Latest news with #Colwood
CTV News
09-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Vancouver Island community group rallying support for outdoor public pool
Residents in the Vancouver Island community of Colwood are calling for a new, Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool to be built in West Shore. A community group in Vancouver Island's Colwood is working to secure a feasibility study to push forward a vision that would see an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool built for the public in the West Shore. 'I think having a pool is just so conducive to any community for health and wellbeing, and fitness, and community,' says West Shore Community Pool Project lead, Linda Mackie. The photographer moved to Greater Victoria from Vancouver in 2016 and says she noticed the lack of public options for outdoor pool space. Since 2023, she's been drumming up support on a pitch to turn inspiration into reality. 'I love that idea,' says Donna Tran, while visiting the beach at Esquimalt Lagoon. 'I'm actually from Toronto and we had outdoor pools all year round and in pretty much every neighbourhood.' 'I think that would be really fun,' says another mom, Faith Roy. 'I like it cause it's probably a safe environment, lifeguards and all, closed off.' The project committee has earned the support of the West Shore Rotary Club, that has said it would fundraise millions to avoid downloading the cost onto taxpayers. Past president Mike Reilly says on top of a capital campaign, there are also plans to consider raising money for an endowment fund that would support ongoing maintenance fees. 'An outdoor pool is a great social leveler. Wealthy people will always have access to pools, but folks that don't have the means don't have those opportunities. They just don't exist here,' says Reilly. 'Rotary has a real responsibility when we put projects together that it's good for everyone – and an outdoor pool could not be a better definition of what's good for everyone.' The team says there's also a vision to consider creating a larger aquatic facility with an indoor pool on site too. But first, the group needs to conduct a feasibility study to see what can be built and where it might go. 'We've had agreement in principle from the City of Colwood that this would be the location for an outdoor pool. The other municipalities that we've approached have been very positive that it would be something that they would support,' says Reilly. The committee is trying to secure a consultant to conduct the study by fall and is hopeful that work can be released in Spring 2026 for review.
CTV News
21-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Why one U.S. doctor is moving to Vancouver Island
Dr. Muthana Yacoub has been working as a family physician in Woodland Park, Colo., for six years now. But by November, he will be practising medicine in Colwood, B.C. 'We finally visited this past weekend and we absolutely fell in love with it,' Yacoub said. He'll work at a unique, city-owned clinic, which has recruited four doctors from the U.S., the U.K. and other parts of Canada. Yacoub, who spent part of his childhood living in Toronto, already had Canadian citizenship. He heard about the new Vancouver Island clinic while attending a medical conference in Vancouver last November, and was ready for change. 'You do see this pressure from insurance companies where you feel like you're just kind of catering to their whims and those whims change every six months,' he explained. 'It can be extremely frustrating, because you know what you want to do for the patient, what the right thing to do for the patient is, but you have no efficacy in actually getting that done.' The Ministry of Health is hoping more U.S. doctors feel the same as Yacoub. The province recently began a $5-million recruitment campaign running ads in Washington State, Oregon and parts of California. This week, a branded truck was giving out free coffee to health-care workers in Seattle. 'Doctors of BC supports all efforts to address the province's health workforce challenges,' said Dr. Charlene Lui, the organization's president. 'It's so important to improve timely and quality access to care for our patients.' Lui said Doctors of BC is willing to work with the Ministry of Health and other key partners to 'explore solutions for this very complex issue, including integrating foreign-trained physicians not only from the U.S., but around the globe.' She said they are exploring questions around licensing with stakeholders. The ministry said more than 1,600 health-care providers have expressed an interest in moving to our province. However, despite requests from CTV News, the ministry did not provide any numbers on how many doctors and nurses had actually committed to making the move. In a statement, the ministry said: 'Steps are being taken to get those interested to B.C., but this is a process that takes time.''We are also working with our federal partners on the immigration front,' the statement added. Yacoub said he thinks the biggest barrier for workers coming from the U.S. is 'the concept of moving to a different country and the whole licensing situation.' He also pointed out that America is facing its own family doctor shortage, particularly in rural areas. He said despite flaws in B.C.'s health-care system, he believes it's a much better system than the one he is currently working in. 'Even the poorest among us can get care if they need it, whereas here (in the U.S.), it's a coin toss. They may not get their care at all,' he said, adding that someone should not face bankruptcy to get medical treatment. Yacoub said Colwood has been very welcoming and he can't wait to make B.C. home. 'From the bottom of my heart, thank you,' he said.
