B.C. government’s proposed changes to oversight of regulated health professions draw criticism

Surrey, British Columbia – As the fall session of British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly concludes on November 24, the ruling NDP government has passed a bill that replicates how state regulators regulate health care and alternative medicine. I’m trying to let

But the opposition BC United Party (former BC Liberals) are trying to delay the vote so the bill can receive more scrutiny and public attention during future legislative sessions in the new year.

“We are still working through this bill line by line. MLA Shirley Bond is making the most of the time left in this final week to thoroughly enforce the bill after the NDP canceled the previous week’s sessions. I promise to do a thorough analysis.

Bill 36or the Health Professions and Occupations Act, which replaces the current Health Professions Act.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix called the law “groundbreaking” and said the new measures would improve patient safety and strengthen jurisdiction over various regulated universities.

“Our government is making the most significant changes to oversight of regulated health care professionals in British Columbia’s history,” said Dix. said in a press release.

“These changes will streamline the process of regulating new health professions, provide stronger oversight, provide more consistent discipline across the profession, act in the public interest, Protecting patient care while laying the groundwork for further reducing the total number of health care workers.Regular Colleges”.

The Ministry of Health is already reducing the number of universities without Bill 36. He merged three different nursing institutions and a midwifery college into one college, merged his four oral health colleges in the state into one, and combined a podiatrist college and a medical college. and a surgeon. Dix, who currently attends 15 colleges and universities, said his ministry plans to reduce that number to his six.

The bill also seeks to take over control of all health care licensing and regulation for the BC government, eliminating self-control for regulatory colleges.

severe penalties

The sweeping changes contained in Bill 36 have raised concerns.Among them severe penalties Health care providers providing patients with what governments deem “false and misleading information,” undefined “good character” standards to maintain licenses to practice, mandatory vaccination against communicable diseases, etc. , already a controversial issue after about 2,500 medical cases. A state worker was laid off for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

penalty Fines ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 and up to six months in prison are included for individuals who commit crimes under the law.

The bill also states that regulatory college boards must develop bylaws on standards of practice on a number of issues, including “informed consent” and “patient confidentiality.”

Rob Johnson is a dentist in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. speak publicly Fall 2021 COVID-19 Restrictions. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Johnson expressed concern about several provisions of Bill 36, particularly how the government defines roles in appointing members to universities.

“Part of what it means to be a professional is that you have to self-regulate. You have to self-regulate because you are supposed to have a body of professional knowledge,” Johnson said. Told.

“Even under that theoretical framework, we are not run by government. But this whole top-down model of bureaucracy of people making decisions about having no clue—tHey, far away from people doing real work. So you really should go in the opposite direction and decentralize everything and create a network model instead. ”

David Reiss, vice president of engagement and development at the Frontier Center for Public Policy, agrees.

“Bill 36 is a head-on attack on the integrity and freedom of the medical profession. It is wholly inadequate. It undermines these professions’ primary accountability to science and to the needs of patients,” Leis said. told the Epoch Times.

“This is a serious concern for these professional bodies and I think they need to wake up and claim their autonomy before it is too late. , they serve.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the BC Department of Health and several regulated universities in the state for comment, but none offered comment by press time.

The BC Association of Clinical Counselors (BCACC) publicly endorsed the bill, saying it would “streamline the process of regulating new professions, including clinical counselors.”

“Bill 36: The Health Professionals and Occupations Act focuses on public protection, a priority area for which the BCACC has taken strategic steps to prepare,” the BCACC said. said in a press release October 21st.

‘People are very concerned’

Former Newfoundland Premier and BC resident Brian Peckford also sounded the alarm about the proposed legislation.he voiced his concerns blog post Nov. 21 — And pointed out he’s not the only one.

“Social media has exploded with comments on Bill C-36, introduced by the BC Health Minister,” he wrote. “People are very worried.”

Peckford touched on some areas of concern, but his most harsh criticism of undefined laws and the potential consequences if people choose to challenge the government’s position avoided the

“Bill 36 gives B.C.’s Minister of Health the power to appoint university boards, which will require vaccines against any disease the government chooses as a condition of a licence, and if they challenge the government’s position. We need to pass ordinances that create an environment of censorship for anything that could face discipline and lose our license,” he wrote.

“It also allows universities to determine who has good character and who does not, and to define informed consent. It is a law commonly found in

Peckford suggested that the parts of the bill without definitions were the most troublesome and should be included in the bill before it is passed into law.

“This practice of allowing governments to pass major legislation without leaving details to future regulations that have not yet been disclosed must stop. It frees you from the most important aspect: scrutiny and debate.”