 Thank you for a sign. Are you the sign? Okay, great. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. It is good to be here on the traditional territory of the Likongan-speaking people, the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nation. I'm joined today by public health officer Dr. Barney Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix. Before we get into the substance of today's announcement, I just want to say again how grateful I and all British Columbians are to those who have been, for the past number of months, working so hard to protect people and property right across British Columbia through yet another absolutely horrific fire season here in BC. It's certainly challenging. This is the fourth year of this government. And this is the third summer of record-breaking heat, record-breaking fires. And these are challenges that we are prepared for because of the hard work of people in every part of the province. So to the crews, to emergency management BC, to indigenous leaders, to community leaders who have all been stepping up to do their part to engage in this challenging fire season, as well as all of the other issues that are on our plates, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. And saying that, though, although we've had a bit of a reprieve because of the weather, we're a long way from out of the fire season. Currently significant fires in all parts of British Columbia here on the aisle and in the interior. Getting certainly a reprieve in the north for now. But indications are that we have several, several weeks to go. So people, please be vigilant. Listen, be attentive. If you're in a fire area, to those around you, to emergency personnel who are there, of course, to make everybody safe. And now, of course, I want to turn to the objective of our conference today, and that's to talk about where we are in the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Dix and Dr. Henry have already advised that it's quite unlikely, in fact, it is not likely, that we will be moving to step four of our restart plan come September. The Delta variant and an increase in cases, largely within the unvaccinated population, has led us to pause and reflect on what steps, what measures can we take through public health and through other initiatives to protect British Columbians, to protect businesses, and to make sure that we can keep doing to the best of our ability those things that make life here in British Columbia so special. Getting vaccinated is the way forward through this pandemic. We have outstanding numbers. Minister Dix will go through this shortly. Three-quarters of British Columbians eligible, 12 and above, have had two doses of approved, safe and effective vaccines. Over 82.5%. I think I've already had a first dose. And today, we are announcing the initiation of what we're calling the BC vaccine card to make sure that when you go out to non-discretionary activities like ticketed sporting events, indoor concerts, movies, wherever there is non-discretion activity that you can go to with the confidence that those around you have also taken steps to protect themselves and their families and their families. The BC vaccine card will help us get there. This gives people time as we start with a target date of September 13th to implement the BC vaccine card with an end date of October 24th plus seven days to ensure that the vaccines, the second vaccine, for those who have not yet had their immunizations will be safe to go into the broader population. This is a step we believe is important at this point in the pandemic. And Dr Henry will go into some of the details. But there is no reason why those who are anxious to participate in the social and economic life of our community can't take that next step and get that safe, effective vaccine. They're free. We have clinics around the province. There will be more opportunities through pop-up clinics, through walk-in clinics to make sure that that decreasing number of people who have not yet taken the vaccine will be able to participate in the next few days and the community will do so. And when they do that, that will give them opportunities to go to nightclubs, to go to restaurants. Where I have to say, and it's critically important at this point, in our consultations with the business community, those who provide services to people, restaurateurs, the hospitality sector, tourism industries that have indoor activities, sporting events, services for British Columbians, and they want to do it in a way that gives their patrons confidence that they're taking every step possible to make sure that they can attend an event, they can go to a spin class, they can go out for dinner and not be fearful that they may contact, come into contact with someone who may be able to transmit COVID-19. The BC vaccine card is following in the footsteps of other jurisdictions. I've spoken to Premier Legault in a passport, an immunization card in that province, and we've learned a great deal from their implementation, and of course other jurisdictions will learn from the work we do here in British Columbia. British Columbians need to know that this is the first time anything like this has ever been tried. There may be bumps along the way, but we're very confident Minister Dix and his team have been working with citizen services throughout the summer to make sure that we're doing this in a way that keeps everybody fully apprised of the state of play as we go forward. With that, I'll turn the microphone up over to Dr. Henry and she can fill in the details. Thank you very much and good afternoon. As the Premier indicated, I also want to begin today by recognizing everybody in British Columbia who has taken that important step of protecting themselves and their family and their communities by getting together to help us get through this pandemic. We've come a long way since this pandemic began 19, 20 months ago and over the past 18 months we have pulled through these challenging times together and we need to continue to