Dear Editor,

As a councillor for the District of Invermere, I was one of many local and provincial government representatives who strongly opposed the closure of the Invermere Dialysis unit.  Resolutions have been passed by the District of Invermere and the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District Board calling on the Ministry of Health to re-open the clinic.  And MLA Norm Macdonald, who has been very clear that the unit must be reopened, has made public statements and written a letter to the Minister of Health outlining the need in this community for this health service.

But there was one person on the political landscape who wrote a very different letter. BC Liberal candidate Doug Clovechok immediately wrote a letter to the editor attacking the position taken by our MLA and defending the decision to close the clinic which was published in both the Golden Star and the Invermere Valley Echo on January 23rd.

So when I read last week’s story that indicated that it was ‘unanimous’ political pressure that resulted in IH agreeing not to immediately move the dialysis equipment, I was very surprised.

Further into the article I was shocked to read that Mr. Clovechok is now claiming that he opposed the closure from the beginning.  Mr. Clovechok then went on to claim that he was part of the effort to convince the government to review the decision. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Mr. Clovechok wants the people of this region to vote for him in the next election. Yet he decided that in this case it was more important to attack the current MLA than to fight for what was best for this community. That’s not the way to prove that you deserve the electorate’s support.

Paul Denchuk

District of Invermere Councillor