The CRD has issued an advisory for Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park.

Water samples from Elk Lake have tested positive for a type of blue-green algae that can produce cyanotoxins.

Authorities are advising visitors to avoid Elk Lake and to keep animals on a leash to prevent them from drinking or swimming in the water.

Algal blooms are known toxin producers and can be harmful to both humans and animals.

While unpredictable, blooms typically occur over the winter months from November to March.

The algae usually produce a visible blue-green sheen, which appears as surface scum. However, not all blooms are easy to see, and toxins can still be present in the water even if you cannot see them.

Ingesting water containing the algae may cause a range of symptoms, including headaches and abdominal pain in humans, and can lead to lethal liver damage in dogs.

An blue-green algae advisory remains in effect for Prior Lake and Lower Thetis Lake, located within Thetis Lake Regional Park.

Imagine the feeling of losing your cat on a family trip and be reconnected several months later.

That scenario just happened to a Victoria family after a three-year-old cat named Hobbes bolted during a camping trip in late June.

According to the BCSPCA, Hobbes and his family had just arrived at their campsite at Kennedy Lake near Tofino when a dog came up to the vehicle and spooked Hobbes, causing him to bolt.

The family spent the next six days searching for Hobbes with no luck, so his owners had given up hope.

Fast forward three and a half months later, on Saturday, October 29th, Hobbes was brought into the BC SPCA Nanaimo Centre as a stray after wandering into someone’s home.

“We scanned for a microchip and located his guardian! Wildly enough, Hobbes lives in Victoria,” said BCSPCA excitedly on a Facebook post.

“A long 3.5 months later he was reunited with his dad! Happy reunion day, Hobbes!”

According to the SPCA, Hobbes was thin but had no visible injuries.

The distance from where the cat was lost to the destination it was found totalled nearly 170 kilometres, according to Google Maps.

Fortunately, all the information on Hobbes’ microchip was up-to-date and they were able to contact his owner, who made the drive up the next day and they were reunited on Sunday, October 30th.

“What a great reminder to microchip our pets and to register those microchips,” said BCSPCA.

Victoria has a new mayor and almost an entirely new council, after a swearing-in ceremony at city hall on Thursday.

Marianne Alto, who had served as a councillor since 2010, has replaced outgoing former mayor Lisa Helps after she announced in October 2021 that she would not be seeking re-election. 

When Helps made this announcement she said she had no immediate plans for life after being mayor but wanted to remain involved in city building, inclusive prosperity and addressing climate change.

Now that her duties as mayor have come to an end, Helps is looking back on her time fondly, regardless of the hard times she endured. She is also looking to the future and what it may hold for her. 

“It’s been an enormous privilege to serve as Mayor of Victoria for the past eight years,” Helps said in a recent statement. 

“Working together, council, staff, residents and businesses laid a lot of groundwork during this time to prepare Victoria for the future.

In her time as mayor, Helps was able to deliver a new regional sewage treatment plant, which is hardly glamorous but it’s something Helps and council thought the city and its people needed. 

Helps and her council members throughout the two terms she served as mayor also managed to complete the Johnson Street Bridge, built a new Firehall #1, leveraged city land to now have close to 600 affordable housing units moving forward, and adopted long-term plans to help shape the city. 

Helps also worked on implementing initiatives such as a Climate Leadership Plan, Zero Waste Victoria, the Victoria Housing Strategy, Create Victoria Arts and Culture Master Plan to name a few.

She focussed on meaningful reconciliation, housing and climate issues on top of issues that arose day-to-day in Victoria.

“Thanks to all of you along the way who enthusiastically supported the ideas, policies and programs that Council put forward,” said Helps. “Your support helped to stoke our courage to move ahead, even when sometimes it felt difficult to do so.”

But Helps knew that not all policies are accepted and beloved by the community. 

“Thanks to all of you who challenged the ideas and policies proposed by Council. Your feedback along the way helped to improve these policies before they turned into action, resulting in better outcomes for more people in the community.”

“I’ve realized that as a species, we’re losing the ability to talk with each other about the big issues that matter – the housing crisis, climate change, reconciliation, economic disparity, racism – especially when we disagree,” said Helps in her post-mayoral statement.

“We are either ‘for’ something or ‘against’ something, and we amplify our positions easily in social media echo chambers.” 

“I’ve witnessed the degradation of public discourse locally and globally during my time in office, and I’ve seen how social media leads to short-term decision making. We’re losing the ability to think and act together to resolve challenges.”