recalibrate, to look at what's going on around us and to take the necessary actions to get us through this next phase. And as we have been through the last year and a half, two years, we do it with compassion and with kindness. And British Columbians continue to demonstrate their strong resolve to put this behind us. Thankfully, we have a powerful and effective tool now that helps us on this journey and that's vaccinations. Not only are they very, very safe, but they provide protection to you, to those who you are closest to, your loved ones and your community and allows us to get back to those much needed social interactions and connections that we need. Vaccines have changed the way we deal with the pandemic and have made it possible to remove restrictions and get back to doing some of those things that we love and we've seen that, we've had that opportunity over the past few months of the summer, even though we've been faced with other challenging situations that have made it more and more difficult. And while we are making excellent decisions on the basis of cases, particularly in people who are not yet vaccinated. Over the past month, up until the end of last week, people who have not been fully vaccinated account for almost 90% of all of our cases and over 93% of the hospitalizations that we've had in this past month. To put it in context, we have a rate of about 28 per 100,000 cases in people who are unvaccinated, compared to 2 per 100,000 in people who are fully vaccinated. What that tells us is that your risk is 10 times higher if you have not been protected through vaccine and what we are seeing is that leads to transmission in clusters of groups of people when they come together, particularly now that we are seeing transmission with the highly transmissible Delta variant across the province. These numbers are a stark reminder to all of us why vaccines matter. And we have made incredible progress and in our shared efforts to put the pandemic behind us, high levels of transmission among unvaccinated people, mean that further action is needed to help reduce transmission, to keep all of our businesses open and ensure we can continue to enjoy the social events that we have been able to through the summer as we head into the fall. The science is clear. As I said, unvaccinated people are at more than 10 times higher risk than vaccinated people. When you are vaccinated, it means that you are less likely to get infected. If you are infected, you shed virus first. A shorter period of time, you are less likely to transmit to other people and you are much less likely to get infected. We have seen that that protection is remaining strong when we look around the world and here in B.C. Which is why these new measures are now needed to ensure that as we move into the fall, as we know that our respiratory season will be ramping up, and we can ensure indoor social settings are as safe as they can be for the vast majority of us who have been immunized. The best protection as well of those who cannot yet be immunized, particularly children under the age of 12 as they head back to school in a few short weeks is that all of us around those people are protected. That means we stop the transmission and we protect children as well. So a new provincial health officer order will require individuals to provide proof of vaccination, our B.C. vaccination card, to access more than 80 Clarionary events and businesses throughout the province. As of September 13, you will need to have at least one dose of vaccine to enter these settings, and by October 24 entry to these settings will require people aged 12 and all older to be fully vaccinated at least 7 days after receiving both doses. So the settings that we are talking about include indoor concerts, theater, dance and symphony events, indoor and patio dining in restaurants, nightclubs and casinos, fitness centers, gyms and businesses offering indoor high-intensity exercise, organized indoor events like weddings or parties, birthdays, conferences and workshops, and indoor organized events, sorry, discretionary, organized indoor recreational classes and activities, so things like seniors, classes, choirs and other indoor groups. These new measures will help reduce transmission and keep our communities safer and ensure we can continue to keep businesses open, continue to have those social and arts and sports events as safely as we can for those who are protected. There will continue to be many ways for people to receive their first and second doses of vaccine, it's quick, it's safe, it's easy, and it's the best way we have to protect yourself and your community and to be able to continue to participate in these important social and arts and social and sports events. So I encourage you to visit gov.bc.ca, Vax for BC, to find a clinic near you. This simple act will make all the difference as we know it is the way to stop the higher transmission that we're seeing with the Delta variant across the province now. So this, there will be more details about how to access your BC vaccination card, but just be assured it is a confidential system that will allow you to download onto your phone the the card that indicates whether you are partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated or unvaccinated and businesses will be able to will be required to look for your vaccination card and your proof of identification as we do for many other things if we're attending a concert or are going into a liquor store for example. So that is the there will also be provisions for people who are who don't have access to to a phone to be able to do this through our call centre and we'll be ramping up and giving you the details of that in the coming weeks. So by the the end of the long weekend we'll have all of those details out for you but this is our way of getting through this next phase of the pandemic that we've been dealt and to make sure that we can go through the fall with safely reopening schools, safely reopening post-secondary education for for students