“The community stepped up. The government didn’t. The equipment that could have helped this boy was sitting behind a construction barrier” ~~ Claire Rattee

A 17-year-old Indigenous boy, Vincent, died at Kitimat Hospital three weeks ago, a death that MLA Claire Rattée says was entirely preventable and the result of the NDP’s failures in emergency care and diagnostic access in Northern BC.

A mother lost her son because the system failed him at every stage,” said Rattée, Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions. “He endured severe stomach pain for years, dismissed as constipation. Last month, he waited nearly five hours in the ER while turning blue before a CT was finally arranged in Terrace, but no ambulance was available. He had to wait for one from Terrace. This should never happen in British Columbia.”

Vincent died at 10:48 p.m., before he was ever transferred for the scan that could have identified and treated his congenital hernia.

The Kitimat community fund-raised for a CT scanner in 2023 to prevent tragedies like this. Construction did not begin until August 2025, and the scanner remains non-operational. Government ministers visited Kitimat three months ago to take credit for a project that still cannot save lives.

“The community stepped up. The government didn’t,” said Rattée. “The equipment that could have helped this boy was sitting behind a construction barrier.”

Rattée informed the Minister of Health’s office about the case two weeks ago and followed up twice, receiving no response.

She is calling for the Minister to immediately launch an independent review into Vincent’s death and release the findings publicly, and activate the Kitimat CT scanner immediately for emergency use.

“How many more people have to die before this government gets the CT scanner running in Kitimat?” Rattée said. “No parent should lose a child because their hospital didn’t have the tools or staffing to save them.”