BC Liberals call for Health Minister Adrian Dix to resign amid health-care crisis
During the first Question Period of the fall session, the BC Liberals outlined a list of health-care woes they say is evidence the health minister needs to go.
Kevin Falcon, the Liberal leader, raised the roughly one million British Columbians who don't have a family doctor, the worst walk-in clinic wait times in the country, and ambulance delays for emergencies, as he asked for accountability.
"Will this health minister do right thing today, accept responsibility for his government's appalling record of failure and resign?" he asked.
Adrian Dix noted the province has been through two health emergencies – the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing overdose crisis. He added health-care is strained all over the world, and insisted B.C. is making progress. He also pointed to the health-care workers added in the last five years under his watch.
"Since I've been minister of health, there are 38,000 more of them – doctors and nurses and nurse practitioners and health sciences professionals and health-care workers," Dix told the house.
Falcon didn't let up. He said he's met with people all over the province, and for all the concerning stories that make it into news reports, there are many more that don’t. He said announcements touted as improvements were “almost insulting.”
"Fourteen months ago, as I pointed out in Question Period, he made a big announcement on paramedics – this was going to solve all the problems, they're going to hire all these people and do all these things. The system is worse today than when he made the announcement," Falcon told reporters.
Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau and several Liberal MLAs also raised issues around health-care.
Mike Farnworth, the government House Leader, says some of the bills coming this session will address health-care. It will also be John Horgan's final session as premier. Farnworth called the session “a bittersweet moment.”
"I think he's leaving as one of the most popular premiers in the country, (and) in the history of B.C.,” he said in Victoria. “Given the nature of politics in this province, that's no mean feat.”
Health-care, the cost of living due to inflation, and the NDP leadership race are expected to dominate this session.
Tuesday is the candidate nomination deadline for the NDP. Eby is being challenged by climate activist Anjali Appadurai. She's submitted her official application, and now needs to be vetted. Her campaign is being investigated for how new members were recruited, as rumours swirl that she may have signed up lots of new members – enough to make the leadership race interesting.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.