Written: October 30, 2026
Update: November 3, 2026
At its inaugural meeting on November 2, Cumberland Council reappointed Councillor Troy Therrien as the Village's representative on the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District Board, continuing a role he held during the previous Council term.
With the appointment now confirmed, I hope Councillor Therrien will make the future of Cumberland Lodge a priority. Our community needs answers about long-term-care capacity, the land originally purchased for expansion, and whether Island Health has any plans to expand or replace the aging facility.
The appointment is settled. The bigger questions about Cumberland's health-care future remain unanswered.
In 2001, the facility reportedly performed approximately 1,200 surgical procedures and another 800 outpatient services, including endoscopies.
In 2002, surgical day care and X-ray services closed. We later lost our family medical clinic, and our laboratory closed during COVID. I personally wrote to Council and Island Health advocating for its reopening. Today, it operates just two mornings a week.
The Health Centre's public retail pharmacy closed in 2023, although its long-term-care pharmacy services continued. Fortunately, Pharmasave had already opened in Cumberland.
There has been progress. Cumberland Village Health Care opened in 2023, bringing nurse practitioners and other primary-care professionals into our community. Supported by local volunteers, the Village, Island Health and the Province, it's an important achievement.
In a 2005 newspaper interview, former mayor Bill "Bronco" Moncrief explained that Cumberland's hospital board had purchased land specifically to allow for future expansion.
That is the same Second Street property the Village has spent the past six years pursuing for the Ḱwaxdzi’dzas affordable housing development.
Meanwhile, Cumberland Lodge is approaching 50 years old, with just 66 long-term-care beds and no publicly announced expansion or replacement plan.
Previous generations weren't simply maintaining what we had. They were planning for what we would need.
Mayor Vickey Brown and Councillors Sean Sullivan and Troy Therrien were among those who supported advancing the housing project. Despite years of planning, rezoning and repeated funding applications, construction still hasn't started.
Somewhere along the way, I believe we've lost sight of the bigger picture.
We need housing for every stage of life, including assisted living and long-term care. Yet we've continued pursuing affordable housing on land originally acquired for health-care expansion without a clear public plan for the Lodge's future.
I believe the Village and Island Health should work toward formally ending the Second Street housing proposal, address the existing lease and land-use obligations, and investigate using the property to expand Cumberland Lodge. Affordable housing can and should be pursued at other suitable locations.
In September, the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District approved accelerating its existing $53.63 million contribution toward a proposed 153-bed long-term-care facility in Campbell River.
Based on 2026 assessment shares, approximately $1.85 million of that commitment is attributable to Cumberland taxpayers.
Mayor Vickey Brown voted in favour of accelerating the contribution, despite expressing concerns about making the decision outside the regular budget cycle. Three other directors voted against the arrangement.
This was an acceleration of an existing regional commitment, not new funding or a separate cheque from Cumberland Council.
I'm not opposed to long-term care in Campbell River. Residents there deserve appropriate care close to home.
But where is the same urgency for Cumberland?
We have an aging Lodge, land originally acquired for health-care expansion, and residents who deserve the opportunity to remain in their community as they grow older.
Imagine spending your entire life in Cumberland, raising a family, working, volunteering and building friendships, only to need long-term care and find yourself placed somewhere else because an appropriate bed isn't available here.
A bed in Campbell River isn't the same as a bed in the community you've called home for 70 or 80 years, surrounded by family, friends and people you've known your entire life.
Cumberland Council maintained a close working relationship with our local MLA, Josie Osborne, who served as BC's Minister of Health from November 2024 until August 2026.
When Osborne met with Council in February 2025, the recorded priorities included the primary-care clinic and Second Street affordable housing project. Expanding or replacing Cumberland Lodge was not among the priorities identified in the meeting minutes.
That doesn't mean the issue was never raised elsewhere. But where is the public plan for our aging long-term-care facility?
On Monday, November 2, our newly elected Council will appoint Cumberland's regional representatives, including representation on the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District Board.
During the previous term, Councillor Troy Therrien served as Cumberland's primary representative on the Hospital District Board.
The Hospital District doesn't operate Cumberland Lodge, but it plays an important role in funding regional health-care infrastructure and advocating for capital investment.
I want someone with some teeth representing Cumberland. Someone prepared to ask difficult questions, push Island Health and the Province for answers, and advocate for a serious plan to expand local care capacity.
Previous Cumberland leaders, including Fred Bates and Bronco Moncrief, weren't afraid to challenge regional health-care decisions. That history deserves to be remembered.
Cumberland residents should have the opportunity to spend their entire lives in Cumberland, including their final years.
Monday's appointment is an opportunity for our new Council to demonstrate what it expects from Cumberland's regional representation.
It's time to get serious about health care in Cumberland again.
Council's inaugural meeting takes place Monday, November 2, 2026, at 5:30 pm at the Cultural Centre, 2674 Dunsmuir Avenue. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the Village's YouTube channel.