A petition for BC Conservatives to fire the province’s provincial health officer is near its goal.The petition, “Fire Bonnie Henry” has more than 19,000 signatures towards its goal of 20,000. She has been in the position since 2018.“British Columbia is one of the last jurisdictions in all of North America to continue draconian mandates, including a refusal to hire back healthcare workers, who were fired over their own personal medical decision. Our entire healthcare system is already on the brink! These decisions are no longer based on science, but on ideology,” the petition explains.“As Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry has allowed her personal ideology to cloud her medical judgment. Whether it's her position on unnecessary mandates or her belief that a "safe" supply of hard drugs is an appropriate treatment for addicts, it's become clear she can no longer fulfill her mandate as a Provincial Health Officer.”The online petition invites readers to add their name if they agree Henry “needs to be fired and replaced with someone more qualified to restore our healthcare system.”The petition does not suggest a replacement. However, Dr. Deena Hinshaw has served as BC’s deputy provincial health officer on a temporary basis February 1 2023. Hinshaw was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Health in Alberta in 2019. On November 14, 2022, Premier Danielle Smith fired her from her post as one of her first acts upon taking office.Leader John Rustad and Abbotsford South’s Bruce Banman are the BC Conservative party’s only sitting MLAs. “British Columbia is one of very few jurisdictions in the world that refuses to hire back unvaccinated health-care workers,” Banman posted on Twitter ("X").“We need these people in the system. We’ve got ERs that are shutting down, hospitals that are a mess. I think it is incompetent not to hire these people back and put them to work.”A post from the party included a question Banman posed in the legislature."Question to this NDP Premier: will you fire Dr. Bonnie Henry, or do you want to wait for working class, everyday British Columbians to elect a Conservative government and fire you both?" he asked.Former Green Party deputy leader, Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi, stepped down for liking a post on Twitter ("X") that compared Henry to infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, but later claimed the 'like' was accidental.“In mid-September, an individual I follow on Twitter ("X") posted a letter and comments, including an impassioned critique of healthcare delivery in BC. Intending to ‘like’ that post, I inadvertently ‘liked’ the post of a third party whom I do not follow, quoting the original tweet,” Gandhi tweeted.“I did not realize my error until yesterday, as the subject of considerable racism in my own life, I know that words do matter.”The BC Conservatives have five points on health care in their platform. These include serious, substantive reform; choice and competition; reduced wait times; more doctors and nurses; and the repeal of Bill 36.Bill 36, the Health Professions and Occupations Act, was passed November 24 2022. The NDP government invoked closure at clause 233, leaving most of the 645 clauses unread and not exposed to scrutiny. Some doctors have vocally opposed the legislation.Whereas college boards that regulated professions had half the appointees made by the government and half by members of the profession, Bill 36 puts the appointment power solely in the government hands. The number of colleges would be reduced from 15 down to six.The Conservatives explained the reason for their opposition on their website.“BC's healthcare professionals have a right to freedom of conscience and bodily autonomy. Under Bill 36, the healthcare workers we once applauded as 'frontline heroes' could be fined or jailed for refusing government decrees, including COVID vaccine mandates. We oppose this bill,” the site explains.