CBC
11-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
This U.S. doctor is making the move to B.C. — here's why
Social Sharing For one Canadian-born doctor, who has been practicing family medicine in Colorado for the last six years, his next career move is a sort of homecoming. "It's been kind of a long-time dream of mine to come back to Canada," said Muthanna Yacoub. "For me it's hockey and being in the hills that are basically my antidepressant." The province has been working to make it easier for U.S.-trained doctors and nurses to have their credentials recognized in B.C., a process the Ministry of Health says now takes days instead of months. WATCH | B.C. fast tracks process for U.S. health care workers B.C. fast-tracks process for U.S. nurses to get registered in province 29 days ago Duration 2:08 After speaking to a few physician recruiters at a conference in Vancouver, Yacoub almost signed on with a clinic in Ontario, where he was born and spent part of his childhood. But it was the natural beauty of B.C. that enticed him, his wife and their dog, Hudson. He will join a medical clinic owned by the City of Colwood, near Victoria, this fall. "He wants to give back and come back home," said Health Minister Josie Osborne, during a press conference in the clinic on Friday. The clinic is trying to recruit out-of-province or out-of-country doctors to avoid poaching from other parts of B.C. Demoralized by the U.S. private health care system Yacoub had become increasingly demoralized with the U.S.'s private health care system, where insurance companies often dictate the kind of care a patient receives. "Some days it really feels like you're treating the insurance company and not the patient and beckoning to their demands in spite of what's in the patient's best interest," said the 36-year-old. "And so you're having to choose between your conscience and just being compliant — and most of us are kind of getting sick of it." The biggest catalyst though, was the election of U.S. president Donald Trump and the anti-vaccine position of his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "Are we going to be able to act ethically and treat patients as we really ought to, following the science?" Yacoub asked. "Or are we going to have to be forced into compliance? And given the administration's heavy-handed nature, we're really worried that it's going to be the latter." B.C. has recruited hundreds of family doctors. It's still not enough The B.C. government is capitalizing on that sentiment, with a $5 million ad campaign targeting health care workers in Washington State, Oregon and California. WATCH | Ad from B.C. government targets U.S. health care workers The Colwood clinic's co-medical director, Jesse Pewarchuk, is optimistic B.C.'s strategy to recruit U.S. doctors and nurses will bear fruit. "This is the first of what we hope will be many recruits," said Pewarchuk, who also runs Aroga Lifestyle Medicine Clinic in nearby View Royal. "The province's strategy to recruit out of Washington, Oregon and California — and I would put forward they should also be looking at Colorado — is really a stroke of genius." Pewarchuk said B.C. simply cannot train enough doctors and nurses to keep up with the growing demand of our aging and growing population. "The number of health care practitioners in the U.S. dwarfs Canada. So it is a very rich ground to recruit from." For Yacoub, who has dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship, the process of moving to Canada is straight forward. However, American-born doctors would have to navigate Canada's immigration system, adding another possible roadblock. This year, the federal government slashed the number of skilled workers B.C. can bring in through the provincial nominee program, from 8,000 to 4,000. Osborne says that's an issue the province has raised with Ottawa. "It has been a challenge that the provincial nominee program — the only way that British Columbia has any control over who is able to come in and work in our province — has had a decrease in its capacity." The province plans to reserve a quarter of those spaces for health care workers. As for questions about a pay gap between Canada and the U.S., Yacoub says the salary being offered by the Colwood Clinic is comparable to what he was making in Colorado. He says the pension was also a major draw. But the final decision came down to values and quality of life.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Missing B.C. teen may be in Alberta or Saskatchewan: RCMP
Jaxsen Swain, 15, was last seen in Colwood, B.C. on May 17. RCMP say he may be travelling between B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. (Supplied) RCMP say a B.C. teenager, missing since last month, may be in Alberta or Saskatchewan. West Shore RCMP say Jaxsen Swain was last seen at about 11:30 p.m. on May 17 in the 300 block of Wale Road in Colwood, B.C., a city west of Victoria. He was reported missing to police a day later. Swain, 15, has a light complexion, a slim build, brown hair and brown eyes. He is 180 centimetres (5'11') tall and weighs approximately 68 kilograms (150 pounds). Police say he could be travelling in B.C., Alberta or Saskatchewan. RCMP are very concerned about his health and well-being. Police received multiple leads from possible sightings, but Swain remains missing. Anyone with information about Swain should contact their local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
CTV News
31-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Update on Beachwoods development in Colwood
Vancouver Watch Colwood's Beachlands development in Royal Bay is putting the final touches on a showpiece for the community.
