Northern Health postpones community sessions due to job action started by B.C. nurses

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health has postponed its strategic plan community engagement sessions due to job action initiated by the Nurses Bargaining Association. 

According to a Facebook post from the Northern Health – Fort St. John and Area on July 3, the health authority’s community sessions planned for Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson have been postponed until further notice. 

The post said the sessions have been postponed so that staff can focus on delivering patient care. 

This comes after nurses in British Columbia started a targeted job action at workplaces across the province on July 2 to push the government to improve its offer to union members. 

Nurses stopped working non-essential overtime and won’t be performing non-nursing duties such as answering phones, processing doctors’ orders or cleaning. 

The health authority’s sessions were intended to gather the community’s perspective as it develops a new strategic plan to guide the future of health care in Northern B.C. 

In the post, Northern Health apologized for the inconvenience to people who had planned to attend the meeting. 

New dates and engagement opportunities will be shared when they become available, the post said. 

The health authority’s strategic plan community survey is available and community members are invited to participate.