MP Rob Morrison seeking federal action on health‑care access

Columbia Kootenay-Southern Rockies MP Rob Morrison says current interprovincial licensing rules are “putting B.C. families at risk.”

He’s referring to recent regulation changes that he says now “block Alberta clinicians from treating B.C. residents, forcing families to transfer care to far‑off centres like Vancouver.”

Morrison is promoting an e‑petition, launched on Nov. 20, that aims to restore access to safe, local care.

“Basically it’s asking for signatures on why we are being restricted from going to Alberta,” he said.

Morrison has been working on this initiative since 2019 and claims that the issue always seems to involve billing between B.C. and Alberta.

“In B.C., they send the money because they have to. So, if it’s $40,000 for a cancer treatment, they send $40,000 to the hospital, but sometimes it didn’t end up in, say, the cancer department, for example,” Morrison explained.

“So the departments were saying, ‘hold a sec, we can’t keep doing this.’ And then, of course, we started building up Kelowna Hospital. And so the province wanted to be able to fill that as well. So there’s a whole bunch of issues at play.”

The e‑petition was launched by a man from Fernie whose son has cystic fibrosis.

According to Morrison, the child had been receiving care in Calgary, a three‑hour drive from Fernie, until recently, when his father was told he now has to access care at the Vancouver Children’s Hospital.

“It’s very expensive. And it makes it really hard for seniors to travel in the winter because of our roads. And it makes it hard for people with young children to have to go to those areas for those long drives,” he said.

Morrison acknowledged that health care falls under provincial jurisdiction, but he cited Section 12.1 of the Canada Health Act that requires reasonable access to health care.

“Basically it’s saying that you should have access, reasonable access to health care. And in the case of sending somebody for an 11‑hour drive in the winter to Vancouver is, I don’t think, reasonable,” he said.

He plans to work to get the province on side, noting that it’s timely considering the province is amending its Health Professions Act.

“It’s been repealed and the new Health Professions and Occupations Act is coming into force sometime in April. So they’re changing some of their health‑care definitions and that. Maybe we’ll have an opportunity to insert a clause that supports what the Canada Health Act says, and that’s reasonable access.”

E-petition

The e‑petition, which went live Thursday night, has already gained 12 signatures.

Morrison said the advantage of an e‑petition is that the federal Minister of Health is required to respond within 45 days after it reaches a minimum threshold of 25 signatures.

“They have to give me an explanation as to why they’re not requesting the province of B.C. to allow people to go to Alberta for health care,” he said.

The e‑petition, according to the Government of Canada’s website, notes the following:

• There are serious consequences arising from recent changes to interprovincial licensing and credentialing regulations that prevent Alberta‑based health‑care professionals from providing established care to British Columbia residents.

• The new licensing restriction has forced many patients, including children with chronic and life‑limiting conditions, to transfer their care to Vancouver or other distant centres.

• For residents of communities such as Fernie, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Golden, Invermere, Valemount and Dawson Creek, this change has significantly increased required travel time, often forcing patients to cross dangerous mountain passes.

• This transition has disrupted continuity of care, increased financial and logistical burdens on families and has not demonstrated any improvement in patient outcomes.

It calls on the Government of Canada to:

1. Recognize the impact of these licensing changes on rural and border‑region families.

2. Work with the Province of British Columbia to facilitate cross‑provincial care agreements that reflect geographic reality.

3. Explore federal mechanisms to support licensing mobility and reciprocity so Canadians may access the nearest qualified care, regardless of provincial boundaries.

4. Encourage an immediate review of all policies that restrict access to essential health care and support interim measures to maintain continuity of care.

A link to the e‑petition is available on the Government of Canada website.

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