Despite thinking this, Helps remains hopeful the new council will learn from the tribulations of the old council. 

“My hope, as Mayor Alto and council took office today, is that the community will give them the time and space they need to explore and discuss new ideas without jumping to conclusions too quickly about whether they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ ideas,” the former mayor stated. 

“I also trust that this mayor and council will undertake their work with a spirit of inclusiveness, authenticity and with stable, spacious and open hearts. Leading in this way can be difficult, but it can be very satisfying, and our city, its residents and businesses, and our collective future, will be better for it.”

The Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt installed a siren system in 2015 that will conveys messages of warning across the confines of CFB Esquimalt but it is likely it also can be heard by nearby municipalities.

It’s meant to be a mass notification system and the siren will sound once per month as a test. The test takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at 11 a.m. This is to cause the least amount of disruption possible. 

Here’s what the siren will alert for and sound like: 

• Test tone: The 30 second test tone that will take place once per month will consist of alternating tones and it will be followed by a voice message that will say, “This is a test of the siren system. It is only a test. If this had been a real alarm, listen to this system for further instructions. This is a test.”
• Wail tone: Means an evacuation is impending. It will last one minute and will sound like a wailing siren.
  • Evacuation warning: This is an immediate evacuation warning. It will follow a wail tone, then a voice will say, “An evacuation order has been issued for the base and you must leave now. This is not a drill; an evacuation order has been issued for the Base, leave now.” 
  • Tsunami alert: It will follow a wail tone, then a voice will say, “Tsunami alert, tsunami alert. Move to higher ground or inland now.” This is not a drill. Tsunami alert, tsunami alert, move to higher ground now.” 
• Shelter tone: Repeated blasts of a single tone to let people know to take shelter.  
  • Shelter message: Repeated blasts followed by a voice that will say, “A dangerous condition exists on the base and you must seek shelter indoors. Seek shelter now. Do not proceed outside until directed to do so. This is not a drill.” 
  • Lockdown Message: Repeated blasts followed by a voice that will say, “ “Security alert, security alert. This is a Base Emergency. Commence lockdown procedures now. This is not a drill.”
• All-clear tone: This will resemble Westminster chimes. This tone will play when and if a warning has been cancelled. Following the chimes tone a voice message will say, “All clear. All clear.”

CFB Esquimalt recommends that if you hear the test tone that occurs on the first Wednesday of every month, you disregard it and go about your day as usual.

If you hear any of the other warning tones though, tune into the news and stand by for further instructions.

Ready to get into the holiday spirit? If so, you’re in luck!

Starting Thursday, November 3rd, Starbucks will be replacing its fall line-up with an assortment of winter-ready drinks and cup designs.

This year, Starbucks isn’t introducing any new drinks but is bringing back some crowd favourites, unfortunately, the Eggnog Latte is not one of them.

Returning holiday drinks include Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brûlé Latte Chestnut Praline Latte and sugar Cookie Oat Latte, all available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino blended beverage.

There’s also a Canadian exclusive this year; the Irish Cream Americano, combining espresso with Irish Cream syrup, topped with hot water and a sprinkle of cocoa.

Also returning for another season are tasty treats including the Cranberry Bliss Bar, Gingerbread Loaf, Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop, and Frosted Snowman Cookie.

In addition to the holiday drinks and treats, a new collection of specially designed Starbucks holiday cups signals the start of the season, just as they have since their debut 25 years ago.

This year will feature four new holiday cup designs.

“We have always talked about the cups as gifts, and we hope they feel like a holiday present to our customers,” said Gary Jacobson, Starbucks creative director for this year’s holiday campaign.

Enjoy your holiday drink and let us know your favourite (even if it’s the Eggnog Latte)!

Leading up to Remembrance Day, middle school students will get the chance to hear from veterans and other seniors that have lived through times of war. 

Parkwood Place, an independent living retirement home in Victoria, is hosting an opportunity for youngsters from the Lansdowne Middle School to learn from their elders on November 9th. 

Some residents of Parkwood Place participated in the Second World War, lived through it or served their country in some way. 

One of these residents who will speak to the students, Lexie, is 100-years-old and is now one of the last surviving members of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps Pipe Band.

“We travelled across the country to recruit soldiers and at the end of the war, we went to Europe. Everywhere we went people were so grateful,” said Lexie. 