for faculty and to safely continue our businesses and events through the fall. We also need to continue to do those things that keep us safe including wearing masks in indoor public areas using hand hygiene regularly and keeping our respectful distance from people. We need to and we will be continually reassessing and adapting as we go through this next phase and we deal with the pandemic that we've been cards that we've been dealt This will be a time-limited initiative and will eventually as we move into the fall we'll continue to work with the federal government to make sure we have an alignment with the federal passport vaccine passport that's under development as well But for now, this is what we need to continue to operate safely in our communities as we head into this next fall And it will allow us to get through this with compassion and with kindness as we have been doing all along here in BC And I'll now turn it over to Mr. Dix. Thank you very much, Dr. Henry. And I want to start by saying that our program our immunization BC program here in BC is one of the most successful in the world 83.2% of all those over 12 all those out 12 and over those eligible to be vaccinated have been vaccinated 74.9% have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and I'm we're obviously very proud of that record it represents 7,336,798 doses administered and all of those doing that work from pharmacists in the community to doctors and nurses and many other health professionals to all of those supporting the efforts We say thank you and to all those British Columbians who themselves have stepped up in their vast majority to get vaccinated And they get vaccinated again. We say thank you Where we are in the pandemic as I think was well summarized By Dr. Henry that most of the recent cases we've seen and hospitalizations We've seen continue to be amongst unvaccinated individuals who represent, of course A smaller and smaller share of the population in mid august The case rate amongst unvaccinated people was 10 times higher 10 times higher than the case rate in fully vaccinated people Only 8% of the cases in hospital are amongst fully vaccinated people What it says is there is a profound need for your health to be vaccinated And then in the time of the delta variant being unvaccinated Puts you your family and your community at risk I wanted to note, of course that we're at step three in our restart plan as the premier has said and as Dr. Henry and I indicated last week. It is likely that we will not be Staying moving to step four at the moment at september 7th, which was the earliest possible date We would consider moving to that step in any event today's action This action around a bc vaccine card is a key step In making sure that we continue to move forward in bc that we overcome COVID-19 together and that we move forward together We know that the delta variant is highly transmissible We know that while so many british colombians have had their first and second doses There are british colombians About 776,000 eligible right now who have not yet done so We know that unvaccinated people are getting sick and we know they are going to hospital And we know that no one is comfortable With any of this Because throughout this pandemic we've learned We've learned that climbing case numbers rising hospitalizations And increasing numbers of people in icu is not the direction we want to go or one that can be sustained Our pandemic has always been about making good choices with the information we have And making the best choices to stop the spread and keep people safe And to make the best choices We have always provided the best support that science offers and the clearest guidance it makes possible That's why we're acting to ensure that as of september 13th People will be required to be vaccinated to participate in a broad range of social settings and activities These include and dr. Henry went through them But it's important to through them again indoor ticketed sporting events indoor concerts theater Dance and symphony events indoor and patio dining dining in restaurants night clubs and casinos fitness centers and gyms Business offer businesses offering Indoor high intensity exercise Organized indoor events such as weddings parties conferences meetings workplaces Indoor organized events again such as conferences and weddings And by october 24th to participate in these settings and events people will need to be fully vaccinated At least the first dose by september 13th both doses by october 24th At least and they'll have to do it at least seven days before that so important to meet those deadlines Taking this action now is a critical step in continuing to increase the vaccination rate across the province It's an essential step to provide increased confidence to fully vaccinated people That those around them are also fully vaccinated and made the best choice in our bc pandemic And are also bringing us back together safely Our bc pandemic has always been about taking thoughtful action and acting with precision Providing advanced notice of this measure to stop the spread Keep people safe and increased confidence will allow those who have not yet got their vaccines to take the necessary action to do so immediately And i want to say this And as you know This is an important opportunity and across british columbia There will be the opportunities to do that you can get registered today to get your covet 19 vaccine And i encourage you to do so Online people will be able to confident confidentially access their proof of vaccination A secure web link will be widely communicated ahead of september 13th And there will also as dr. Henry has said be an option for people who can't access their record online But let's be clear to enter and access the settings. We've mentioned every person's age 12 and above older Must be vaccinated and we all need to remember that getting vaccinated keeps everyone in bc safe And stops the spread of covet 19 And getting vaccinated is the best choice to protect yourself The