Image Credit: Interior Health

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: All that glitters is not gold

Sep 10, 2023 | 6:39 AM

I FIRST HEARD A DERIVATIVE of this phrase in one of my favourite country tunes, sung by Dan Seals. But it actually goes back to Shakespeare’s time, and is referenced many times, from 1878’s HMS Pinafore to Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven to Neil Young.

As I interpret it, I take it to mean that just because it’s shiny and gaudy, doesn’t make it useful, unless the underlying “gold” — the real value — is also there. I can be a bit cheesy, I know, but the statement has value.

And when I think of it most is when I think of Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix trying to tell us how they’re going to fix the B.C. healthcare system. They like to play the “glitter” game, throwing out lots of money that gives the illusion of solving problems but provides only marginal results.

“Look at the brand-new state-of-the-art tower we built in Kamloops with all these bells and whistles and all these single beds with their own bathrooms. And we’re going to build a new hospital in Surrey.”

Don’t get me wrong. State-of-the-art facilities are nothing to sneeze at. What doctor wouldn’t want to have the latest tools in his hands? But I think private rooms are stupid when you see the lineups in the halls where patients can lay for days waiting for any bed, let alone a private room.

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And then there are the 300 surgeries cancelled at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, the result of staffing shortages. Anesthetists are in high demand in many centres. B.C. doesn’t allow for Physician Assistants, which could help bridge an important gap in health care. Not enough care workers, lab workers, kitchen workers, housecleaning workers.

And that’s only in the big centres. Smaller communities like Merritt, Clearwater, Ashcroft and Logan Lake have trouble keeping doctors and nurses, because no one seems to want to practice rural medicine anymore.

Sadly, it’s not just the NDP. The B.C. United party has made lots of poor choices too over the years.

The glitter on the surface looks great but it isn’t the gold we need to find. I’d rather have a ward with four beds than a luxury suite with its own pooper.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.