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North Cowichan won’t write letter asking province to remove vaccine mandate for B.C.’s health workers

Most of council said it’s not municipality’s jurisdiction
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North Cowichan’s council voted 5-2 not to send a letter to the province asking the government to consider removing the vaccine mandate for B.C.’s healthcare workers. (Citizen file photo)

Most council members in North Cowichan don’t believe the municipality has the jurisdiction to a send a letter to the province asking the government to consider removing the vaccine mandate for B.C.’s healthcare workers.

Council voted 5-2 not to send a letter to Premier David Eby, Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry at its meeting Feb. 21 after receiving correspondence from nurse Myra Regier asking council to do so. The nurse was terminated because she refused to be vaccinated.

Regier said there are more than 4,000 B.C. nurses who are in her shoes; with some choosing to take early retirement while others went to work in other provinces.

RELATED STORY: MERRITT MAYOR CALLS ON B.C. TO DROP VAX MANDATE FOR HEALTH-CARE WORKERS ‘RIGHT NOW’

“Currently, British Columbia and Nova Scotia are the only two provinces which require a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers,” she said.

“Canada’s healthcare system is on the verge of collapse. While Premier David Eby is calling for internationally educated nurses with free registration fees and offering bursaries, it will take years to fill our place. Our terminated nurses with 20 to 30 years of experience are going to go to waste.”

Regier said council has the responsibility and power to call Henry and Dix and ask them why unvaccinated nurses can work in other provinces, but not in B.C.

“It’s time to bring our heroes back,” she said.

“Please do something before it’s too late for our province to ever recover.”

Coun. Bruce Findlay made the motion that council send a letter to the province on the issue.

He said the province and the community are in a very difficult position due to burnt-out healthcare workers, and B.C. residents are being pushed out as far as health care goes.

RELATED STORY:MILITARY OMBUDSMAN REPORTS 10 VACCINE-RELATED COMPLAINTS AMID MANDATE

“If we can hire back these workers into our healthcare system, I think it would be the best thing possible right now to alleviate some of our concerns,” Findlay said.

“The science doesn’t back up the vaccine mandate anymore. It may have at the time, but it doesn’t now.”

Coun. Mike Caljouw said he agrees with Findlay but, in his opinion, he doesn’t think it’s part of the mandate of the municipality to send a letter to government members on the issue.

“We should stay in our lane and neither veer to the left or the right,” he said.

Coun. Tek Manhas disagreed and said writing the letter is totally within the municipality’s mandate.

“Health care is important for our community and citizens,” he said.

“They can’t get the health care they need because we’re short of staff. I think [writing the letter] is a great way to go.”

RELATED STORY: MOST B.C. RESIDENTS UNDER 60 HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH COVID-19 OR VACCINATED: STUDY

Mayor Rob Douglas said writing the letter would be well beyond North Cowichan’s role as a municipality.

He suggested that people who are interested in the issue should contact their MLA and get them to write a letter to the government.

“I can’t see how the provincial health officer is going to be swayed by a letter from a mayor because it’s so far outside of our jurisdiction,” he said.

Coun. Debra Toporowski said she won’t support writing the letter either.

“I’m not a healthcare professional so the recommendations that come down from the healthcare system and whoever they put into those positions to guide us for safety in our communities I will support,” she said.

“This is not our lane.”

Coun. Christopher Justice said it’s his hope that these types of decisions are made based on medical science and not on political pressure.

“I realize they’re often based on political pressure, but I consider that to be a failing of the system because they ought to be based on medical science,” he said.

The motion to send the letter failed, with only Findlay and Manhas voting in favour of it.



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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