Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Sturko Calls for Peace Officers in Hospitals After Shocking Nurse Assaults at Eagle Ridge


Healthcare workers shouldn’t have to sue this government to be safe in their workplace. It’s time for the Health Minister to take a new approach, and place peace officers in high-risk hospitals like they do in other provinces.”  ~~ Elenore Sturko, Critic for Solicitor General and Public Safety & MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale



Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey South with the Conservative Party of British Columbia, is calling for immediate and concrete action from the NDP government following multiple violent incidents at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody, including a nurse who suffered a dislocated jaw and another threatened with a machete. 


A CBC investigation revealed a pattern of serious workplace violence in Fraser Health facilities, and allegations that healthcare workers who spoke out were met with retaliation or silence from the authority. Both incidents are now part of a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, alleging a toxic and unsafe work environment.


“The Minister of Public Safety confirmed that the Government’s Relational Security Officers are NOT licensed to deal with weapons and violence. The government must shift to a healthcare safety model that is equipped to deal with the risk faced by healthcare workers every day.”


Fraser Health currently relies on relational security officers, private security staff who are not licensed to respond to violent or armed individuals. Critics, including frontline healthcare workers, have warned that this model is not adequate in today’s emergency departments, where assaults and threats are increasingly common.


“I’m calling on the government to deploy trained peace officers in high-risk emergency departments to protect both staff and patients,” said MLA Sturko. “We need an independent investigation into Fraser Health’s handling of workplace violence and the disturbing allegations of retaliation against those who speak up. It’s time we implement real whistleblower protections so healthcare workers can raise concerns without fear, and to mandate province-wide hospital violence prevention protocols that ensure every facility is a safe place to work and receive care.”


“The Minister needs to put herself in the shoes of a nurse. Would her response change if it was her jaw that was violently dislocated? In the legislature elected officials are protected by police, security, and metal detectors. Our healthcare professionals and their patients should be entitled to the same level of protection.” 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interfor Moves Headquarters Out of BC as Forestry Crisis Continues

NDP policies are driving businesses out of B.C., and the forestry industry just suffered yet another calamity. Interfor, a BC company founded more than 60 years ago and now one of the world's largest lumber producers, is moving its headquarters from Burnaby, BC to Atlanta, Georgia. As BC’s forestry sector faces mill closures and mounting uncertainty, this move is another warning sign that the crisis is deepening and conditions are fatal. “This is the NDP’s record: endless job losses with no hope in sight for the forestry sector,” said Ward Stamer, Shadow Minister for Forestry. “Interfor still has three mills in BC which are now in serious jeopardy, and it is likely we will see even more companies pull out of BC. The NDP government is suffocating the forestry industry with high taxes, excessive regulations, and permitting delays, while DRIPA has made it impossible to plan for the future.” “Decisions like this are sadly not surprising given the NDP’s indifference if not hostility tow...

Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries. In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction. Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue. Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said...

NDP Hypocritically Admits Natural Gas Power Was Needed All Along ~~ BC Conservatives

The NDP just got caught buying back the exact kind of power plant it spent years telling British Columbians they didn't need. The NDP government announced today that BC Hydro is purchasing the Island Generation natural gas facility in Campbell River, an admission that its electrification-only energy policy was never realistic. The 275-megawatt plant was originally privately owned yet kept to a minimal backup role under the NDP, operating just 15 days a year on average. Now, with demand outpacing what the NDP's plan can support, the government is spending taxpayer funds on the very gas capacity it once treated as obsolete. "You cannot electrify everything and pretend natural gas doesn't matter," said Larry Neufeld, Shadow Minister for Energy.  "Buying back a gas plant they once wrote off is proof their own plan couldn't keep the lights on. It's a step towards more energy reality, but the government needs to go further and scrap the impending province-w...

Labels

Show more