- Capital Daily
- Posts
- Dec 14 - Saanich searches for doctors
Dec 14 - Saanich searches for doctors
Weekly roundup. RBC tabs 3 area athletes as Olympic hopefuls
Capital Daily Team
December 14, 2025
Good morning !
On Thursday, we told you about a new grocery store coming soon to downtown Victoria’s Bay Centre.
Sabayons will be a boutique shop from the owners of Vic West’s Market Garden on Catherine. The name is a mashup of Saba, in homage to the Saba Brothers’ business on that site in the 1950s, and Eatons and The Bay, which followed.
That same day, another grocery store opened downtown.
No Frills brings food sales back to the old Victoria Public Market building on Douglas.
— Mark
Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes
🌡️ Weather Forecast
NEWS
Saanich group offers help to those seeking a doctor or nurse practitioner
Ray Lett, Eileen Lett, Pat Pontaleyev, Jacquie McIntyre, Mike Fournier, Don McIntyre, Freya Keddie, Vic Parsons, JoAnne Nelson, Sue DeGrandis, Michael Moore, Barry DeGrandis. Photo: Tony Wass
A group of benevolent Saanich residents has launched a grassroots campaign to help more people gain access to a family doctor.
Over the next few months, some of the people you see above will be canvassing neighbourhoods to spread the word about the province’s Health Connect Registry (HCR) and the importance of registering.
Family Doctors for Saanich is encouraging anyone in Saanich who doesn’t have a general practitioner (GP) or nurse practitioner (NP) and who is not already on the list to sign up.
According to the provincial health ministry, 98,301 residents of Saanich, the Peninsula, and Oak Bay are attached to a health-care provider. Some 19,038 are currently looking for a GP or NP, and 22,886 aren’t registered on the HCR.
“One of the No. 1 issues I hear about is people not having a family doctor,” says Teale Phelps Bondaroff, who, as a Saanich councillor, knocks on a lot of doors.
As a member of the Family Doctors for Saanich organizing team, he says it’s up to people looking for medical assistance to do the knocking.
“Ultimately, the government isn't going to look for a doctor for you if they don't know you're looking for one.”
Teale has lived in the CRD for almost a decade and still doesn’t have a doctor. He hadn’t heard of the registry, but registered once he did.
In good health and on the younger side of much of the population—according to the 2021 census, one in five Greater Victoria residents is 65 or older—Teale knows he may not be on the top of the government’s list when it comes to matching patients with doctors.
Speaking on Friday, Universal Health Coverage Day—a global day of action dedicated to promoting strong and equitable health systems—Tony Wass, a Saanich resident and member of the Family Doctors for Saanich organizing team, says it can take time, but matchups are happening.
Wass tells Capital Daily about a man who signed into the registry three years ago. A year later, he was checking the spam folder of his email and discovered a note from Health Connect. He thought it was a scam, but it wasn’t. He filled out the details and now has a primary care provider.
In March, the province announced that it connected 250K residents with a GP or NP last year.
The Saanich group says signing up not only helps to match people with a doctor, but it also gives the province a better idea of how many still need one.
In 2024, the health ministry pegged that number in the 890K range, and the province has since stepped up its quest to attract more doctors here.
In September, Health Minister Josie Osborne announced that 140+ US health-care workers, including 80 nurses and 38 doctors, had accepted positions in BC since the government's recruitment campaign began in the spring.
“When people sign up for the Health Connect Registry, when neighbours get involved, and when we support the organizations bringing new doctors to our region, we help build the primary care system our community deserves,” Wass said.
⚠️ Capital Bulletin
Recall: Various pistachios and pistachio-containing products due to Salmonella. [CFIA]
Missing person: Brian, 53, last seen in Saanich.
No swimming or dipping: CRD Wastewater Discharge Notice
* Between Seaview Road (Saanich) and Currie Road (Oak Bay), including Cadboro Bay and Willows Beach
* Between Radcliffe Lane (Oak Bay) and Cook Street (Victoria), including Clover Point, Ross Bay, Gonzales Bay, and McNeill Bay
* Between Arbutus Cove Lane and Telegraph Bay Road, including Arbutus Cove, Finnerty Cove, and Telegraph Cove in Saanich
* Craigflower Road into Portage Inlet in Saanich
Saanich road closure:
* Reynolds at Cedar Hill Cross, through Tuesday, 9am-3:30pm
* Iona between Cedar Hill Cross and Broadmead. Through Friday, 24-7
* Glendenning, through Tuesday, 8am-3pm
Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.
