Saturday June 21, 2025 | COLWOOD, BC
LETTER by Rob Martin, former Mayor of Colwood | LETTERS WELCOME: letters@islandsocialtrends.com
EDITOR’s NOTE ~ Mary P Brooke, B.Sc.:
On June 16 the City of Langford announced a new medical clinic that is supported by municipal tax dollars and private donations. The Mayor of Langford, Scott Goodmanson, said that the clinic was supported with $1.7 million for facility setup as part of responding to rapid local population growth.
As many politicians will say these days ‘there is only one taxpayer’. Government expenditures — whether federal, provincial or local — come only from taxes levied on employed persons, or through borrowing. What challenges or failures of the provincial health-care system are forcing municipalities to get creative on their behalf?
The concern about Langford’s announcement this past week is about lines of responsibility. Technically speaking, it’s the Province that is responsible for health-care delivery.
- BC Health to fund 10 doctors at new Langford clinic that municipality helped develop (June 17, 2025)
- New medical clinic supported by City of Langford (June 16, 2025)
- Not enough family doctors: where falls the political obligation? (December 28, 2024)
LETTER: Cities taking on financial & legal risks of medical clinics
by Rob Martin, former Mayor of Colwood
“The announcement of a new medical clinic in downtown Langford is welcome and desperately needed. With an estimated 27,000 West Shore residents lacking access to a family doctor, bold, creative steps are appreciated by all. I applaud the efforts of Langford, the South Island Primary Care Society, and the Freemasons for stepping up where the provincial and federal governments have not.
“But while I understand the public enthusiasm around this development — and the similar municipally-run Colwood Clinic — I also worry we are beginning to normalize municipalities taking on the financial and legal risks of responsibilities that constitutionally fall to senior levels of government. Providing access to publicly insured medical services is not a municipal mandate. It is the responsibility of the Province and, under the Canada Health Act, the federal government.
“We’re at a dangerous inflection point.
“At the same time municipalities are being pressured by the Province to meet aggressive housing targets, we are expected to do so without assurances that health infrastructure — like access to family doctors — will keep pace. Municipalities are being told to overhaul zoning bylaws, designate Transit-Oriented Areas, streamline development approvals, and hit population growth benchmarks — or face direct provincial intervention.
“Here is the plain truth: we cannot meet housing targets unless the Province meets the primary care needs of our growing population.
“There is a difference between charitable support — such as the longstanding contributions of former Langford Mayor Stew Young and the Westshore Charity Golf Tournament — and direct municipal subsidization of clinics, housing, and doctor recruitment. Colwood’s municipally-supported clinic, for example, gives priority access to residents with a Colwood postal code — something Health Canada has warned may violate the Canada Health Act’s requirement for uniform access to care.
“And by stepping in to fund what is constitutionally a provincial and federal responsibility, municipalities are unintentionally creating a third layer of taxation — with the same taxpayer now funding healthcare through federal, provincial, and municipal budgets. That’s not innovative governance; it’s unsustainable cost-shifting onto local residents.
“I urge all municipal taxpayers to ask the tough questions: If cities are forced to pay for health care now, what’s next? Are we creating a two-tier system where only communities with deep pockets or strong donor networks get access to health care?
“Yes, let’s applaud Langford’s clinic — but let’s also insist that if the Province wants municipalities to absorb more people, it must deliver the health care infrastructure those people need. Anything less is a betrayal of both the spirit of Canadian Medicare and the integrity of sustainable urban growth.”
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