. North Vancouver District Mayor Marilyn Baker was surprised and pleased by the funding announce- mient. “The three municipalities had made the case in person earlier this year with the Ministry of Health,” she said. ‘‘We had hoped for an answers when the budget came down.” In a Jan. 22 News story chronicling NSUBH funding pro- blems, the three North Shore councils threatened to pull the plug on funding the health department July 1 if provincial payments were not increased. School District 44 contributed $797,991 to the 1987 NSUBH budget. North Vancouver District chipped in $510,357; West Van- couver District paid $283,452 and North Vancouver City gave $265,693. The figures for 1988 are not available because, according to North Shore Health Department administrator Charles Curry, “With (District) 45 pulled out, the remaining four funding sources have been hassling over new per- centages.” Sons of Freedom... under F spotlight. NEWS ochoto Mike Wakefield THESE SUDS won't be stored for long. Brian Reidlinger, one of the owners of. Sailor Hagar's Pub in North Vancouver , loads pallets of beer Into hisbeer =! ; store. The BCGEU strike has resulted in a sales boom for North Shore beer ae 1 and wine stores. The strike - which began last Saturday - could 'be over by : re Monday, mediator Don Munroe sald Thursday.