A B.C. Liberal MLA learned first-hand last week of the dangers that can arise when a social conservative philosophy gets too close to public policy.
Ian Paton, who represents Delta South, was quick to criticize Health Minister Adrian Dix for his decision to cut public funding for a hospice in Paton’s riding. He quickly had to retreat when he apparently realized the implications of his attack on Dix.
Dix put the Delta Hospice Society on notice that it was going to lose a $1.5 million operating grant from the province, effective one year from now.
The reason for Dix’s action is that the hospice society refuses to allow medical assistance in dying (or, MAID) to take place within the hospice itself.
MAID is a legal service provided within our public health system, and hospices that receive public funding are required to perform that service if one of their patients so desires (hospices that are clearly faith-based are exempt from this requirement, but they are also obligated to refer a patient to another hospice that does offer the service).
The reason the Delta Hospice stopped providing MAID is clear. The society’s board of directors was literally taken over by pro-life activists last fall, through a mass sign-up campaign of new members.
Two pro-MAID directors quit in protest, while the new board ousted a third. Despite the ugliness that was put on display, this was all seen in a very positive light by parts of some religious communities.
“Pro-lifers win a victory for freedom at Delta Hospice,” roared a headline in the Jan. 2 edition of the B.C. Catholic. The accompanying article actually offers a rather detailed description of the takeover of the board by religious activists.
However, it was quite clear where Dix was headed on this. He gave the board more than two months to comply with the law and finally pulled the pin on this unacceptable situation last week.
The board chair, Angelina Ireland, told CKNW she was absolutely shocked by Dix’s decision, which seems almost laughable since this was all playing out in the open for months. The board’s intransigence meant there could be only one outcome here.
While we have not seen something like this for more than 30 years, it used to happen all the time involving another issue that social conservatives went to extraordinary lengths to control.
That would be abortion, and decades ago similar “societies” controlled what medical services could be offered in public hospitals. Religious organizations conducted vast membership sign-ups in churches, and the result was that literally hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of people would attend the annual general meetings of these societies and vote in board directors based strictly on their views on abortion.
What happened at Delta Hospice was no different from what occurred regularly over the abortion issue at many B.C. hospitals before those hospital societies were abolished. The abortion issue has now faded in prominence, and MAID has met little in the way of opposition since becoming legal in 2016 – unless religious activists try to get in the way.
Paton, who accused Dix of “swooping in to take over” the hospice and of “stealing assets from the people of Delta,” was seen as backing the pro-lifers on the board and he wisely walked back his comments the next day on social media.
In a series of tweets, Paton made it clear he supports that MAID should be offered in publicly funded facilities (as well he should, as the policy dates back to when his party was in government in B.C.).
“Upon reflection, I realize my comments were not worded well,” he wrote. “To be clear, I acknowledge and respect Fraser Health’s decision to ensure that federal law is upheld and all citizens are given access to medical assistance in dying.”
His B.C. Liberal party’s political genealogy can be traced back to the old Social Credit party, which was a political dynasty before social conservative issues like abortion and gay rights tore it apart internally.
The current version of the free enterprise coalition, as it rebuilds and tries to create a new identity, would be wise to stay well away from this kind of stuff.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. [email protected]
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