“Cozy conversations” with union leader cast doubts on Seniors’ Advocate independence
Today, BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) has made the difficult decision to call upon Isobel Mackenzie to step down as the B.C. Seniors’ Advocate. BCCPA are also requesting that the provincial government conduct an audit and review of the mandate of the Office of the Seniors’ Advocate (OSA), which was established in April 2014.
We understand the seriousness of this request, and it is not one we take lightly. Our decision was made out of concerns that the interests of B.C. seniors are taking a back seat to outside political influence, and undermining the office’s independence. We have lost all confidence in the Seniors’ Advocate.
READ: OSA / HEU interaction on emergency admission’s report: a timeline
Freedom of Information revelations
A freedom of information (FOI) request involving the Office of the Seniors’ Advocate now released to the public shows clearly that Ms. Mackenzie closely collaborated and sought the input of leadership from the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) on a report released on August 2, 2018.
The FOI provides copies of emails, texts, and calendar appointments between Ms. Mackenzie and the HEU’s Secretary Business Manager Jennifer Whiteside. They show discussions between the parties that were intended to shape the narrative of the report titled From Residential Care to Hospital: An Emerging Pattern.
The FOI revelations include:
- That a last-minute “tweak” to the report the day before its release shifted the headline-grabbing statistic on likelihood to die in hospital from 20% to 54%
- That Ms. Mackenzie shared draft language of the report for HEU to review days before the release, and incorporated the union’s feedback
- Mackenzie thanked HEU for their “time and their input” in the preparation of her report
- Mackenzie offered the services of her research staff to the HEU to collect data
- Mackenzie deliberately chose to combine data from for-profit and not-for-profits, stating the latter had higher emergency admission statistics
- Mackenzie was focused on wage and benefits provided by contracted employers to build her case
- She notified HEU of the timing of the report’s release, her strategy to “leak” it to media, and that she wished to avoid releasing it the same day of other government announcements, a tactic that would give the report maximum exposure
A matter of independence
When the original legislation for the Office of the Seniors’ Advocate was debated in the B.C. Legislature in 2013, the then Opposition BC NDP argued strongly that the OSA be set up as an independent office of the Legislature, in the same way the BC Ombudsperson or Children and Youth Advocate were established. The government of the day chose otherwise, and we now have a Seniors’ Advocate that reports to the Health Ministry, unlike the other advocates.
To understand the significance of these FOI revelations, imagine if former Children and Youth Advocate Mary-Ellen Turpel Lafonde was revealed to be collaborating with the Official Opposition? Or, picture the public’s reaction if the BC Ombudsperson had been shown working with the Premier’s office on making final edits to one of their reports.
The comparison with the Seniors’ Advocate and the collaboration with the HEU is fair. It is also an unacceptable circumstance that B.C.’s seniors should be asking questions about.
Which is why Ms. Mackenzie should resign and the office come under a full independent review.
The tipping point
At BCCPA, we have tried to work with the Seniors’ Advocate over the years with mixed results. We were never advised in advance by the OSA of the release of the August report. Our members – which make up the overwhelming majority of long-term care providers in the province – also were never notified in advance of the report’s findings.
The release of this FOI provides us with a disturbing insight into which organization is having the most profound influence over the OSA.
When the B.C. government shocked the seniors’ care sector last week by announcing it was expropriating over 4,000 home support jobs, BCCPA was loud and clear that the sector had not been consulted, nor was a clear business case put forward. We believe that there will be significant disruptions to the services that frail and elderly seniors depend upon. Our members are clear on how that can happen.
When the Seniors’ Advocate was asked about this massive shift of jobs into the public sector, she shrugged it off, and claimed that the transition will be “seamless”. Not one question was posed by her to government on their reason for the change, or if any analysis had been provided.
For BCCPA, this was a tipping point. To have someone in a job that requires so much public trust, and so clearly abusing that trust, it cannot continue.
Background documents
- FOI: Communication between OSA and HEU
- OSA news release (with track changes) showing edits made just prior to release
- FOI: Briefing note for Vancouver Coastal Health board refuting OSA report claims
- BCCPA request for independence of OSA (March 2018)
- Response from Minister of Health on independence question (April 2018)
- Opinion: Why BC Needs a Truly Independent Seniors Advocate (June 2018)
