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Simkin to push for health care

A familiar face in the gallery at city council meetings, Peter Simkin is stepping into the race for Parksville city council.
Peter Simkin
Peter Simkin is trying his hand at the election trail

A familiar face in the gallery at city council meetings, Peter Simkin is stepping into the race for Parksville city council.

The 58-year-old said he’s semi-retired now and finally has the time he believes is necessary.

“It’s not just a part-time job, I think it requires full time availability,” he told The News as he was headed into his part-time job at Lordco, which he said he mostly does to feed as an auto-enthusiast.

The retired BC Ambulance paramedic also works with local Junior B hockey and has worked at the arena.

“I’ve always been interested in local politics and I’ve slowly gotten more involved as I saw how things could be done better,” he said.

His three big issues for the campaign are keeping up the positive developments in securing the community’s water, increasing the visibility, access and communication between council and the community, and the various aspects of health care in the region.

“I keep seeing letters to the editor and stuff about the health centre being nothing more than a glorified clinic, which it will become if the residents don’t keep the pressure on VIHA (the Vancouver Island Health Authority),” he said adding it’s up to the local community to keep pushing to make it what it needs to be.