Over a hundred angry protesters rallied before the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia at the call of BC Health Care Matters, demanding yet again that the provincial government addresses the family doctor shortage crisis.
A more precise estimate would be difficult since the event unfortunately overlapped with a Freedom Convoy Saturday event. Some participants from the latter seemed intent on crashing the party and one even had to be escorted off-site by the security detail, which maintained a visible presence throughout the event. My views converging with theirs pertaining to civil liberties notwithstanding, I would like to point out barging into a protest that has nothing to do with their grievances will not earn them any sympathy with the public, while in hindsight, it would have been wiser for the BC Health Care Rally rally organisers to set the date to Sunday instead of calling for a heavy security detail to keep freedom fighters away.
On to the main event. Several speakers came forward before the cameras to reiterate what we’ve been screaming to our honourable elected representatives ad nauseam in previous events: The health care system is broken. One million British Columbians don’t have a family doctor, and most of those who do cannot book an appointment with them (that includes most of the attendance, by the way). Our health care system has too much red tape, too many overpaid vice presidents, too many clinics closing, too many family doctors retiring without being replaced, and too many people lining up at emergency rooms for common ailments. People are dying unattended at the ER because the staff is overstretched. And no, the problem isn’t lack of federal dollars, so quit playing games with us as sacrificial pawns.
What was new about the message is a strong imperative for everyone in attendance to get involved. We were being told we could volunteer, donate, advocate, put a sign on our lawn, write to our elected representative. We were told that every one of us could make a difference. Camille Currie, president of BC Health Care Matters, pointed out that the organisation started with just her, and she’s not exactly Wonder Woman, just another one of us whose frustrations took over. She invited the attendance to fight with her toward our common goal. Every other speaker had something similar to say in this respect, volunteers in particular coming forward explaining why they put on a blue shirt and joined this fight.
In the background, some family doctors sat under tents meeting with patients on a volunteer and informal basis; while they were not providing any actual care, this constituted for many in attendance a rare opportunity to meet with a general practitioner and discuss their issues. As shrewd as the initiative was, I wonder whether it was meant to remind British Columbians that our health care system has a lot in common with those of failed states and war zones, where access to doctors is nearly impossible, supplies are scarce, and patients in excruciating pain die in triage because health care providers are busy patching those bleeding to death; if so, the parallel isn’t lost on me.
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Never take your rights for granted. Women in particular know even hard-earned ones are never far from being taken away.
Although the event was a relative success, its outcome leaves me most apprehensive. Regretfully, we had to end it early.
