COLLINS: Kamloops’ Nederpel to play pivotal role in B.C. health care

LAST WEEK, Barb Nederpel from Kamloops won a landslide victory to gain re-election as head of the Hospital Employees Union. That show of support is obviously a big shot in the arm for Nederpel. And it arms the largest of our hospital unions with a mandate to keep Conservative toes to the fire. Those 80,000 members of the HEU, added to the 50,000 members of the BC Nurses Union, comprise a powerful juggernaut. And while they are much smaller in numbers, the doctors themselves obviously have tremendous influence.

Those groups will need heavy support from like-minded members of the general public to keep our healthcare system from falling even further into the toilet. Barb Nederpel will be front and centre in that fight.

I like Barb. She has lots of experience and I think she could be a unifying force to strengthen our healthcare system.

Some of the Conservative proposals should be adopted. Most of those were bad ideas that flashed money for photo ops with little substance.