Surrey, B.C. (August 28, 2026): Surrey First councillor and candidate for mayor Linda Annis says city hall should not be competing with Surrey’s existing medical clinics that have to pay property taxes and other costs, including competing for doctors that are already in short supply.
“All of us want more doctors and more access, that’s something we all agree on,” said Annis. “But using scarce city property taxes to get into the healthcare sector, which is a provincial responsibility, and competing with existing clinics makes no sense. Existing clinics across our city have to pay property taxes and other costs, and do not have the City of Surrey underwriting them. Now we are in direct and unfair competition.”
Annis said the city could have looked at a variety of incentives that would allow existing clinics to expand, and new clinics to set up without city hall getting into the funding and operation of medical clinics.
“City hall could have used property tax incentives and the quick turnaround of permit approvals to give existing clinics the chance to expand or add new clinics,” said Annis. “Instead, we are now competing unfairly with our city’s existing clinics and we’re using scarce city property taxes to do it.”