Dix addresses NDP health ministry’s agenda
Dix doesn’t think funding for drug issues will detract from other items on agenda
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, 53, was born in Ottawa and grew up on the west side of Vancouver where his parents had a Kerrisdale insurance agency. He studied political science at UBC where he met poet Renee Saklikar, whom he would marry. Dix, who lived in France and is bilingual, was executive director of Canadian Parents for French, a non-profit that advocates more French immersion programs.
He was former premier Glen Clark’s chief of staff from 1996 to 1999, a position from which he was dismissed for backdating a memo to protect Clark from conflict of interest charges. Dix served as leader of the opposition starting in 2011 and stepping down after the NDP lost to the Liberals in the 2013 election.
Dix, a Type 1 diabetic, has been a vocal advocate for colon cancer screening; his mother, 81, has had two surgeries due to colon cancer. His dad died at Vancouver General Hospital at the age of 81, due to heart disease. Health issues reporter Pamela Fayerman interviewed Dix once before the budget update and again after its release. The condensed interview is below.
Q Are you leery of reporters because of past controversies? It would be regrettable if that were the case, given that health care is such a huge portfolio. It gobbles up $20 billion a year and is such a huge priority for all B.C. residents.
A No, I’m totally the opposite of that. I’ve got to be out there more than anyone. I think one of the things I’m conscious of when I’m initiating with the media is to be as substantive as possible. We’ve had too many photo ops in recent years. We’ll be talking regularly. I will be available to media, comprehensively and all the time.
Q You went to a pretty posh private school (St. George’s, Grade 2 and 3). Do you think people should have the right to private surgical care just as they have the right to choose private education?
A I went to public school for most of my education. As you know, I’m a strong supporter of the public system, both in education and in health care. I think it’s very important in a universal public health care system that we provide medically necessary care in a timely way. I think health care should be available without reference to income and that’s how I will act as health minister. My goal is to support the highest quality of public health care.
Q Will the NDP government change the laws that allow certain patients to get expedited care in private clinics — like WorkSafeBC claimants injured on the job, those in law enforcement, jail inmates, etc.?
A The WorkSafe system is a public body and part of the public system. My preference, belief, and hope is that if you’re injured at home, or not on the job, you can get care when you need it, just as if you are injured at work. That’s the health care we need and want.
Q Is the government determined to stop health consumers from using private clinics for expedited care?
A Well, as part of an agreement with the federal government, we are auditing three private clinics and there will be more of these audits in the future. The government’s position is not to allow extra billing.
Q What about contracting out surgeries to private clinics by health authorities?
A I think it may slow down a bit. There are efficiencies, often, in doing things in-house (in public hospitals). That said, we can’t spend all our time undoing what the previous government has done even if we disagree with it. We have to improve public health care now.
Q Have you ever been hospitalized?
A Yes, in 1992, the last time I was in hospital. I was training for the Seattle marathon, working for Glen Clark, who was a minister of finance then. I thought I was overtraining, and/or working too hard. A few days before the marathon, I went down to a clinic (in Victoria). My blood sugar was 42, 43, it should have been between four and seven. I was admitted to be stabilized and was in hospital for a number of days, was put on insulin, and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I haven’t been back to the hospital since. I had relatively serious stomach surgery when I was six weeks old and maybe had my tonsils out. Those have been my experiences in hospitals.
Q You were first elected as MLA for Vancouver Kingsway in 2005 and have been reelected in 2009, 2013 and 2017. The NDP now has this partnership with the Greens. Is it a bit ironic that Green Leader Andrew Weaver has proposed term limits and you would not be around today as an MLA if his bill was passed?
A I don’t remember the details of his bill, but I’m happy and proud to say that every time I’ve run for re-election, I’ve gotten a higher percentage of the vote.
Q Describe one of your priorities.
A First of all, providing excellent primary care and to help people live healthy, full lives. I want to build a network of multidisciplinary, urgent care centres where people can go instead of hospitals, especially if they don’t have family doctors. They’ll provide extended hours of care and on weekends and be staffed by family doctors, nurse practitioners, and other health professionals. The model won’t be the same in every community.
Q The budget update capital plan contains a long list of hospital projects going out as far as 2026. There’s no funding committed to the new St. Paul’s hospital redevelopment even though it was supposedly going to open by the year 2022 or 2023. Is the new hospital still viable or severely stalled? When will government commit its first chunk of money to the project?
A The Liberal government first committed to a major investment in St. Paul’s in 2002. A business plan was produced in 2006. After multiple changes in positions, press conferences and 11 more years of Liberal leadership on St. Paul’s, we moved from a business plan to a pre-business plan. This is not nearly good enough.
St. Paul’s is a great hospital with brilliant, dedicated staff. British Columbians everywhere love St. Paul’s as do I. The hospital building was deteriorating 11 years ago and the physical state of the facility after a decade of inaction is worse and increasingly unsafe for all concerned. It is not worthy of us. Our government’s task ... is to take action ... we need to act quickly and decisively to make this happen.
Q The three-year budget update shows that just over half ($322 million) the funding increase in health ($603 million) is going toward opioid addiction crisis measures. Does that mean everything else in health is less of a priority right now? How do you expect to reduce waiting times, address the family doctor shortage, the nursing shortage, staff shortages in nursing homes, and build urgent care centres without a bigger investment of money?
A The opioid crisis is a public health emergency and that’s why we are taking the steps we are. As a community, our friends, our children, brothers, sisters, neighbours, and fellow citizens are being harmed in an unprecedented way — in this year, 125 people a month have died due to illicit drugs. You bet it is our No. 1 priority right now in this mid-year budget update. I agree that the Liberals have let patients and health care workers down in many areas. However, I don’t agree with your analysis of what we are able to do. Of course, some reforms will take longer than others. However, my direction from the premier is to proceed on primary care reform and urgent care, meeting our obligations to seniors, addressing health human resources issues and reducing wait times. And that is precisely what I am doing right now. Stay tuned.
Q What do you think about what your predecessor (former health minister Terry Lake) is doing now, as a VP of a marijuana company?
A Well, let me say it’s not the choice I’d make, but I congratulate him and wish him well. Good for him for taking a different path. I’ve had strong disagreements with him in the past, but I know how dedicated he was.
Q Right after you and Judy Darcy were named as health ministers, the Hospital Employees Union called you the “dream team.” I’m sure that is flattering. Is it true?
A Who’s Michael Jordan and who’s Magic Johnson? I think Judy is excellent but it’s not about us, it’s what we’ll achieve together.