Peace River North MLA opposes health professions bill with repeal act

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The MLA for Peace River North is opposing an upcoming provincial bill governing health professionals by introducing his own bill to repeal the legislation. 

Bill 36 – 2022, the Health Professions and Occupations Act, comes into effect on April 1st, 2026, and will govern health regulatory colleges and health professionals across B.C. 

The bill was intended to strengthen patient safety and increase governmental oversight by prioritizing public interest over self-regulation via the province’s 16 physician colleges, according to the provincial government.

It establishes the Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office, moves to fully appointed college boards, requires colleges to offer support workers for Indigenous people going through the discipline process and will see all disciplinary actions against health professionals made accessible on a public registry.

The B.C. government says it also “addresses discrimination and Indigenous-specific racism,” including by creating a new legal duty to report discrimination and enabling complainants to be anonymous during an investigation.

Jordan Kealy announced his intentions to introduce a private member’s bill to repeal Bill 36 in a Facebook post on March 8th. On March 10th, the bill was introduced to the Legislative Assembly of B.C., and passed its first reading. 

In an interview with Energeticcity.ca, Kealy explained he doesn’t believe Bill 36 was properly debated in the legislature, and was instead “rammed through without full scrutiny and without legitimately consulting the professions it affects.”

“In the middle of a doctor shortage [and] healthcare crisis, we have a [piece of] legislation that many politicians tell me they are afraid [of], or too many physicians tell me they are afraid to even speak publicly.”

Kealy alleged “hundreds” of physicians are planning to leave or retire because of Bill 36. 

He stated he introduced his bill to give the legislature the opportunity to fully examine Bill 36, and address the concerns residents and healthcare professionals have about it. 

“With [this legislation] in place, the 16 will be replaced on the boards by bureaucrats, not by their own people,” Kealy said. 

“We see the same issue when it comes to Northern Health and some of the other health authorities when it comes to accountability and trying to know what’s going on within [the] system.”

Kealy explained because he is eighth in line for private member time to introduce and debate bills, it could be several months until his repeal bill returns before the legislature for its second reading. 

He stated he maintains concerned healthcare professionals could depart the province in the interim. 

“The [provincial] government is now in a position to set health guidelines which can prevent practitioners from making honest recommendations without involving the legislature, [with] severe penalties for non-compliance,” Kealy said. 

“We want doctors to have autonomy to a certain degree, and they had that in that old system, and there are still liabilities in place to protect them and protect patients.”

Kealy stated he would continue to oppose the NDP to “represent his constituents and speak out for British Columbians,” and encouraged healthcare professionals to reach out to him online or via his legislative email at Jordan.Kealy.MLA@leg.bc.ca for both private and public interviews, which he explained he was doing to gather information. 

This is the second bill Kealy has brought before the legislature in recent weeks, after the MLA presented a school safety bill on March 5th which also passed its first reading.