Canada

The mayor of Merritt, B.C., has sent the province a bill for more than $100,000 over the repeated closure of the emergency room at the Nicola Valley Hospital.

Mike Goetz says the ER has been closed 24 times in 2023 and 2024, and every time it happens, costs are downloaded onto the municipality.

When B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics have to transport someone to neighbouring Kamloops for care, that takes them out of the community for at least two hours, according to Goetz.

That means Merritt firefighters, the majority of whom are on-call volunteers, have to cover any medical calls.