MOTION ON NOTICE

At the Council meeting of March 5, 2002, Councillor Louis submitted the following Notice of Motion, which was recognized by the Chair.

1. Provincial Downloading to Municipalities (File: 1263)

WHEREAS, on February 7, 2002 the provincial government announced it was raising Medical Service Plan (MSP) premiums by 50 per cent effective May 1, 2002;

AND WHEREAS, according to a March 1, 2002 Vancouver Sun article, the provincial government's decision to increase MSP premiums will cost the City of Vancouver at least $1.3 million;

AND WHEREAS, the BC Liberals campaigned in the last provincial election on providing local governments with the tools and resources to better plan and manage local services;

AND WHEREAS, the BC Liberals' downloading of provincial healthcare system costs will force the City of Vancouver to adopt some combination of either raising taxes or cutting services to offset these dramatic and unforeseen expenditures;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, Council write to the Honourable Colin Hansen, Health Services Minister, objecting to the dramatic increase in the Medical Service Plan premiums, and urging the province to reverse this harmful decision.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver