Press Release - June 8, 2026
Saanich Council Calls on Province to Remove Barriers to Team-Based Primary Care
Saanich, BC – June 8, 2026 – Saanich Council unanimously endorsed a draft Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) resolution calling on the Province of British Columbia to address systemic barriers that are limiting the implementation of team-based primary care across the province.
The draft resolution asks UBCM to call on the Province to develop sustainable funding, governance, and operational models that enable the widespread implementation and long-term sustainability of team-based primary care in BC. The resolution was considered at a Special Council meeting the evening of June 8th, and will now be submitted for consideration at the 2026 UBCM Convention, taking place September 14 to 18 in Vancouver.
The resolution was co-authored by Central Saanich Councillor Sarah Riddell, and Saanich Councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff, and was developed in collaboration with local primary care organizations.
“Too many people in Saanich and across British Columbia are still struggling to get attached to a nurse practitioner or family doctor,” said Saanich Councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff. “When people cannot access regular, ongoing care, health concerns can get worse, emergency departments face more pressure, and families are left trying to navigate the system on their own. This resolution is about asking the Province to give communities and clinics the tools they need to deliver better, more connected and sustainable care close to home.”
“Saanich has a primary care crisis on its hands, with 1 in 3 residents not attached to a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner. We hope we can solve this problem in partnership with nonprofit medical societies operating team based clinics,” said JoAnne Nelson, co-founder of Family Doctors for Saanich. “We need the province to embrace this community driven model."
Team-based primary care brings together family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, counsellors, and other allied health professionals to provide coordinated, patient-centred care. The model is widely recognized as a way to improve access, continuity and comprehensiveness of care, strengthen health outcomes, increase clinic capacity, and support a more efficient and sustainable primary care system.
“Team based primary care clinics are rapidly taking over from the single family doctor as entrepreneur.,” said Tony Wass, co-founder of Family Doctors for Saanich, who spoke at the meeting. “For example, the West Saanich Medical Clinic has been purchased by South Island Primary Care Society from the doctor. It is now run by a non-profit society, with 10 doctors, serving about 10,000 patients.”
Despite strong policy support for team-based care, many clinics continue to face barriers including physician-centred funding structures, limited funding for nurses and allied health professionals, inadequate flexibility to recruit and manage interdisciplinary teams, and insufficient operational and infrastructure funding.
“At Shoreline, we see every day how interdisciplinary teams can improve access and provide more complete care, but these models require stable funding, flexible governance, and practical operational support,” said Dr. Sienna Bourdon, Medical Director of the Shoreline Brentwood Bay Medical Clinic.
"We have spent years talking about the importance of team-based care, yet significant barriers that prevent these models from succeeding remain in place. If we want to improve access to primary care, we need to intentionally create the conditions for team-based care to thrive across the province,” said Sarah Riddell, Councillor, District of Central Saanich. “This resolution is a call to do exactly that."
“No matter who I'm speaking with in Saanich, access to primary care comes up again and again. It's a concern for young families, seniors, and everyone in between,” said Saanich Councillor Zac De Vries. “We know team-based care can help connect more people to the care they need, and this resolution is about removing barriers so it can be expanded across British Columbia."
“There is no single solution to the primary care crisis. We need to explore a wide range of options that help people get attached to primary care providers, and team-based care is one of the most promising,” said Councillor Phelps Bondaroff. “Creating funding and governance models that allow clinics to bring doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, counsellors, and other allied health professionals together around patients not only supports better patient outcomes, but also supports a more sustainable working environment for health professionals.”
Background
About Shoreline Medical
Shoreline Medical Society is a community-based charitable organization delivering team-based primary care on the Saanich Peninsula, from Sidney to Royal Oak. Through its clinics, Shoreline’s physicians, nurse practitioners, and interdisciplinary teams care for more than 16,000 patients and play a vital role in supporting the local healthcare system.
In addition to providing family medicine, Shoreline physicians also care for patients at Saanich Peninsula Hospital through the Doctor of the Day program, provide maternity care, palliative care, and long-term care to the community, and operate the region's only youth clinic.
Resolution: Enabling Team-Based Primary Care in British Columbia
WHEREAS team-based primary care is widely recognized as an evidence-based approach that improves patient access, continuity and comprehensiveness of care, and health outcomes, while increasing clinic capacity and improving the efficiency of primary care delivery;
AND WHEREAS the Province has identified team-based primary care as central to British Columbia’s primary care system, but widespread implementation continues to be hampered by systemic barriers, including physician-centred funding structures, limited funding for nurses and allied health professionals, lack of local flexibility to recruit and manage interdisciplinary teams, and inadequate operational and infrastructure funding;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM call on the Province of British Columbia to address systemic barriers to team-based primary care by developing sustainable funding, governance, and operational models that enable the widespread implementation and long-term sustainability of team-based primary care in British Columbia.