“I remember playing in our band at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, all the troops and people were listening, it is the most incredible memory.”

“I am so proud to be a part of it all and I’m glad the kids today are interested in learning about our experiences – they are important.”

Another speaker at the intergenerational event will be Herb—a man who lived in England during the Second World War as a young boy. 

“I remember the sound of the planes and the dropping of the bombs,” said Herb.

“I remember sleeping in bomb shelters, the rationing and the whole experience of being there.  I’m proud to share those memories with the students, it’s imperative they know what happened.”

The youth attending the ceremony will also be able to learn about the Royal Canadian Legion at the ceremony. One of Parkwood’s residents has been a member for over 60 years. 

“I lost my grandfather in the First World War and my Uncle Hugh was in charge of the Spitfire Squadron which took down 15 German planes during the Second World War,” said another resident, Chuck, who’s been a legion member for over 60 years. 

“He was quite a guy and so was his team. Ceremonies like these are really meaningful and important,” said Chuck.

“Coming together with students to share our experiences, learn from and honour those who fought for our country and our lives is important. We have to pass what we know along, and we must be grateful together.”

Prior to Remembrance Day, Parkwood Place and the students of Lansdowne Middle School hope to inspire the community to learn of the sacrifices made in war-time.

Only one BC eatery was named on Canada’s Best New Restaurants list and it’s right here on Vancouver Island.

Since 2002, Air Canada enRoute has embarked on a mission to put Canada’s best new restaurants on the map, and this year’s winners were chosen by journalist Nancy Matsumoto.

In August, after trying more than 30 restaurants that were nominated by a panel of experts, which included the Fox & Monocle café in North Saanich.

On Tuesday, November 1st, the airline’s highly anticipated annual top 10 list was revealed and the North Saanich bakery by day and a restaurant by night was crowned ninth best new restaurant in the country.

Award-winning journalist Nancy Matsumoto trekked across the country for a month & dined anonymously at more than 30 spots before selecting the top 10, according to the news release.

In order to qualify, restaurants had to be fully opened between late Spring 2021 and May 31, 2022.

Matsumoto looked at everything from the culinary vision to the quality of ingredients used. Ultimately, though, “it all came down to one meal.”

Fox and Monocle, created by chef Ross Bowles and pastry chef Tracie Zahavich, was chosen for its delicious, fresh food and simplistic decor.

“Bowles was sous chef under chef Rob Cassels at Victoria’s Saveur Restaurant and executive chef at the River Café in Calgary,” reads the ranking by EnRoute.

“He met Zahavich, a fellow Albertan, when she turned out to be his senior, as demi pastry cook, at Gordon Ramsay’s three–Michelin–starred resto in London.”

According to the list, the culinary talents of Bowles and Zahavich come together in offerings like cod and potato pithivier, and BC spot prawns served with roasted red peppers and crunchy polenta cubes.

Here is the complete list of Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2022:

1. Restaurant 20 Victoria (Toronto, ON)
2. Mastard (Montreal, QC)
3. MIMI Chinese (Toronto, ON)
4. Perch (Ottawa, ON)
5. Một Tô (Calgary, AB)
6. Hearts Tavern & Bar (Kimberley, ON)
7. Fonda Balam (Toronto, ON)
8. Major Tom (Calgary, AB)
9. Fox & Monocle (North Saanich, BC)
10. Restaurant Alentours (Quebec City, QC)

“Air Canada is proud to take off with this tradition once again and to put the Top 10 best new restaurants on Canada’s culinary map,” says Andy Shibata, Vice President, Brand, Air Canada.

“It’s inspiring to see these restaurants make their mark with world-class cuisine while also leading the way on industry trends such as sustainability and workplace wellness. We wish them all luck and success.”

Fox & Monocle Cafe

• Location: 2300 Canoe Cove Road #3, North Saanich
• Hours: The bakery is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday to Monday. The restaurant is open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday to Monday.

After three weeks of waiting in a sort of limbo state, the mayor-elect and councillors-elect will be sworn in this week. 

The inaugural Victoria city council meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. 

“Tomorrow is a ceremonial, swearing-in day that’s just a kick-off to a new mandate of council, so there’ll be no business,” councillor-elect Matt Dell told Victoria Buzz.

To begin the ceremonial council meeting, the mayor and council-elect will be led into the Council Chambers by the Lekwungen Traditional Dancers then a land acknowledgement will be given by Songhees Nation member Brianna Bear. 

