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100 MILE TALENT WITH THOMPSON BLAZERS
RESULTS A3 OCTOBER 22, 2015
Two Sections, 40 pages
‘Bittersweet’ victory for McLeod
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Dave Eagles/Kamloops This Week photo
Incumbent MP Cathy McLeod and supporter Claude Richmond watched the results come in from across the country at the Conservative campaign office in Kamloops. McLeod retained her seat in the House of Commons as the representative for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Riding.
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“There was certainly a mood from Canadians – it was time to change” Gaven Crites Free Press
Incumbent Conservative MP Cathy McLeod held onto her seat in the Kamloops-ThompsonCariboo in the federal election on Oct. 19, but saw a double digit decline in her support from the previous election. Voter turnout was at least 74 per cent in this riding with 69,534 of 93,877 registered electors casting a ballot. McLeod won with 35.2 per cent of the vote (24,444 total), a close to 17 per cent decline from 2011. A big Liberal surge split the centre-left vote in the local riding. NDP candidate Bill Sundhu was second place, receiving 30.8 per cent (21,400) and Liberal candidate Steve Powrie got 30.5 per cent (21,197), a dramatic increase from the party’s five per cent in the riding in 2011. Green Party candidate Matt Greenwood took 3.8 per cent (2,493). Nationally, the Liberal Party, with Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau at the helm, made a rather impressive ascension, from third place in 2011 to a first-place majority government with 184 seats in 2015. The Conservatives won 99, the NDP 44, the Bloc Quebecois 10 and the Green Party one. Preliminary results show
more than 68 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot across the country, a more than seven per cent jump from 2011, the highest turnout since 1993. McLeod, who was first elected in 2008, has never been a member of the official opposition. She says her re-election is “bittersweet” considering the national result. Her message to voters in the 100 Mile House area is a thanks to her volunteers, adding she will ensure the needs of rural and Interior communities will be “well-voiced” in Ottawa. Asked if that will be more difficult now that she’s no longer a member of the ruling party, McLeod says she will find out over time, and she’s not going to “pre-judge” anything. “What I always did appreciate was a number of my caucus represented rural areas, so that was always part of our discussions. It’s my job as a member of the opposition to ensure all voices of Canada are heard.” Stephen Harper resigned as Conservative Party leader following the election. McLeod agrees it was time for Harper to step down after nearly a decade as Prime Minister. She says it’s too early to speculate who will replace him. “There was certainly a mood from Canadians – it was time to change.”
Urology service back in 100 Mile House
100 Mile House is receiving urology services again thanks to a group of local residents and politicians being persistent in their advocacy for patients in the South Cariboo. Interior Health (IH) announced the return of the service on Oct. 15, noting urologists from Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) in Kamloops are travelling to 100 Mile District General Hospital to provide urology services. Interior Health acknowledged the commitment of urologists from [RIH] and the contributions of the South Cariboo Health Foundation
[SCHF] and Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District, allowed IH to launch an innovative outreach program that will allow patients of the Cariboo region to access urology care closer to home. However, it was a long, hard-fought battle by the SCHF, which had been offering $230,000 for funding a local urologist, equipment costs and about two years of operation, for close to two years. The issue came to a head when IH acute services director Peter Du Toit reported on program funding in the
community at an April 15 District of 100 Mile House council meeting. Mayor Mitch Campsall blasted Du Toit for IH “continually putting up barriers” to local health-care needs and added residents are tired of being treated like “second-class citizens.” Du Toit said IH had looked at this “high-profile” proposal in its 2014/15 financial plans and will “very definitely” review it again for 2015/16 – but there is simply no available operating funds from the ministry for “new programs.” Campsall snapped back that the
program is “not new” and had been in place locally before IH cancelled it. Eight days later (April 23), CaribooChilcotin MLA Donna Barnett, who noted she had championed for the return of urology service along with the SCHF, announced IH had approved a urology program for 100 Mile District General Hospital. Urology is a specialty that involves the treatment of conditions of the male and female urinary tract and the male reproductive organs. It is estimated that approximately Continued on A7