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HEAT WAVE

BC Liberals call for independent review following deadly heat wave

Jul 8, 2021 | 4:16 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Following the death of nearly 800 across the province over the span of five days, the Leader of the Opposition, Shirley Bond has called for an independent review.

“I think when you go through something that is that significant, that there should be questions asked,” said Bond.

In Northern Health 33 people died in a five-day span, what seems like a small number compared to the 777 total deaths, based on population Northern BC did not fare any better than the rest of the province.

Bond says the independent review needs to be done to find out what the province could have done better, and what went well.

The BC Emergency Health Services say they responded to 824 calls for heat-related service in June 2021 compared to only 14 in June 2020.

In Northern Health, the BC EHS says they responded to 51 heat-related calls in June 2021, with 11 in Prince George.

In June 2020 the BC EHS only responded to five heat-related calls in Northern Health.

“Aside from a tweet featuring a meme, the provincial government didn’t communicate clearly to British Columbians the danger that existed across the entire province,” added Bond.

A review would examine how the provincial government responded, why did the province not take a stronger role in communicating the threat posed by the heat, and why provincial operations like emergency health services failed to respond quickly and effectively.