people you love and to ensure you can continue to participate in these settings and events I want to thank everyone in bc for their continuing effort In this very challenging time of the covet 19 pandemic This is an action we can take together Safely i encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities across british columbia to get vaccinated and to do so Today, thank you very much Hand it back to the premier Thanks adrian, dr. Henry And with that i will also just advise the media that there will be Full briefings tomorrow on with minister white side and minister kang with respect to k-12 and post secondary I know there are a lot of questions about where we're heading in those two sectors That will be fully laid out tomorrow By the minister's responsible with dr. Henry today We want to focus on the immunization card and what that means as we build the foundations for The tools we'll need and use throughout the next number of months to continue to move COVID-19 into the rearview mirror for many british columbians, but still very very critically important to those Who have already been infected those who've not yet been vaccinated? That's our focus today and with that i'll invite questions from the media Thank you premier as a reminder to media on the phone Please press star one to enter the queue limited to one question and one follow-up First question today is from lisa cordesco vancouver sun Also very much um since vaccinated people can also Get COVID and also pass along the virus. Why not? You know include another layer of protection by having a mask mandate Yeah, we know uh that it is much much less likely one to get infected and two to transmit Once you are immunized But masking does play an important role in those areas where Transmission in the community is high and we've seen that in the interior We're looking at what that means for us as we move through The fall and we've seen transmission in pockets as we know in various places around the province So some of that will be addressed in our discussions in the next few days Lisa do you have a follow-up? Yes, um, will you extend this type of requirement to workplaces because A lot of people You know going back to work are very concerned about having to work Next door to somebody who has not been vaccinated Yeah, so these measures that we're introducing today are for people who are attending these types of events or or businesses and it is up to each business they the Employer employee relationship is a different one from somebody who is participating in an event or Going to to a business a restaurant for example So yes, we have been working with WorkSafeBC to support businesses in in looking at their COVID safety plans the communicable disease plans and where vaccination fits in those plans and we've seen that from a number of businesses We've seen commitments from the federal government around some of the federally regulated businesses and we'll continue to support businesses who Were particularly public facing businesses where vaccination is really important to protect staff But this vaccine card is is not for employee people who work in those settings There's a different process that needs to take place for for employees Next question is from Richard Sisman global news One of the challenges here obviously is going to be enforcement Dr. Turner, you just alluded to the businesses will have some responsibility here Can you talk about what we expect from a restaurant or a movie theater in terms of enforcing that someone has the proper identification And what would the process be like if someone Refuses, you know tells an 18 year old server that you know, they're not they're coming in and they don't have proof of the immunization with them I know these are the challenging things that we've been facing throughout this pandemic But it is very much the same thing as Looking at proof of identification of age to get into a bar or a nightclub for example So yes, we'll be working and I know there's a number of ministries involved to support Businesses in how to manage this We're making it as simple as we possibly can to have a confidential way of determining People's immunization status. Mostly it'll be either by phone or by showing A paper copy plus proof of who you are so it'll have government ID as well And yes, we do expect that there will be there may be a small group of people who are protesting against this as they have For other measures along the way But we as it is a provincial health officer order We do have the ability to support businesses with bylaw officers with environmental health officers and And we'll be continuing to to work with them to support businesses in doing this in a way that's effective I don't know if you want to add to that Richard do you have a follow-up? I do I was also asking about I'm just curious about exemptions I haven't had a whole chance to look at all the details here But if someone cannot be immunized, is there an exemption if someone Does not want to use the vaccine due to religious reasons. Is there an exemption? And will there be exemptions for people traveling from outside of the province? In to british columbia or did they after how do they follow the same guidelines as british columbians? Yeah, so the short answer is no This is a temporary measure that's getting us through a risky period Where we know that people who are unvaccinated are at greater risk of both contracting and spreading this virus So if there are Those rare people who have a medical reason why they can't be immunized They these are discretionary events that we're talking about So they will not be able to attend those events through this period of time of high risk There are no exemptions for other reasons As well It is really important that what we're trying to do is be able to allow these Discretionary events to continue in a way that is safe for the vast majority of people who have been immunized In terms of people coming from out of province We will have the ability for them to show their proof of