Remembering Air India victims page 19
Show your Canadian colours July 1 in Cloverdale page 6
Wednesday June 30, 2010 Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
A family doctor for all: Falcon B.C. to roll out health care reforms by Jeff Nagel EVERYONE IN B.C. who wants a
BOAZ JOSEPH / THE LEADER
High hopes for Haiti
Shiro Olson leads a line of dancers during a warm-up for the Walk for Water on Sunday at Bear Creek Park. The first-annual five-km walkathon, hosted by Childcare Canada, the B.C. Lions and the City of Surrey, aimed to raise money for clean-water projects in Haiti.
Tree cuts fall with economy Recession, change in development cited for fewer trees axed since 2009 by Kevin Diakiw A SLUGGISH economy and a change in the form
of local developments has meant far fewer trees have been cut down in this city in the past 18 months. Between 2001 and 2008, Surrey was issuing permits to cut down about 10,000 trees annually, according to figures obtained by The Leader. But due to the recession, building dropped by 40 per cent last year, and the number of trees cut fell to 4,662 – less than half of previous averages. And in the first six months of 2010, there were
only 975 trees felled due to development. The drop in tree cuts is not a result of a policy change. This year’s lower numbers are mostly due to the type of development taking place – known as infill – where building occurs on previously cleared lands. “You have projects where for some reason, very few trees have been cut because there probably wasn’t that many to start with,” said Jean LaMontagne, Surrey’s general manager of planning and development. “But they’re planting way more.” Some examples include the redevelopment of the Guildford Town Centre, where 37 trees were
cut down and 442 were replanted. And Green Timbers Forest, a huge area cleared for a forestry site many years ago, will be home to the new RCMP E-Division headquarters. At that site, 70 trees had to be cut down and 210 were planted in their place. Part of the heavy replanting is due to development permit guidelines set down by the city, especially in areas that were originally developed without a lot of trees. “Where E-Division is going, there are almost no trees because it’s the cleared area of Green
family doctor will be able to get one by 2015. That was the promise Thursday from health minister Kevin Falcon, who unveiled what he called a major reform to primary health care delivery. Family doctors are to voluntarily organize into non-profit community-based teams called “divisions of family practice” to collaboratively manage patients, with backing from other health professionals. Extra support for those divisions is expected to make care more efficient, allowing more patients to be get better, more sup- Kevin Falcon portive care. “Family care physicians will be able to treat more patients because they’ll have much more support in looking after higher needs patients, chronic needs patients and those with mental illness,” Falcon said at the announcement in White Rock. He committed $137 million to back the changes. Rather than referring a patient to a specialist and leaving them to See NURSE / Page 4
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