Surrey, B.C. (December 16, 2025): Surrey First councillor and candidate for mayor Linda Annis says Monday night’s decision by Brenda Locke and her councillors to hire Total Life Care Granville Medical to develop and operate two taxpayer-financed medical clinics is the tip of a costly healthcare bureaucracy, and means the city is going to compete with existing clinics in the city.

 

“Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, not the responsibility of city hall. So, to now spend scarce tax dollars paying for two, and up to 10 new medical clinics is outrageous,” explained Annis. “This means Surrey taxpayers will pay twice for health care through both the provincial Health Ministry and now the city too. Will we be tracking patients to make sure only Surrey patients can access care at these new city clinics?

 

“And why should the city be competing with existing medical clinics which already operate in Surrey and cover their own costs? City hall is going into competition with our existing clinics and hospitals for doctors,” Annis said. “With our ongoing physician shortage, where will the new city clinics find doctors? Will we simply lose doctors from existing clinics just to work for the city at taxpayer expense?"

 

With the City of Surrey selecting Total Life Care, which already operates clinics in Surrey, Annis asks why the city should pay a medical clinic operator to be contracted by the city for something they already do, without taxpayers being on the hook? “If they could make a serious business case, they would build and operate more clinics themselves. Instead, they’ll be using Surrey tax dollars while the City of Surrey assumes the risk and costs,” said Annis. “We already have so many important priorities that are genuine responsibilities of our city government. Diving into the costly world of healthcare and diverting scarce tax dollars to do it is totally irresponsible.”