Editorials Archive

Several readers have noted how much easier it is to get medical advice now that doctors are doing consults by phone.

Two years ago, the number of Canadian veterans applying for disability benefits stood at roughly 30,000. Some had been waiting two years for an answer. Last year, that number had climbed to 40,000, and this year it stood at 44,000.

Between March 15 and May 2, business break-ins in Victoria and Esquimalt increased from 12 during the same period in 2019, to a whopping 80 this year, close to a seven-fold increase.

Premier John Horgan has announced his government’s strategy for easing COVID-19 restrictions as we move into summer. Basically his plans mirror a briefing given by the provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, two days before.

A think tank at the University of Ottawa is warning that health-care costs are rapidly growing beyond the financial capacity of provincial governments to sustain them.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, municipalities across the province are under increasing financial stress. Staff at Victoria city hall estimate revenues losses in the neighbourhood of $20 million during the year ahead.

One of the challenges of coping with the COVID-19 outbreak is gauging the number of hospital beds that should be freed up. So far in B.C. around 4,000 beds have been emptied by cancelling non-urgent surgeries and medical imaging procedures.

A critical requirement in responding to the COVID-19 crisis is estimating how far and how fast the outbreak may expand. If B.C.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, a dilemma is emerging around the measures which should be taken to limit job loss, and rescue businesses at risk.

With the Wet’suwet’en protests now largely behind us, for the time being at least, there is an urgent need for a serious discussion about how such matters should be handled in future. It seems quite likely there will be more to come.