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New Democrat Leader John Horgan took aim on Monday at the Liberals’ failed pledge to match every British Columbian with a family doctor by promoting his party’s strategy to build urgent-care centres that use a team-based approach.

The centres would be open evenings and weekends and would allow patients to see the care provider that fits their needs, whether it’s a doctor, nurse practitioner or counsellor, Horgan said at a campaign stop ahead of the May 9 election.

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Horgan said Christy Clark’s Liberals are letting down patients, who are waiting for hours at walk-in clinics or emergency rooms. The NDP said 700,000 people don’t have a family doctor, with 200,000 still looking for one.

“It’s a fundamental right in Canada to access our public health care system. I will defend that to my last breath,” Horgan said.

The NDP leader made the promise in Burnaby, flanked by two local residents who can’t find a family doctor. Sky Belt said her friend visited walk-in clinics several times for pain and was told she had anxiety before she was finally diagnosed with cancer.