Position Statements

Health Officers Council endorses member resolutions on a wide variety of public health topics. The following database includes position statements based on recently approved resolutions.

Title	Number	Date	Position Statement
Federal regulation to reduce button battery injuries	158-02	October 2023	Health Officers Council supports federal regulation of button batteries and the consumer products that use them that will reduce likelihood of ingestion of button batteries. Action: Letter sent to The Honourable Minister of Health Mark Holland.
Alcohol	158-01	October 2023	1. Establish a provincial framework/strategy that clearly states the assumptions, principles, vision, goals and objectives that should guide alcohol policy and regulation in BC. 2. Adopt a goal of reducing per capita alcohol consumption in BC to reduce the health and social harm associated with alcohol. Enshrine this goal in legislation. For more information on this position, visit: https://www.healthofficerscouncil.net/positions-and-advocacy/publications/alcohol/ Action: Letter sent to The Honourable Premier David Eby, Honourable Ministers, and Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Health Impacts Assessment for TransMountain Pipeline Expansion	150-01	March 2019	Independent and comprehensive health impacts assessment of the Trans-mountain Pipeline Expansion project that includes cumulative impacts should be properly resourced and undertaken. Action: Letter submitted to the Honourable John Horgan, Premier, British Columbia
Reach of monitored drug consumption services	150-02	March 2019	Local governments should not create or maintain barriers to the establishment of proven and necessary substance use services and the provincial government should address the use of local zoning bylaws to subvert the Community Charter PH regulations
Access to PharmaNet data to prevent overdose deaths	150-03	March 2019	Medical Health Officers should be given access to identifiable PharmaNet data for those people at risk of overdose death residing in their health region
Opioid regulation to address fentanyl contamination of the street drug market	150-04	March 2019	Regulated health and safety oriented models for opioid sales to individuals to replace opioids from the contaminated opioids street market should be developed, evaluated and implemented
Physician notification following communicable disease exposures in the acute care setting	150-05	March 2019	Health authorities should provide comprehensive, readily available occupational health services that include all employees, physicians, health care trainees, and contracted health care staff within BC
Climate and Health	149-01	October 2018	A. Health Officers Council endorses the Call to Action on Climate and Health (https://www.globalclimateandhealthforum.org/call-to-action): 1. Meet and strengthen the commitments under the Paris Agreement 2. Transition away from the use of coal, oil and natural gas to clean, safe, and renewable energy. 3. Transition to zero-carbon transportation systems with an emphasis on active transportation. 4. Build local, healthy, and sustainable food and agricultural systems. 5. Invest in policies that support a just transition for workers and communities adversely impacted by the move to a low-carbon economy 6. Ensure that gender equality is central to climate action. 7. Raise the health sector voice in the call for climate action. 8. Incorporate climate solutions into all health care and public health systems. 9. Build resilient communities in the face of climate change. 10. Invest in climate and health. B. Health Officers Council supports expanding the Call to Action to ensure that Indigenous voices are central to climate action, following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the principles outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action.
Smoke Free multi-unit housing in BC	149-02	October 2018	Multi-unit housing in BC should be smoke free
Whole Genome Sequencing at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory	149-03	October 2018	The British Columbia Public Health Laboratory should have the necessary resources and infrastructure to conduct whole genome sequencing of pathogens to enable molecular epidemiology in support of public health professionals’ fulfillment of their mandate
Education of Health Professionals about Substance Use Disorders	148-01	March 2018	Substance use competencies and curricula should be developed and implemented to educate health professionals under the Health Professions Act about substance use disorders, where—as with other chronic health conditions—dedicated training strategies exist for all levels and disciplines of health care providers; across the province. Interdisciplinary education of health professionals across the province in the management of substance use disorders should be prioritized; BCs existing world-class interdisciplinary addiction medicine fellowship program should be rapidly expanded across the province to increase the number of providers who have addiction expertise, increase regional capacity, and improve patient quality of care.
