On Friday, January 13, 2023 Health Minister Adrian Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry held a conference for with an annual respiratory season update and took media questions after the presentation. The number of hospitalizations are down but the hospitals are still being overwhelmed with staffing shortages and Emergency Room closures.
In British Columbia there is currently 15 regulatory colleges that govern 25 of the 26 regulated health professions under the Health Professions Act. With Bill 36 the regulatory colleges will be reduced further down to six.
Health Minister Adrian Dix took on questions from reporters about Bill 36 and the concerns that have been raised confirming regulatory boards will be bureaucrats, no health profession expertise or knowledge required and a vague answer about silencing health care workers.
The board will be appointed on a “merit-based process” Dix said “expertise in regulation and understanding of regulation, how to deal with complaint process”
According to Health Minister Adrian Dix the reason why they’re doing it this way is because they have already been doing a good job doing it with out Bill 36. Dix notes that half of the current appointed board where appointed by him “while I make – I think we have done a good job” he said.
“right now, half of the people who are appointed directly by me, while I make – I think we have done a good job, and think previous Ministers have done a good job in appointing really good people as well, this professionalizes that process.”
Dix claims the reduction of the regulatory and removal of elected professionals from the boards and appoint all government bureaucrats will create more “oversight” and will act in the best interest of the patient.
Another concern is medical professionals would be prevented from speaking out about concerns they witness in their work places and possible political interference from the government.
“The health minister will have overreaching power in the form of a discipline tribunal, but what will warrant disciplinary action? Could being critical of the government or the College bring reprisals on well-intentioned health-care professionals?” wrote a medical doctor with a practice in Saanich to Times Colonist.
Health Minister Adrian Dix took a stab at trying to convince the public and health professionals government is not trying to censor doctors, nurses and other medical professionals and that government won’t misuse or abuse its power to control information.
“There has been concerns about what patients physicians and other health professionals can say. Again there are – with respect to putting forward false misinformation which sometimes happens for examples the false information about the effectiveness of certain um, of certain um remedies. There is a requirement to be truthful and evidence based now.”
Dix insists the target is “false information” while giving a topic of “false information” after coming short of saying Covid-19 vaccine information.
Health Minister Adrian Dix fully neglected to provide an actual example and evidence of health professionals in British Columbia putting forward so-called “false information” of the effectiveness of the COVID-19 shot.
The answer actually raises more questions.
Where is this false information and who was spreading it?
Who decided it was false information? is there any evidence to support that it was false information?
Countless numbers of peer reviewed studies have come out proving the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine was not what people were told in the beginning. Is the false information of effectiveness of “certain um remedies” coming from the government?
Pfizer admitted to the European parliament they never tested the Covid-19 shots to see if they stop the spread of COVID-19 but that didn’t stop the B.C. government from spreading false and misleading information about the effectiveness of the Covid-19 shots.
By claiming the vaccine passport will stop the spread of Covid-19 that automatically implies the Covid-19 vaccine will stop the spread of COVID-19.
When the B.C. government launched its segregation ID (vaccine passport) it was marketed and advertised that a vaccine passport (an app on your phone) would somehow “stop spread of COVID-19.“, which turned out to be a lie because the Covid-19 vaccines don’t stop the spread.
B.C Government news release “B.C. launches proof of vaccination to stop spread of COVID-19” which was posted on August 23, 2021.
Kevin Mcleod, an Internal Medicine Specialist in North Vancouver told the Vancouver Sun he believes some of the bills provisions are Orwellian, which is defined as “used to describe a political system in which the government tries to control every part of people’s lives”
He is concerned that with a board fully appointed by the health minister, a corporate board the members will have the obligation to support a policy or direction in the best interests of the corporation and not the best interest of the patient even if they strongly disagree with it.
Dr. Mcleod supports transparency but the level of transparency the government is opening up here has the possibility to destroy a health professionals career even if the investigation turns up no wrong doing on the health care professionals part.
“all complaints against medical professionals, even unfounded ones, will be “very, very public”, which could damage someone’s reputation.” Mcleaod said according to Vancouver Sun
“So if somebody makes a frivolous complaint, that now is investigated in a very public way,” he said.
Vancouver Sun also spoke with Dr. Josh Greggain, president of the Doctors of B.C., said his association “supports efforts to hold our health-care providers, including physicians, accountable to a high standard for both public confidence and health issues.”
However, he said the “process matters as much as outcome” and many physicians have been blindsided by a process they weren’t fully informed about.
“A corporate board will have debate about a policy or direction. When a decision is made all members of the board have a fiduciary duty to support the policy position even if they strongly disagreed with it. Their duty is to the corporation. The should not be the case in medicine.” Mcleaod posted on social media.
As for the weaponization of censoring “false or misleading information” Dr. Mcleod believes the governments standards will hamper patient care by denying a solution that may work for an individual patient but the treatment is not on the governments approved list and health professionals will not be allowed to debate the government over it.
“My duty is to the patient. A government created algorithm on how to treat say diabetes or a guideline on what medication to use for a mental health concern might be a “board” policy but I should be able to agree or disagree with it and continue to speak up after it’s been made.” Dr. Mcleod wrote on twitter
Shirley Bond, a health critic for the B.C. Liberals, said that by rushing the bill through without a full debate and forcing its closure, the opposition was denied the opportunity to comment on hundreds of the bill’s 600 sections.
Bond dismisses Dix’s claim that the law was influenced by one of the most thorough consultation procedures in government history.
“Physicians and others who are impacted by this bill were not aware of what the content was,” Bond said. “So now we’re seeing the reaction to a bill that is already law.”
The B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has also voiced opposition to the BC NDP’s decision of closing down the debates on BIll 36 urging the government to reopen the bill “so that people’s questions can be answered and (the government) can rebuild trust and accountability.”