After the acknowledgement, the Honourable Regional Administrative Judge Carmen Rogers will administer the Oath of Office to the newly elected mayor and eight council members.

To finish the inaugural council meeting, mayor-elect Marianne Alto will deliver an inaugural address. 

“The big thing tomorrow is that we haven’t been able to receive any information yet. So even though we won the election three weeks ago, we can’t receive anything from the city,” said Dell.

“Once we’re sworn in, that allows the staff to actually be able to brief us on what’s going on around the city.”

“I haven’t seen my offices yet, I don’t know where the bathrooms are, I don’t know where the light switches are, I don’t have an email yet. So tomorrow with the official swearing in, once we take that oath to the community, then we’ll get that.”

Dell is a newcomer to the Council Chambers and although he hasn’t received anything from the city yet, he’s been preparing on his own time. 

“I’ve been reviewing a lot of the public information like the Official Community Plan, the 2019 to 2022 Strategic Plan, the Victoria Housing Strategy. Those are all big documents and I want to make sure I’m up to speed on those,” the councillor-elect told Victoria Buzz.

“I’ve also been spending a lot of time learning Robert’s Rules of Order and reading books on governance and best practices around that.”

The first meeting where official city business will be done will take place on Thursday, November 10th. With seven out of eight councillors being new to the role, the newly elected council won’t be rushing into anything. 

“After talking to the mayor-elect and the city staff, there’s a bit of a desire to slow down in these first few months,” saidDell. 

“And make sure we have time to find our footing and make sure we have time for a really thoughtful, well thought out strategic plan.”

“That will be the overall goal, is a slow and thoughtful beginning to the new term to make sure we set clear and pragmatic direction for the city.”

“There’s so many irons in the fire already,” added Dell. “There’s so many big projects already in the works that the city staff have ongoing and we need to be briefed on that rather than showing up pretending like we know all the answers.”

The inaugural council meeting will be streamed online from the City of Victoria’s website, as will all council meetings to follow. 

Just last week, 18-year-old Kylie Walker of Victoria died of drug poisoning and five of her friends suffered overdoses from a toxic drug supply.

Walker died of an accidental drug poisoning on Thursday, October 27th.

On Tuesday, a health committee released a report with 37 recommendations aimed at “saving lives and moving British Columbia out of the current public health emergency.”

The recommendations were made by the Select Standing Committee (SSC) on Health.

In April, the BC Legislative Assembly decided it would be up to the SSC to make recommendations on how to deal with the illicit, toxic drug supply and overdoses. 

In particular they were to closely examine the increasingly toxic illicit drug supply and the systems and services in place to guide government responses to illicit drug supplies and toxicity deaths and injuries.

To achieve this, the committee examined all relevant and recent reports, studies and examinations as they deemed appropriate.

“The poisoned drug supply is taking the lives of our loved ones, with a disproportionate impact on Indigenous people,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Sheila Malcolmson. 

“This is unacceptable. We must end this tragic loss of life.”

“The committee’s report and recommendations reinforce our government’s continued action to expand and build new supports and services throughout the province.” 

“As the illicit drug supply gets increasingly more toxic, we face a rising tide of need in British Columbia. There is more to do to tackle this public-health emergency.” 

“We will not stop working until we turn this crisis around and people in our province can get the help they need.”

The report was not very well received by the Green Party of BC though. They believed it to be too timid. 

“Today’s report is a reflection of the political landscape of this Assembly,” said Sonia Furstenau, Leader of the BC Greens and MLA for Cowichan Valley.  

“In terms of recognizing the role of safe supply to stabilize this situation, the recommendations of this report do not go as far as I’d hoped.“ 

As of this publication, more than 10,000 British Columbians have died from illicit, toxic drugs in the last six years according to the BC Coroners Office. 

People continue to die at a rate of about six lives lost a day to this issue.