a vaccine and it will be compatible with Quebec and with other provinces and what What their proof of immunization or their immunization record is So we have a process for that as well as for international travelers who all right now Have to show their proof of immunization using the can arrive app So we're working with the federal government to make sure we'll be aligned with that as well At the only exemption I will say is Children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination. They will be able to attend Sporting events or go to a restaurant if the parents or the the adults they are with are fully vaccinated Yeah, and just with respect to the intergovernmental connections here other jurisdictions within canada other jurisdictions around the world This dr. Henry said we've been working with the federal government with provinces and territories across canada to make sure that we are synchronizing this activity to the best of our ability I think the vast majority of certainly british columbians 74 percent Heading to 75 percent have already received two doses So this is a Majority view and that majority wants to know that people that they are interacting with Have taken the same steps to protect themselves and their loved ones in their communities And that's the objective we've had at the national table with the federal government as well, of course as with Other provinces and I made reference to Premier lego from kebac who I've had recent conversations with about their experience I believe manitoba is already well underway other jurisdictions will be following suit So there is I want people to have confidence that we are coordinating as best as we can The technologies do lend themselves to that integration Again the the nav can app to get into the country is the starting point for those That are not canadian nationals and those within canada who are traveling Will be expected to follow the same procedures as british columbians if they want to participate in these non-discretionary activities camille veins canadian press Hi there Many youth seem to be really gung-ho about getting their first dose of vaccine earlier on as they were eligible to be vaccinated but then they seem to be getting a little ho hum about their second dose is Uh, are is that borne out by the numbers? Maybe dr. Henry could answer that or or a tree takes Yeah, you know, I think there is a couple of things. Yes, we've we are seeing lower rates in and youth and they've had a Young people have had a a shorter period of time to get both the first and second doses We did see a good uptake at the beginning of first doses And we're seeing that in in some age groups more than others and I'll turn it over to minister to give you some of those details But we also see that through the summer As case rates were coming down that sense of urgency was going down We were getting that large group of people who were eligible for for their second doses immunized our immunization clinics were really really busy And now we're at that point As I've said, you know in the last couple of weeks, we have a lot of vaccine now We have a lot of access We need to get over that complacency And recognize that as we go into the fall as we're seeing case rates come up Particularly in pockets where there's still people on unionized that this is our time to step up again and to get younger people Most of the cases that we're seeing are are people who are unvaccinated between the ages of 20 and 40 so we will be making sure that 12 to 17 year olds have access and We're working on the plans for schools We're working with the advanced education sector to make sure that international students and other students going to To university this fall Can have access to vaccine on campus easily and And quickly for them and that's what this will help support in the next little while. So yes now is the time I know people have been busy. They've been doing things through the summer and you know in parts of this province We've had a lot of displacement from all kinds of things going on But now's the time to pay attention so that we're all protected as we go into the fall Thank you for the question camille. I don't think that's what we see in general what you see right now 83.2 of people with their percent of people their first dose 74.9 with their second dose There is a there is of course Uh an interval between those doses. So the the number of people who require a second dose is And have had their first dose done 386,000 and that's a relatively small number only one in 12 people are in the Partially vaccinated category. So we haven't seen generally that as the problem and the question of age is also Um, in a little bit inconsistent throughout the province as we said a number of times over 50 Generally speaking whether you're in northern health or interior health or Vancouver coastal health or island health or Fraser health Your levels of vaccination are are pretty comparable within a few percentage points in those categories It's where we get under 50 that there's very significant differences as between health authorities and we're obviously Significantly focused on that to make it happen. But with respect to second dose immunization Generally speaking that's happening the people who choose to get first doses are getting second doses with relatively little delay And right now if you count those who are registered for their second dose, it's a it's a declining amount It's eight percent now. We expect it to continue to drop It won't go down to zero that gap because by definition people who have their first dose say yesterday We'll have to wait a period of time to get their second dose But that gap is dropping It's um, it'll be eight percent as of end of day today and it will continue to drop In the coming days and weeks. So we don't see that as a problem What we want to do is get more people with their first dose immunization because that Across the board leads to the second dose, of course Follow up Camille Yes, thank you With a vaccination