Compensation for people with mental health and substance use lived experience (peers)	148-02	March 2018	People with lived experience including those with mental health and substance use problems and poverty must be fairly and appropriately compensated for their time and expenses when consulted or employed in relation to health services or research.
Motor Vehicle Act Reform	148-03	March 2018	The BC Motor Vehicle Act should be updated to account for changes in the transportation environment and to better ensure the protection of all road users and particularly vulnerable road users. As a component of updating the BC Motor Vehicle Act HOC supports recommendations of the Road Safety Law Reform Group in the 2016 position paper: Modernizing the BC Motor Vehicle Act.
Regulation of trampoline parks in BC	148-04	March 2018	Trampoline parks should be regulated by the province such that standards are developed for trampoline park equipment design, installation, maintenance, and operation and these standards should be implemented as a condition of operation. The public health community should continue to monitor the injury burden related to trampoline parks to evaluate the efficacy of these standards.
Harmonization of Legislation Governing the Delivery of Residential Care in British Columbia	147-01	October 2017	Legislation with respect to individuals receiving facility-based residential care services in and outside of acute care hospitals should be harmonized. Inequitable treatment of individuals receiving facility-based residential care services in British Columbia outside of acute care hospitals should be addressed.
Protecting the public from second-hand exposure to cannabis smoke and vapour	147-02	October 2017	Exposure to second-hand cannabis smoke and vaping poses an unacceptable risk to the health of the public. The province should develop legislation and regulations to restrict cannabis smoking and vaping in public spaces harmonized with existing restrictions on tobacco smoking and vaping. The province should enact legislation that is permissive of local governments to pass bylaws that are even more restrictive than those entertained by the province.
Public education program with dedicated provincial resources on the risks of cannabis consumption prior to legalization	147-03	October 2017	Federal funding is unlikely sufficient to adequately inform the public about the potential harms associated with cannabis consumption. In addition to the funding announced by the federal government, the province should commit to developing cannabis education programming with dedicated resources as part of their response to cannabis legalization that would address the information needs of both the general as well as vulnerable populations in our province.
Expansion of automated speed enforcement for reduction in serious motor vehicle injuries	147-04	October 2017	The province of British Columbia, in partnership with municipalities, should institute use of automated speed enforcement and expand use of other automated enforcement technologies, both on highways and local roads. The province should ensure usage of implementation strategies that will engender long-term public support for automated speed enforcement, including revenue transparency, community engagement, ample warning, and site auditing.
Opioid Epidemic	147-05	October 2017	HOC should be a co-signer of an ‘open letter’ to the Government of BC outlining the essentials of an Opioid Action Plan based on a strategic public health approach which includes: 1. Causal analysis; the epidemic the result of complex interacting factors: • Increased use of legal and illicit opioids because of poverty, homelessness, unemployment and other factors leading to despair and hopelessness, • Increased marketing and prescription of opioids • Inadequate resources for non-opioid pain relief, mental health and addictions services • Addition of fentanyl to illicit street drugs. 2. Principles: • Destigmatizing addiction • Safety for victims of addiction • Economic benefits of acting now. 3. Action steps: • Increase availability and use of naloxone • Increase supervised injection sites for users of street drugs • Increase availability of non-opioid pain care resources • Rapid development of opioid treatment centres providing: Substitution treatment for street heroin with prescribed Suboxone/methadone. For the small minority not responding well to substitution, maintenance treatment using prescribed heroin, hydromorphone or oral morphine. • Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) supports: (income, housing, food security, education, training, employment, etc.) • Integrated primary health care for co-morbidities: psychosocial supports, counselling, psychiatric and chronic pain treatment, hepatitis, HIV, chronic diseases, etc. • Eventual abstinence for some. 4. Coordinated strategies across all levels of government to address the SDOH with measurable goals, timelines and adequate budgets. 5. An evaluation plan linked to continuous quality improvement.