4000 Licensed BC Health Care Professionals STAND FOR CHOICE vs. Bonnie Henry

4000 Licensed BC Health Care Professionals STAND FOR CHOICE vs. Bonnie Henry

Freedom To Choose BC – Open Letter To Bonnie Henry by 4000 BC Health Care Professionals – Physiotherapists, Dentists, Chiropractors, Family Doctors, Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine Practitioners, Hygienists, Health care workers, services, assistants, associates, etc.

Email: bonnie.henry@gov.bc.ca, provhlthoffice@gove.bc.ca

Dear Recipient,

Loss of public healthcare services due to the vaccine mandates for all regulated healthcare professionals in British Columbia as a condition of registration. Despite 4000 excess patient deaths in Canada unrelated to Covid-19 between August-December 2020, “along with increased incidents of mental health disorders and substance use….” and “a significant backlog of medical procedures” reportedly contributed to by delayed or canceled healthcare services (Canadian Medical Association), BC’s Public Health Officer Bonnie Henry and politicians Adrian Dix and John Horgan imposed vaccine mandates that to date have already resulted in the loss of thousands of healthcare providers in the province and they are now threatening additional vaccine mandates that would result in even more losses. This aggressive action has put all British Columbians at greater risk of untreated illness and death due to the lack of available medical care despite a lack or reasonable justification for such a blanket mandate.

With zero or near zero risk of transmission demonstrated with following prevention and control guidelines of the BC Centre for Disease Control (2021) such as Covid-19 screening procedures, plexiglass barriers, physical distancing, masking, sanitizing measures, air cleaners, ventilation, vaccinations, and/or telepsychology, government overreach that deprives British Columbians of essential medical and health services needs to be stopped.

In contrast, on November 3, 2021 the CBC News ran an article titled “Ford won’t impose COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Ontario health-care workers” (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto...) because such a mandate would “… jeopardize patient care in the province.” The article noted that BC had experienced “surgery cancellations and diagnostic tests in B.C. due to staff shortages after its vaccine mandate took effect. More than 3,300 health-care workers are now on unpaid leave in B.C.”

Health Minister Christine Elliott told reporters that Ontario officials decided not to impose a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers because hospitals would experience significant job losses and the province was concerned that they “would lose some of our precious health human resources”…and that “As government, we have a responsibility to protect the health and well-being of all Ontarians and so that’s why this decision is the right decision for Ontario right now.” This was mirrored by a similar decision by the province of Quebec.

As a British Columbian, I ask myself: Why is it that the Ontario and Quebec government officials are interested in a higher standard of care for their citizens than the BC government? Front-line workers leaving the workforce by the thousands (whether voluntary or suspended) will result in further reduction of the services we all depend on for safety and care. With the medical system already overworked, overloaded, understaffed, and beyond capacity, the standard of care can only drop further by LOSING THOUSANDS MORE PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN BC due to an additional mandate for all regulated healthcare professionals in BC. This is neither practical nor ethical – and it is clearly harmful.

Please explain your rationale for deciding to reduce essential services to vulnerable citizens of BC during this time of great need. In the meantime, it is time to end the policy of mandatory vaccines for any and all healthcare workers effective immediately, for the health and safety of all of us.