card. What can you say about whether The technology that's being used so that people can't forge them Well, the work is being done inside government for a safe Porthole so that this information and it's not about details health details other than whether or not you've been immunized So we're doing our best working with the privacy commissioner And his staff working with within government with the people who work with technologies every day Overlaying that with the good work at the public health office and in minister Dix's ministry to make sure that we can narrow down This technology to this one specific purpose We are confident that we've got there and as we roll it out in september That'll be obvious to most people that this is if you have the technology and the vast majority of people do On their phone they can they can download that information and then Apply it to whatever venue they want to enter and we're hopeful that this is going to be as seamless as we can make it Again looking at other jurisdictions following their lead keeping in mind the privacy concerns of british columbians as well as The increase in technological use by the vast majority of british columbians and those who can't as dr. Henry and minister Dix have said There'll be other mechanisms for them to get that information to demonstrate that they can attend the events that they want to attend Next question is from rob Monroe in ponies Hi, dr. Henry Thank you for this I'm just wondering how this affects the measures that were brought into place in the interior health region Does that mean in september we will be able to relax some of those measures or is that lockdown going to continue? Yeah, so that's a really good question And there is some discretion for areas of high transmission and the interior health is one of them Where we'll be having discussions about whether we can put some of these measures in place sooner rather than later So we may use it as an opportunity to test some of the the vaccine card initiative We've been having some early conversations about that and yes that should allow us to Have some of these gatherings events happen more safely in those areas where we already have higher transmission But in the meantime, we need to continue to take those other measures that protect us in the in the interior We know that a lot of the transmission is happening in in indoor social gatherings and as So private gatherings especially so making sure that we do take that step of of getting vaccinated now And it will have a more impact in the in the next little while But the local mHO can bring in some of these Restrictions earlier or some of these requirements earlier and we'll be talking about how we can do that to support Things being getting back to more normal in the interior in the next little while Rob, do you have a follow up? Yeah, just to to clarify. So does this mean by September the 13th? We will have access in the interior to these or are you suggesting we might have it even A week or two earlier We may have it earlier or we might have ways of doing it for example showing your Immunization card in certain situations. So we're working through some of those details in the higher risk communities Please I used a news 1130 Hi there, I'm going to roll two into one here. I'm premier. I didn't quite hear the answer to Forging and what will prevent forging of this kind of technology And also, is there any option for a negative cova test for people who don't who aren't vaccinated? Yeah, no, we're we're not including Cova testing results in the the vaccine card. It really is about immunization and we know that Even people who have had cova 19 the the immunity that you have is less broad And less we don't know how long it lasts for some people. It fades away quite quickly So immunization is still important particularly for people who have had mild cases of cova And and with respect to the protection that citizens will have through the app That will be or the technology that will ultimately be laid out for everyone on the 13th of september We've taken steps and government is quite proficient at this often times. There are reports of Governments, not just ours, but others being hacked by malicious Individuals or groups and that's a constant concern within government for technologies. So we have have a pretty sophisticated Personnel that manage these issues not just within Health but also right across governments and we're confident that every Tool that we can use to protect this information and to make sure it can't be Duplicated or forged will be put in place and and we'll see how we unroll it on the 13th and we can be judged at that time follow please Yes, I'm wondering what your concerns are about facing legal challenges For this and also our churches and mosques and other religious facilities included in requiring this proof of vaccine Well with respect to legal challenges again, I just point as minister dicks has said 83 percent first dose 75 percent second dose British columbians in the majority are very much supportive of this initiative and quite frankly I've heard more than anything else. What's what's keeping you back? What's holding you up? Why are we not doing this right now that having said that there will be those that will challenge the The application and and we'll take that on as it comes I don't want to prejudge or predict who or what or how that will happen but again government is always prepared for these types of Adventures into the courts. We do it all the time the minister of attorney general is well versed at managing these issues as they come forward and I'm confident this is no different than those Sure No, these these will not be applying to faith based services Nor will it apply to essential services like health care services It also as you can see doesn't apply to retail and grocery stores Areas where we don't see a lot of transmission and where we have other measures in place and they are essential services What it applies to is those discretionary those social events The