Family of cyclist critically injured in Stittsville crash speaks out
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National Post
39 minutes ago
- National Post
Ryan Painter: How bureaucrats almost stopped B.C. from saving a child's life
In British Columbia, at least 10 members of the province's expensive drugs for rare diseases (EDRD) committee have resigned, not because the government failed a dying child, but because it finally helped her. Article content This is the kind of sentence that shouldn't exist in a functioning democracy. Article content Article content Charleigh Pollock is a 10-year-old girl living with terminal Batten disease. Until recently, she was receiving Brineura, a drug that doesn't cure the condition but slows its progression and improves quality of life. For Charleigh, it did just that. Her seizures stopped. Her condition stabilized. She went back to school. She played. She laughed. She lived in the way every child should. Article content Article content Then, in June, B.C.'s NDP government ended her treatment. Article content Article content Health Minister Josie Osborne pointed to recommendations from the EDRD committee and Canada's Drug Agency, which, she said, claimed there was 'no clinical evidence (the drug) would provide further benefits.' That term, clinical, bureaucratic and cold, ignored what was visible. Charleigh's family and doctors saw stabilization. Experts in Batten disease, both here and abroad, affirmed the drug was helping her. Article content Still, the province refused to budge. Funding was denied. Appeals were dismissed. Charleigh's parents turned to crowdfunding, launching a GoFundMe campaign to fund her continued care. Article content It was ultimately British Columbians, outraged by what they saw and by the painful pleas for help made by Charleigh's mother Jori Fales, who turned the tide against the government. The public rose up: advocates, physicians, editorial boards and thousands of citizens. Petitions circulated. Columns demanded action. People made clear what the government would not: that compassion should never depend on political expedience or private fundraising. Article content Article content On July 17, after weeks of silence and mounting political pressure, Osborne reversed the decision. Funding resumed. Charleigh's treatment was back on track. Her family could breathe again. Article content Then came the backlash. Article content Ten members of the EDRD committee resigned, claiming the minister's reversal amounted to political interference. To them, it wasn't the denial of a child's care that crossed a line. It was restoring it. Article content Let that settle in. Article content An unelected committee withdrew a terminally ill child's treatment behind closed doors. A minister intervened only when the political cost of inaction became too high. And when she finally did, the loudest protest came from within the system itself. Article content This wasn't just a policy failure. It was a collapse of moral leadership. A failure made worse by how long elected officials remained silent. Article content Osborne only acted under pressure. Premier David Eby, consistent in his absence, waited until the public outcry made it impossible not to respond.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘I had never seen him' : woman receives tooth-in-eye surgery and see her partner for first time
Watch Over a decade after going blind, a Victoria, B.C., woman's vision has been restored by an operation rarely performed in Canada. Andres Johnson reports.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Another Vancouver-area ER without doctors Monday night
For the second night in a row, there will be no doctors on staff at a Fraser Health emergency department overnight due to staffing issues. In a memo sent just before 6 p.m., the health authority said because of an 'unexpected physician illness,' anyone arriving at Delta Hospital's ER after 7 p.m. will not be seen by a doctor. The 'temporary service interruption' is scheduled to last until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Fraser Health said patients who arrive before 7 p.m. will be able to be seen by a doctor before their shift ends at 1:30 a.m. After 7 p.m., nurses will be on site at Delta Hospital to 'support walk-in patients needing basic care, assist with re-direction of care, and/or transfer patients with urgent needs to a neighbouring hospital,' Fraser Health said. Anyone experiencing a life-threatening emergency is asked to call 911 'for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.' 'All other Fraser Health Emergency Departments remain open and have emergency physicians on site; however, high numbers of people seeking care and human resources challenges at many of our hospital emergency departments may lead to longer wait times for patients with non-urgent care concerns,' the memo reads. The disruption comes after Mission Memorial Hospital implemented the same 'temporary service interruption' from 5 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday. Delta Hospital's ER previously closed overnight for two consecutive nights in February of this year. Mission Memorial Hospital has diverted patients at least four times in 2025. Elsewhere in B.C., the South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver announced it had to close its emergency department for 23 hours, from 1 p.m. Monday to 12 p.m. Tuesday. Interior Health asked patients to seek emergency care at Penticton Regional Hospital instead.
