Health minister in hot seat as Conservative MLAs address ER closures

Conservative MLAs spent the morning once again grilling Health Minister Josie Osborne on the state of B.C.’s emergency health system.

One by one, conservatives rose for the better part of half an hour in the provincial Legislature to question Osborne and Premier David Eby on ER closures in communities within their ridings — totalling hundreds of closures, some of them years-long.

The communities include Burns Lake, Merritt, Keremeos, Lillooet, Williams Lake, Mackenzie, 100 Mile House, Clearwater, Mission, Fort St James, Slocan, Nakusp, Peace Region, Kitimat, Delta, Oliver, Elkford, and Creston Valley.

“Does this premier think it’s reasonable for the good people of Lillooet to drive over two hours on snow-covered highways to reach Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops? Why does this premier expect people to risk their lives to access basic emergency care?” asked Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox.

“Lillooet Hospital has had its emergency department closed for 26 days,” Day added.

“The emergency room in Keremeos has been closed evenings and weekends for 1,213 days,” said Donegal Wilson, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen.

“Cariboo Memorial Hospital has had 18 days of emergency closures over the past year,” said Lorne Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin.

“The Mackenzie hospital has been closed 13 times so far in 2025, and it’s only the end of February,” said Kiel Giddens, MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie.

“100 Mile House district had its ER closed for ten days. Royal Inland Hospital is two hours, over a 200-kilometre drive,” said Jody Toor, MLA for Langley-Willowbrook.

“Mission Hospital ER was closed on seven different occasions,” said Reann Gasper, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission.

“For 800 hours, Kitimat’s ER was closed last year, and that’s just between January and September,” said Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena

“B.C.’s North needs proper ER access. Masset on Haida Gwaii deserves proper ER access. Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, and Dawson Creek deserve proper ER access,” said Larry Neufeld, MLA for Peace River South.

Minister Osborne’s response to each was consistent with her recent sentiments, saying the province continues to work to improve the health-care system.

“But we’re also going to continue to do other things to build out the health-care system in ways where people do not have to rely on emergency rooms as much,” said Osborne.

She says the province is making good progress on hiring more staff and attracting foreign-trained professionals. She also says the number of ER closures and diversions in B.C. is actually trending downwards.

Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz says he and a small coalition of other rural B.C. mayors, including Laurie Hopfl of Lillooet, are scheduled to meet with Osborne March 28 after the Nicola Valley Hospital ER was forced to close for the second night in a row Wednesday.