'Maybe we shouldn't have moved here': Military family struggles to find doctor in Greater Victoria
A young military couple that's new to Vancouver Island is scrambling to find a family doctor, and they're questioning their move to the capital region entirely.
The couple and their two young sons recently packed up and headed to Sooke, B.C., from Winnipeg after father Yaz Malhas was transferred to CFB Esquimalt.
He says the stress of the move is compounded by B.C.'s health-care crisis.
"That's a whole different level, and I think it's beyond stressful at this point," he said.
Malhas says he has a doctor provided to him through the military, but his wife and their two sons need to find one.
"It's really concerning, as a parent of young children," said Steph Malhas.
The family says that in Winnipeg, and in other Canadian cities they've lived in, it took no time to find a family doctor.
"We never had this problem elsewhere – and we've been all over the country," said Yaz.
"So I was shocked when we moved here and found out that this was the situation," he said.
'PRESSING PROBLEM'
The family's struggle is one that's shared by hundreds of thousands of British Columbians who are currently without a family doctor.
It's a problem that was recently highlighted by an aging Central Saanich, B.C., couple who resorted to taking out an ad in a newspaper to plead for a family doctor to help fill prescriptions.
On Wednesday, B.C. Premier John Horgan acknowledged that the province's health-care system was under strain.
"It's a real and pressing problem, and we're doing everything we can to address it," he said.
"But it needs to be across the country, not just across the community."
Horgan says he and fellow premiers pressed the prime minister for healthcare funding during a summit in Victoria last month.
He says he's hopeful that urgently needed funding will arrive before the summer is over.
Yaz says even though he wanted to come to B.C., where they have family members, the ordeal has given him second thoughts.
"Maybe we shouldn't have moved here," he told CTV News. "Had I known that we might not be able to find a family doctor."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.