Green Party Leader Elizabeth May hospitalized for fatigue and stress, husband says
Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, was hospitalized last week due to what her husband describes as fatigue, overwork and stress, according to a weekly update to her constituents.
May's husband John Kidder wrote in the update Monday that May "spent a few days under observation" at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital, north of Victoria.
"She was discharged on Saturday morning to come home and keep resting for a bit to restore her much-depleted energy," Kidder said.
"Does it not seem odd to you that we expect our parliamentarians to work double shifts through May and June, sometimes 19-hour days, to sit until midnight almost every day, to keep up with their always demanding constituency work, and still to have minds at all?"
Kidder went on to say that neither he nor May, who has served as a Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands since 2011, has a family doctor.
He said the couple has been relegated – like so many in British Columbia – to waiting to receive primary health care in an emergency room or calling around to walk-in clinics before they fill up for the day.
Saanich Peninsula Hospital, where May was admitted, announced last week that its emergency department would close overnight for the next two months due to a shortage of staff.
"This reduction in overnight service hours will ensure physician, nursing, laboratory technicians and medical imaging staff are available during the hours of highest patient demand," the Vancouver Island Health authority said in a statement Thursday.
"We acknowledge this is not an ideal situation for the community and we sincerely apologize for this temporary service reduction," said Marko Peljhan, the health authority's vice-president of clinical services for the region.
The overnight closure, one of several to hit Vancouver Island emergency rooms in recent months, was partially responsible for triggering a protest by the B.C. Nurses Union outside Victoria General Hospital on Sunday.
The union says a shortage of nurses, an aging population and increased patient-care needs have brought "untenable conditions," to the island's hospitals.
"Nurses at Victoria General Hospital say they are morally distressed with what they are seeing unfold on almost every shift," said BCNU vice-president Adriane Gear in a statement.
May, 69, will return to writing her constituency updates herself next week, said Kidder, who is a founder of the Green Party of B.C.
"We've seen anew the dedication, smarts and caring devotion of nurses, attendants, porters, techs, doctors, administrators, and all the wonderful people who staff our health system, working hours like Elizabeth’s with even more personal stress, and sticking to their oaths to serve us," Kidder said.
"Such wonderful people. Such a messed up system."
May served as the Green leader from 2006 until she stepped down in 2019, only to regain the role again last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'