Delta city councillor’s motion to declare public health emergency denied

A Delta city councillor is furious after his motion to declare a public health emergency was shot down Monday night.

Delta Hospital’s emergency department was forced to close for more than 12 hours over the weekend, marking the fourth time this year.

Coun. Dylan Kruger tabled a motion Monday, calling the closures unacceptable and asking the city to make a bold statement.

“We have no urgent care centre in our community. We have virtually no walk-in clinics. We have a shortage of family doctors. It is a public health crisis,” he told 1130 NewsRadio Monday morning.

But that evening, Kruger says Delta Mayor George Harvie ruled his motion out of order.

“I’m extremely disappointed that the mayor did not feel it necessary to deem it a public health emergency in the city of Delta. Cities across British Columbia have declared mental health emergencies around the drug and opioid crisis, and they’ve declared emergencies for a variety of different reasons. The purpose of a declaration of an emergency is to elevate the issue, to gain media attention and to tell decision makers in Victoria that this is an issue of utmost seriousness,” said Kruger.

He says the motion wasn’t put up for debate before it was dismissed.

“We didn’t even get to have a vote because the mayor ruled the motion out of order, and it was not allowed to come to the floor. It’s shameful that the mayor would put partisanship over the health and well-being of people in our community.”

Undeterred, Kruger says he will continue to press for attention on the issue to ensure Delta never sees another ER closure.

“We cannot continue to have shortages of employees where one doctor calls in sick for work and there’s no resiliency in the system, so the entire ER shuts down. This is not just a Delta issue. This is a Metro Vancouver issue. This is a B.C. issue. Our residents deserve better. The time for action is now.

—With files from Mike Lloyd.