Two billion dollars have been added to British Columbia's healthcare system since the spring of 2001. This brings the province's total annual healthcare budget to $10.7 billion, the equivalent of $2,624 for each BC citizen. In February 2004, Finance Minister Gary Collins predicted that a further $1.047 billion will be allocated to the Ministry of Health Services/Planning over the next three years.

Characteristically, only 2% to 2.6% of these funds find their way to the public health sector, with most of this going to medically-oriented illness prevention and intervention measures (Minister of Health Planning, The Honourable Sindi Hawkins, November 4, 2002; Phipps, 2000). Funds for health promotion initiatives pale in comparison to those provided for acute care.

As long as we continue to tackle the symptoms of problems without addressing the underlying causes, healthcare costs in British Columbia will continue to escalate.

Voluntary, nonprofit organizations make major contributions to vibrant, self-reliant and sustainable communities, and they typically do so in economical ways. Community agencies and frontline personnel have substantial responsibility for addressing the social, economic, cultural, spiritual and environmental determinants of health; expectations of this sector are increasing at a time when budgets have been cut by as much as 25% to 70%.