BC Conservatives amplify voices of doctors concerned about province's new health act

This past Thursday, 58 medical professionals set off to the B.C. Legislature to watch as the concerns they share with many others about the province's Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), be heard in the Legislative Assembly.

Doctors load up the arms of @Conservative_BC leader John Rustad and MLA Bruce Banman with thousands of postcards calling for BC’s Health Professions and Occupations Act to be repealed.

Click on the link to find out why. https://t.co/1ppDkORO0a

*Photo: Todd Michael Harris pic.twitter.com/ltnfc80jEZ

— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) November 14, 2023

For months, informed consent and quality care advocates such as the Canadian Society for Science & Ethics in Medicine (CSSEM) and B.C. Rising have been sounding the alarm about HPOA, formally Bill 36, which is expected to cause sweeping changes to how regulated healthcare professionals are governed in the province.

Such advocates' efforts could not be ignored last Thursday after Conservative Party of B.C. leader John Rustad accepted over 5000 postcards from health professionals and other concerned citizens, calling on members of the Legislative Assembly to repeal the bill. He then submitted the postcards to the Legislative Assembly in the form of an ongoing petition.

“Our healthcare system is in crisis, and this act will only lead to further deterioration of the system,” Dr. York Hsiang wrote in a statement to Rebel News. Hsiang, a Professor Emeritus of Surgery, and former head of the Dept. of Vascular Surgery at UBC, knows all too well about the importance of informed consent and ethics in medicine. He chose to retire from his position as a consultant vascular surgeon at the Vancouver General Hospital, instead of being coerced by the state into taking an experimental COVID-19 jab.

Dr. York Hsiang and his wife Beverly sat down with Rebel News to discuss a new legal fight against Dr. Bonnie Henry's mandates restricting healthcare workers.

FULL REPORT by @DreaHumphrey: https://t.co/wtKHrwFu0I

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) July 20, 2022

One of many concerns with the act, which was passed in November but has yet to be implemented, has to do with the heavy-handed penalties regulated health professionals who don’t comply with it may face.

“This bill will interfere with doctor-patient confidentiality; treatments that are not government-approved will not be offered, and ultimately, because of the threat of canceled licensure, fines, and even incarceration, will lead to health professionals leaving the province and reluctance of new health professionals to practice in BC. There is nothing positive in this act despite what the government claims" added Dr. Hsiang.

Click on the full report to hear from Nechako Lakes MLA and CPBC leader John Rustad about why he was the only one to take on this postcard petition, and see how BC’s Minister of Health Adrian Dix dismissed the concerns of the petitioners.

If you appreciate that Rebel News doesn’t back down from informing you about medical tyranny, consider donating what you can here to help us recoup the costs to travel to the B.C. Legislature in Victoria, to bring you this report.