Keep Politics Out of Health Care: Repeal and Replace the HPOA
The Issue
Why we are speaking out
On April 1, 2026, the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) was introduced to protect the public, and we share that goal. We want a health-care system with strong public safety and protection, one that supports the people who provide care and is free of government control and political agenda. The HPOA, as designed, does not meet that standard and is not what British Columbians deserve.
Key priorities for BC health care
We have identified four key priorities, outlined further below, that require attention from elected officials in government, candidates, MLA's and policy makers.
- End political control of health regulation and restore independent, profession-informed governance
- Protect patient privacy and the confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship
- Restore fair process: independent discipline, due process and the traditional right to appeal
- Protect access to care and keep health professionals practicing in BC
These four areas are not exhaustive. Other important issues continue to require attention, including timely access to psychological assessments for ICBC and WorkSafeBC claims, child custody and autism; regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists; clear definitions of discrimination alongside the Act's important commitment to Indigenous cultural safety; and reducing administrative burdens that take professionals away from patient care.
What is the overriding problem of the HPOA?
The problem is the structure of the law itself: who appoints the boards, what powers they hold, and what rights professionals have. As of April 1, 2026, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to completely eliminate democratic elections for professional members on health regulatory boards. Under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), the Minister of Health appoints every board member through a government-appointed process. Peer practitioner elections to those boards have ended. Traditional court appeal rights have been removed, and Colleges were amalgamated and reduced from 15 to 6 and stripped of their self-regulating independence. If this structure of government overreach is allowed to exist for something as important as health care, what's next?
Because the problem is structural, amendments to individual sections cannot fix it. There are many areas in the HPOA that have raised valid questions and concerns across almost every profession. We would welcome any step that restores independence, but the goal is a replacement of the HPOA built with the professions, with a structure that keeps politics out of health care.
For psychologists, the clearest example is privacy and confidentiality. Therapy only works when people trust that what they say is private. Under the Act, a government appointed regulator's assessor can read a client's confidential file without the client's consent, and a psychologist who refuses can face misconduct findings and penalties. Some people will not seek help, and others may stop providing the information needed for their care.
This is not only a psychology issue. Doctors of BC reports that 98% of its Representative Assembly members agreed that, without meaningful physician input, the Act would significantly raise health-system costs and reduce access to care. In our own survey, of BC psychologists, 68% of those who responded said they might leave the profession under the current framework. And since that survey, we have seen the impact actively unfolding.
When experienced professionals leave, retire early, or reduce scope of practice, people wait longer for therapy, for primary care, and for the assessments that decide disability claims, custody and diagnoses. It is more efficient to support and retain a qualified health care professional than it is to replace them.
We support strong public protection, the Act's anti-discrimination and Indigenous cultural safety provisions, and its support for people harmed by professionals. None of those goals requires political control of health regulation.
Hearing from the candidates
We are an independent, non-partisan group of registered psychologists working for ethical regulation that protects the public, client confidentiality and access to care. We do not endorse or oppose any party or candidate.
We are asking every candidate the same question. We are asking every candidate in the upcoming election one question: will you commit to repealing and replacing the HPOA with a law, built with the professions and the public, that keeps politics out of health care? We will keep asking on behalf of every British Columbian beyond the election until it leads to change.
What you can do
1. Sign and share this petition.
2. Public safety and political control do not mix. Ask your candidate where they stand on the HPOA.
Sample Question for your candidate: Will you commit to repealing the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) and replacing it with legislation, built with the professions and the public, that keeps politics out of health care? Please let me know where you stand.
Follow our work: www.hpoa-psychologists.com
Please visit the links provided for more information:
www.hpoa-psychologists.com
https://www.doctorsofbc.ca/advocacy-policy/advocacy/health-professions-occupations-act
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The Issue
Why we are speaking out
On April 1, 2026, the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) was introduced to protect the public, and we share that goal. We want a health-care system with strong public safety and protection, one that supports the people who provide care and is free of government control and political agenda. The HPOA, as designed, does not meet that standard and is not what British Columbians deserve.
Key priorities for BC health care
We have identified four key priorities, outlined further below, that require attention from elected officials in government, candidates, MLA's and policy makers.
- End political control of health regulation and restore independent, profession-informed governance
- Protect patient privacy and the confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship
- Restore fair process: independent discipline, due process and the traditional right to appeal
- Protect access to care and keep health professionals practicing in BC
These four areas are not exhaustive. Other important issues continue to require attention, including timely access to psychological assessments for ICBC and WorkSafeBC claims, child custody and autism; regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists; clear definitions of discrimination alongside the Act's important commitment to Indigenous cultural safety; and reducing administrative burdens that take professionals away from patient care.
What is the overriding problem of the HPOA?
The problem is the structure of the law itself: who appoints the boards, what powers they hold, and what rights professionals have. As of April 1, 2026, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to completely eliminate democratic elections for professional members on health regulatory boards. Under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), the Minister of Health appoints every board member through a government-appointed process. Peer practitioner elections to those boards have ended. Traditional court appeal rights have been removed, and Colleges were amalgamated and reduced from 15 to 6 and stripped of their self-regulating independence. If this structure of government overreach is allowed to exist for something as important as health care, what's next?
Because the problem is structural, amendments to individual sections cannot fix it. There are many areas in the HPOA that have raised valid questions and concerns across almost every profession. We would welcome any step that restores independence, but the goal is a replacement of the HPOA built with the professions, with a structure that keeps politics out of health care.
For psychologists, the clearest example is privacy and confidentiality. Therapy only works when people trust that what they say is private. Under the Act, a government appointed regulator's assessor can read a client's confidential file without the client's consent, and a psychologist who refuses can face misconduct findings and penalties. Some people will not seek help, and others may stop providing the information needed for their care.
This is not only a psychology issue. Doctors of BC reports that 98% of its Representative Assembly members agreed that, without meaningful physician input, the Act would significantly raise health-system costs and reduce access to care. In our own survey, of BC psychologists, 68% of those who responded said they might leave the profession under the current framework. And since that survey, we have seen the impact actively unfolding.
When experienced professionals leave, retire early, or reduce scope of practice, people wait longer for therapy, for primary care, and for the assessments that decide disability claims, custody and diagnoses. It is more efficient to support and retain a qualified health care professional than it is to replace them.
We support strong public protection, the Act's anti-discrimination and Indigenous cultural safety provisions, and its support for people harmed by professionals. None of those goals requires political control of health regulation.
Hearing from the candidates
We are an independent, non-partisan group of registered psychologists working for ethical regulation that protects the public, client confidentiality and access to care. We do not endorse or oppose any party or candidate.
We are asking every candidate the same question. We are asking every candidate in the upcoming election one question: will you commit to repealing and replacing the HPOA with a law, built with the professions and the public, that keeps politics out of health care? We will keep asking on behalf of every British Columbian beyond the election until it leads to change.
What you can do
1. Sign and share this petition.
2. Public safety and political control do not mix. Ask your candidate where they stand on the HPOA.
Sample Question for your candidate: Will you commit to repealing the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) and replacing it with legislation, built with the professions and the public, that keeps politics out of health care? Please let me know where you stand.
Follow our work: www.hpoa-psychologists.com
Please visit the links provided for more information:
www.hpoa-psychologists.com
https://www.doctorsofbc.ca/advocacy-policy/advocacy/health-professions-occupations-act
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Petition created on May 17, 2026