arts the sports the things that we want to a need to get back to but can be a risk so indoor group environments and that's why We picked the places that we have because these are discretionary. They are not essential services I've worked as you know, we've worked really closely with the faith based groups across the province over this past very long year and a half and We have in place guidelines that they are using to help support faith based services coming back to Some in-person and hybrids and there's a lot of work that's been done with the communities to make sure that They can continue to operate safely and we're seeing that as being effective Rob buffham ctv vi Oh, thank you for taking my question My first question is for premier Horgan and it it actually relates to fairy creek Over the weekend video emerged that you may have seen showing the rcmp spraying protesters there the protesters are now alleging excessive force by the rcmp I this question is for a colleague who's wondering You know so far things don't seem to be tamping down what appears to be maybe escalating conflict out there What's your reaction and do you have a solution? Apart from what's currently going on Well with respect to the issue of old growth logging in british columbia This is something that didn't just start six weeks ago six months ago six years ago It has been part and parcel of our forest industry from the beginning And since we were sworn in as a government we've taken extraordinary steps to protect old growth for us to the point of Striking an independent commission who brought forward recommendations, which we in september fully embraced and have been working on implementing from that time At the core of course is also the declaration on the rights of indigenous people who who have been here since the beginning of time And it is on their territory that much of this activity takes place whether it's been Seated or unseated those discussions need to take place and they have been ongoing With respect to the patchita and fairy creek the patchita have said quite clearly not once not twice not three times But five times Please leave our territory and allow us to resolve these issues on our land in our way To that end the patchita have deferred all logging Old growth logging in fairy creeks So the objective that the protesters Set out to achieve appears to me to have been achieved And at this point they're continuing to stay in the territory against the wishes Of the patchita against the injunction that was brought forward by the courts And law enforcement doesn't take direction from government. They Make their choices based on how the courts direct them and they've been directed to enforce the injunction I would prefer that the confrontation would come to an end and we can get back to the collaboration that we've seen in so many other endeavors In our lives here in british columbia as a result of cove it We've made great progress on deferring massive tracks of old growth for us We have much more to do and I would rather do that as we are with many organizations across the province in a collaborative way rather than in a confrontational way Rob, do you have a follow-up? I do this is for another colleague and it's for minister dicks. It relates to Health care here on the island over the weekend minister dicks as you probably know senate peninsula ER's department was was shut down at one point overnight Apparently because of staffing issues and people were directed to go to other hospitals Including we've heard vic general had very long waits up to 11 hours So I just I guess I'm hoping to get your thoughts on what this says about the state of health care if an emergency room department on vancouver allen is shut down overnight and Patients are turned away and How worried you are about that? Well in this case I mean obviously we don't like it and we don't see that in any way as desirable in this case It was deemed for the safety of all patients that that would be the right approach that we Divert patients to the other hospitals in the region and that's what's happening It's obviously not desirable, but you have to make sure That you are appropriately staffed in those circumstances. It doesn't happen very often, but it happened in this case And it does show in this time and it's why Uh this time which is particularly challenging in our hospital system where we're seeing high response and a high use of emergency health services In relative terms the highest use ever in calls to the bc emergency health service to the ambulance service when we're seeing relatively high uses of emergency rooms When we see the challenges with respect to the delta variant in terms of cobit 19 They're real challenges in healthcare and I think our teams are doing a really good job They determined at vancorelli on health this decision was needed on that day It's not desirable, but it was the right decision for the safety of Of patients and to provide the right care to patients and they took that decision and I support them in taking that decision But obviously these are issues We work on to avoid and to ensure that this would happen very very rarely So I think it's it's a it's a it's a certainly a significant concern to me Obviously, we weren't happy that that it had to be done, but it needed to be done in those circumstances And I think folks did the right job and hopefully and as you know in emergency rooms It's why we provided alternatives Why the important role played by urgent and primary care centers and by other and by excellent primary care Around the problems so important particularly in this these time that patients are triage So some patients obviously get seen immediately and that's inevitable and some have to wait longer, but We're not happy about it We certainly hope it doesn't happen again. It was deemed necessary at the time and That I think in general across the board our health care teams are doing an extraordinary job under very difficult circumstances To public health emergencies right now The overdose