In total the SSC made 37 recommendations. In short, the areas of which they see needs work are:

• Overarching government response
  • Rapidly scale up supports and comprehensive care
  • Health authorities expanding harm reduction, treatment and recovery
  • Integrate people who use or have used drugs in the creation and implementation of any new legislation surrounding drug use
• Prevention and education
  • Increase funding for awareness and anti-stigma initiatives
  • Increase funding for affordable and accessible housing for individuals at all stages of substance abuse
  • Fund supportive housing initiatives and community supports
  • Create evidence-based guidelines on prescribing opioids
• Treatment and recovery
  • Fund more public outpatient recovery programs
  • Create legislation that will give framework to the province in regard to all-encompassing treatment
  • Create a provincial system to analyze and publish data based on recovery strategy and effectiveness
  • Make methadone and other opioid agonist treatment more readily available province-wide
  • Review and update policy regarding opioid agonist treatment
  • Include public input in comprehensive reviews of the Mental Health Act within six months of this report’s release
  • Work with all levels of government to ensure recovery will not affect an individual’s immigration status
• Harm reduction
  • Implement province-wide standardization of harm reduction services
  • Make naloxone kits readily accessible, focusing distribution on high-risk populations
• Safer supply
  • Fund measures to make sure a prescribed safe supply is available in all areas of the province
  • Review and update policies surrounding prescribed safer supply
• Enforcement and decriminalization
  • Prioritize modernization of policing in BC, especially surrounding mental health and social matters
  • Work will all levels of government to stop the supply of illicit, toxic drugs being imported to the country
  • Support and implement decriminalization
• Indigenous people
  • Create Indigenous-led, culturally appropriate services surrounding substance use
  • Prioritize work with BC First Nations Justice Council to reduce the number of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system
  • Use recommendations from previous reports for government action on reducing stigma and racism towards Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women
• Youth
  • Expand in-school prevention and education programs
  • Fund access to mental health and substance abuse supports for youths
  • Fund and provide timely evaluations of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other neurodiverse conditions
• Additional measures
  • Provide sustainable multi-year funding to groups in the mental health and substance abuse fields
  • Improve deployment of first responders to mental health and substance abuse crises
  • Fund positions for new health care and social services workers
  • Fund personnel for emergency rooms to provide referrals for harm reduction supplies
  • Expand supports for families grieving the loss of a family member who dies of a drug poisoning
  • Expand access to harm reduction for those coming out of the provincial correctional system

“There is no one-size-fits-all response to this crisis. The committee wants to see significant investments across the entire continuum of care – from prevention and education to treatment and recovery – as well as ongoing evaluation and monitoring to ensure results are achieved,” said Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond, who is also the deputy chair of the committee. 

For the full report, click here.

Greater Victoria is more of a melting pot than some may have thought.

A recently released report by Statistics Canada based on a 2021 census shows that only 48.4% of Greater Victoria’s population is made up of people born in BC.

People born in other provinces of Canada account for 28.7% of the population and people born in other countries make up 22.9%.

Ontario and Alberta have the highest number of transplants within Canada at 38,040 and 30,210 people respectively.

The next highest number of out of province born British Columbians belongs to Saskatchewan with 12,425.

Could it be the lack of snow that brought them here? 

For out of country originating residents, the United Kingdom has the highest population in Victoria with 16,560 residents, or 4.3% of our cumulative population.

Probably the reason there are so many fish ‘n chips restaurants in town. 

According to Statistics Canada, Greater Victoria’s population was 397,237 based on a 2021 census, the average age in Victoria is 44-years-old and the median total income in 2020 for individuals was $45,600.

Some consider Victoria to be a retirement town, and for others it’s a college city. It turns out Victoria is entirely right down the middle on matters of average income and age.

This is your official bi-annual reminder to reset your clocks this weekend!

Daylight Saving Time (DST) will come to an end in BC on Sunday, November 6th at 2 a.m., reverting the time back by one hour to 1 a.m.

While the time on your electronic devices will probably reset automatically, those manual watches and clocks will need to be turned back by hand.

In 2019, a provincial survey asked British Columbians if the province should continue to conduct the daylight saving time practice every year.

In total, a whopping 223,273 residents responded to the survey, with 93% of people responding speaking in favour of making a permanent switch to DST.

Despite this overwhelming response, nothing has gone forward (no pun intended).

Outgoing BC Premier John Horgan has gone on record on several occasions to suggest that BC would stop switching the clocks when daylight saving rolls around, permanently switching to DST.

In March, Horgan was hopeful that 2022 would be the last year that British Columbians would have to mark daylight saving time.

At the time, the province said it would only end the practice if several US counterparts ended the practice which include Washington, Oregon and California.

In addition to changing your clocks back, people should also use this time as to check your smoke detectors to make sure they are in good working order.

By aligning your smoke detector checks with DST you have set dates, twice a year, to check on these incredibly important lifesaving tools.

Victoria’s rat population is breathing a collective sigh of relief as BC bans lethal rodenticide.

