B.C. NDP Leader David Eby stands with healthcare workers and supporters after a campaign announcement, in Vernon, B.C., on Saturday, October 5, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VERNON, B.C. - NDP Leader David Eby is promising a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and heath professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.

Eby's provincial election campaign pledge comes as hospitals in rural B.C. face periods of emergency closures due primarily to staff shortages.

"We need to win the competition for doctors and nurses, both nationally and internationally," Eby said at an outdoor news conference at a municipal park in Vernon on the shores of Lake Okanagan.

Interior Health said Friday that emergency rooms at South Okanagan General Hospital in the Okanagan community of Oliver will be closed Saturday due to “limited physician availability.” Patients are advised to travel to Penticton for emergency care.

Eby said the NDP program will offer student loan forgiveness of between $10,000 and $20,000 in return for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals guaranteeing to stay in a rural community for a minimum of five years.

"The goal here is to make sure that when people are looking for a place to practice, they think about smaller centers in British Columbia, and they think about British Columbia and they prioritize working here," he said.

Eby also pledged to reduce administrative restrictions facing midwives to enable easier access to abortion care, especially in rural areas.

The midwives will also be able to provide intrauterine device insertions, sexually transmitted infection tests and and provision of care for sexual assaults, he said.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, who also campaigned in the Okanagan Saturday, promised to improve wildfire prevention and protect communities.

Kelowna and West Kelowna in the Okanagan were ravaged by wildfires last summer that forced thousands of people from their homes and damaged or destroyed almost 200 structures.

A statement from the B.C. Conservative Party says that if elected, they will call for a comprehensive review of current wildfire policies while shifting the focus to wildfire prevention, including investing in new technologies to reduce wildfire risks before the fires start.

“We need to flip the script. The math is backwards — under Eby, we’re spending nine times more fighting fires than we are preventing them. It’s time for a better strategy that prioritizes prevention and safety," Rustad said in the statement.

Rustad also committed to “bring an end” to tent cities across the province, with measures that would include strict enforcement of public safety laws, and building more supportive housing that will have zero tolerance for drugs and crime.

“We will be stopping David Eby's approach of handing out free drugs and crack pipes in British Columbia. These are arguably the policies that are helping to fuel these evictions and making the situation far worse,” Rustad at a news conference Saturday in Kelowna.

Rustad said the Conservatives will also reopen Riverview Hospital, which used to be a mental-health facility and was shut down in 2012, to provide treatment for people who need support with mental health and addictions.

BC NDP candidate for Port Coquitlam Mike Farnworth, B.C.'s public safety minister, said in a statement that Rustad’s plans will lead to more encampments.

Farnworth said when Rustad was working as a BC Liberal cabinet minister, he had a long record of blocking housing construction and making cuts to healthcare and housing,

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau spent Saturday canvassing and attending a series of events in Victoria.

Election day is on Oct. 19 and British Columbians will be able to begin voting in advance polls on Oct. 10.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2024.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Mike Farnworth was the former public safety minister.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2024