I presented a submission to the recent provincial public hearings on the budget. What I didn't know at the time was that the CEO of the Vancouver Island Health Authority or VIHA, Howard Waldner, had his salary raised this year by $81,000, giving him an annual amount of just under $400,000.! (Times Colonist, Oct. 3/07, p. B3)


The amount of the raise is more than most of the people in the Comox Valley make in one year. The most recent Quality Of Life Report gave the average family income for this area as $49,482.

There's something very wrong in a society when the disparity between the top earners and those on the bottom keeps growing and growing.

It is of note that the Times Colonist Oct. 3 article said that 12 people in VIHA made more than $200,000. in a year.

The provincial Liberal government, it seems, is giving the VIHA gifts of our taxpayer money in order that they "take the flack," so to speak, instead of letting it be directed directly at Victoria. Well, maybe we should think about this and re-direct our attention on, say, our MLA Stan Hagen.

We can say to Mr. Hagen that we want back the old Health Councils that were accountable. They were elected and volunteered their time and didn‚t cost the taxpayer an arm and a leg.

We want an accountable body that will listen to our concerns about such things as where our health dollars are going. We don't want more private clinics, thanks very much. We don‚t want public-private partnerships in health care at all.

We know that the people who have the same income as Howard Waldner can afford to pay for private services, but the vast majority of citizens cannot.

Universal health care is a right in Canada. Let's keep it universal in B.C.

Sincerely,
Gwyn Frayne
Courtenay
fraynegshaw.ca
250 338-6265