The province has officially moved forward with its permanent ban of second-generation rodenticides.

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are commonly used on rats and mice by pest-control companies and farmers.

SGARs are lethal when ingested by rodents, but they can also be detrimental to animals that eat the rodents further down the food chain.

To reduce the effects of this, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy imposed an 18-month ban on SGARs in June, 2021.

During those 18 months, the ministry said they spoke with technical experts, held a public consultation and reviewed the science behind the SGAR ban.

After over 1,600 responses they ultimately decided to implement the new, permanent ban to coincide with the end of the temporary ban on January 21st, 2023.  

The new ban will effectively end the sale and use of SGARs for all members of the public and most commercial operations.

Only some sectors that have been deemed ‘essential services,’ such as hospitals and food production facilities will be allowed to use SGARs. They will have to hire a licensed pest-control company to do this work.

The aim of the ban will be to reduce unnecessary pesticide use by making people have to look into other methods of pest control that are less harmful to the environment.

This October, Orkin Canada released its list of ‘rattiest cities in Canada’ and Victoria was seventh on that list. Vancouver came in second, Burnaby was third and Kelowna was fourth.

According to a safety alert issued by UVic, Saanich Police are investigating a sexual assault that occurred at UVic over the weekend.

The assault occurred at about 1 a.m. on Sunday, October 30th, in the wooded area near Cluster 60 Housing.

No other details have been released.

“An incident of sexualized violence against a student has been reported to Campus Security,” said the warning.

While UVic’s Campus Security says it patrols all areas—including student residences—they will be closely monitoring the area near Cluster 60 Housing.

“We can confirm that we are investigating a report of a sexual assault that occurred early Sunday morning on campus at the University of Victoria,” Saanich Const. Markus Anastasiades told Victoria Buzz.

Anastasiades said that while the investigation is still early, police believe that the survivor and the suspect did not know one another.

“This is a very sensitive file, and we are working closely with the survivor by providing support.”

Anyone who might have information about this incident is asked to contact Saanich Police at 250-475-4321.

The BC government has reached a new payment model for family doctors in attempt to strengthen the health care system in the province.

The agreement, created in partnership with the Doctors of BC, BC Family Doctors and the provincial government, will be available as of February 2023.

Family physicians can choose to continue with the current model or opt in to the new one.

“We know how important family doctors are in BC,” said Premier John Horgan.

“Rising costs, pandemic-related pressures and staffing shortages required action for doctors on several fronts. Working with the Doctors of BC, I am pleased that we have come up with a new payment model that makes BC a province that attracts, retains and supports family doctors, and ensures they can focus on what matters most – providing care to patients when they need it,” added Horgan.

See also: BC government hires 54 newly graduated doctors to provide full-service primary care

Currently, family doctors are paid through a fee-for-service model and the government says the new plan will also pay them for hours worked, the number and complexity of patients and administrative costs which are currently paid directly by family doctors.

According to Adrian Dix, BCs minister of health, the province has been working since January to strengthen the health care system.

“The actions we’ve been taking, including the new payment model, come from working so closely with Doctors of BC and BC Family Doctors to find solutions that strengthen our health-care system, that renew its essential function, and that build on our support for doctors and the patients who count on them,” said Dix.

“Today is about commitment, action, and collaboration, and all they make possible in our health care system.”

It’s estimated about 100,000 people on southern Vancouver Island are without a family doctor.

In August, the province announced stabilization funding of $118 million to support family doctors with overhead costs.

In addition, over 3,000 family doctors will receive $107 million in stabilization payments today.

Earlier this month, the province announced it had hired 54 new doctors to provide full-service primary care in communities throughout BC, with another 60 hires expected soon.

Earlier this year, the province revealed it would be offering a large signing bonus as well as medical training debt forgiveness to new family doctors who agreed to work in BC for at least five years.

They’re the first newly graduated doctors hired under a new incentive plan designed to solve the shortage of family physicians.

They will earn $295,4570 in the first year, plus receive a $25,000 signing bonus, and debt forgiveness for medical training of up to $50,000 in the initial year and up to $20,000 a year over the next four years.

Additionally, doctors will receive a $75,000 payment to go towards the overhead costs for their host clinic.

Along with the 54 contracts signed, more than 60 family physicians are in discussions about suitable clinical placements and the terms of the contract.

According to the province, nearly 140 new family physicians have expressed interest in the incentives.