Thoughts on BC Politics and More

British Columbia’s growing reliance on private nursing agencies is often framed as a failure of post-pandemic workforce planning. Recent reporting showing health authorities have spent more than half a billion dollars on agency nurses over the past two years has understandably fueled public concern. But this narrative, while compelling, misses the most important question. The issue is not why the health-care system relies so heavily on agency nurses. The issue is why experienced BC nurses are choosing agency work instead of returning to regular positions under the collective agreement ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary 

Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health, Addictions and Housing Supports, says her office has been inundated with emails from constituents after learning the provincial government has quietly ended a $500 bursary that helps new nurses cover mandatory licensing costs in September, 2025, citing fiscal pressures. “I’ve been hearing from a growing number of worried constituents about this,” said Rattée. “At a time when British Columbia is desperate for nurses, the government is choosing to nickel-and-dime people right as they’re trying to enter the workforce. That makes no sense.” The bursary, introduced by the province under a Health and Human Resources Strategy, helped offset licensing costs faced by new graduates. On top of years of tuition, textbooks, and unpaid clinical placements, a new graduates first year of licensing and registration can often amount to thousands with many graduates also needing to travel to write their exam. “This is after t...

A man wielding a knife chased a group of nurses down a hallway at Burnaby General Hospital last week, part of a disturbing trend in health-care violence that has the Opposition public safety critic calling for metal detectors and dedicated police officers at hospitals. The man was in a shared room in a unit where elderly patients awaiting assisted living stay, when he tried to punch a nurse, pulled out a knife and chased three nurses down the hall while waving the knife at them, according to the nurses’ union. The nurses were terrified, both from the incident and also the fact there was no nursing station or safe room for them to hide in during the attack ... CLICK HERE for the full story

. . . . Along with last year’s overhaul of the physician payment model and the expansion of scope of practice for pharmacists, the unprecedented (in this country) move to create patient ratios ranks as one of the biggest changes in the public health care system in decades. The question now is: will the impact of these two historic measures be significant enough to ease pressure on the health care system, or will they merely ensure a somewhat chaotic status quo is maintained? The health care system is under siege in much of the province because of three main factors: record population growth, a rapidly aging population and ongoing challenges stemming from shortages of health care workers . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story