GOOD MOVES ON DOCTOR RECRUITMENT & AFFORDABLE HOUSING

(OSOYOOS TIMES — November 14, 2007) —

It's heartening to see that the Town and Destination Osoyoos (DO) were able to host a physician couple from South Africa recently, showing them the attributes of our town that would make it a good place to emigrate to.
With the retirement of one or two of our six local doctors at some point in the not-too-distant future, Osoyoos either attracts more doctors to this community, or else our condition may become 'critical'.
Town Council did well a number of months ago to identify this as a priority need in Osoyoos, and to ask DO to work with doctors and others on a strategy to recruit doctors here.
These two South African doctors may or may not decide to come here.
There are lifestyle advantages for them, but unfortunately they would receive a bigger 'rural' pay bonus from the provincial government if they moved instead to a more remote community.
Whether or not they choose to move here, we urge the Town and DO to continue the competition for doctors. Many other communities, including Penticton, are actively trying to entice doctors to move to their locales, and we will have to be in the game and be playing it seriously if we are to ensure that this important aspect of 'quality of life' “ having enough doctors “ exists here.

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We're also pleased to see that the developers of the proposed townhouses, condos, assisted-living facility and new Elks' clubhouse on the Elks' property at Hwy .97 and 62nd Avenue “ and our Town planners “ are putting some new effort into launching an affordable housing initiative in Osoyoos.
With the labour shortage that affects all of B.C. it's already hard enough for local businesses to attract employees to Osoyoos.
And as this community continues to grow, and as it attracts more service and manufacturing jobs, the need for affordable places for the many needed workers to live in will become even more acute.
The developers have made an important move forward by preparing to acquire a large parcel of additional land for affordable housing.
And the planners are putting development of a master plan for the key South Meadowlark area at the top of their priority list.
We hope these good signs will lead fairly quickly to tangible plans to ease the crunch for lower-priced housing.