crisis the overdose public health emergency the covet 19 public health emergency And a significant increase in utilization of services and I think our health care teams are just doing an exceptional job And and sometimes tough decisions have to be made in the moment as a result of that But we're going to continue to to do everything we can to provide the level of service necessary Marcia leader ming global mill Hi there. Thanks for taking my question You indicated earlier that it's a different process when it comes to the employer employee relationship The c is obviously an employer. So what what about for provincial government employees? Will a vaccine be required for them to go to their jobs? Thank you very much for the question Marcia. I think those are things obviously the government looks at right now within the provincial Sphere we're implementing A requirement for vaccination for long-term care workers and assisted living workers and obviously We're looking to move more broadly within the health care system Why have we started there because that's clearly where the highest level of risk is we've seen The significant number of people have passed away in long-term care in the hundreds In british columbia and so the risk there is significant and it's why we're moving First to mandatory vaccination and that risk is also Supports the decision in that area to go to mandatory vaccination. So the other areas, of course We we are looking at based on the same principles right now at present We're going first and this is by october 12th to ensure that everybody Who works in long-term care and assisted living is vaccinated and we'll look at other issues Especially in health care is my principal concern as minister of health In the coming in the coming days Follow up marcia Uh, yeah, um, I was having trouble understanding what happens if someone from another province comes to bc And wants to go to a restaurant or wants to go to a play or concert Will they be able to and what will they have to show for proof? So we're going to work through province by province some provinces already have equivalent Identification of different sorts now and so we'll be working through those issues with other provinces and be able to provide and support businesses In the in the coming week, of course this is coming into place september 13th So in advance of that where we not only provide what people can expect from british columbians But what they could expect from other people from other provinces in canada We have time for one more question today katie nicolson cbc Thank you. I'm hoping to get responses in french and english if possible One point, um, just looking for some more clarification. Uh, dr. Henry, you mentioned this is a limited time requirement But we'd like to know how long is limited if you're suggesting that those who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons just Won't be able to attend events. Um, like this while proof of vaccination is a requirement How long will they have to wait? Thank you Our intent right now is to be looking at january And reassessing as we go through The fall as we see what happens with as we increase You know incrementally increasing just a small amount the number of people who are vaccinated Makes a big difference In uh, in how we can protect people. So we are looking at january But we'll be reassessing on a month by month basis as we go through the fall Discretionary That you will have to be vaccinated in columbia butanica And it's for the protection of the people and for the protection of the workers It's for the protection of everyone. And so, uh, It is essential during this period, this period of autumn until winter That we have this obligation to be vaccinated to participate in these activities To avoid those who are not essential But who are important of course but not essential during this period. I know it's difficult for Some people but it's a very difficult period With a lot of unknown And you have to in the first place Protect the health of people in columbia butanica and that's what we have the intention of doing So we have to protect the health of people in columbia Katie, do you have a follow-up? Yes, and again, I'm going to have the same ask in both french and english Just looking at sort of how this is supposed to roll out and how people can access the data Is there a fear that this gives preference to people who can afford phones? And you have you know fixed address that sort of thing. How will all people be able to access This this vaccine card if you don't have a phone if you don't have a fixed address So the vast majority of people will have a phone and will have access to that We are there is a second option and there will be a second option to support other people that will be Available via phone essentially for people who are not in those circumstances. So obviously a lot of the work That needs to be done in this area is based on those Those people who aren't in those circumstances and we want to make sure of course this is fair For everyone because we need everyone to be vaccinated and we want everyone of course once they're vaccinated To be able to have every opportunity to take part in these activities I would say in french that It's well heard of a priority priority for us to have that everyone Cell phone Or not To have access to their rights as citizens If we are vaccinated we can participate in all these activities So a large part of our work is to ensure that other people are not in a category that can Have access easily to these teachings and their own teachings are being measured to have access So we are going to work on that and we are going to present these teachings well ahead of the 13th of September to give the opportunity to everyone to be able to participate in these activities except that to assure and especially If they are vaccinated so it's important to be vaccinated in columbia-britain to participate in these activities that are not essential but important. Thank you very much Thanks for joining us