The war of words continues between both sides of the fight over control over the Delta Hospice Society as the courts are about to hear an appeal by the current board.
A B.C. Court of Appeal hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7 to hear an appeal filed the by the current board to overturn an earlier petition to the B.C. Supreme Court, which successfully halted a planned meeting by the board to have the society’s constitution amended to be Christian-based.
That petition by Chris Pettypiece, Sharon Farrish and former board president Jim Levin followed the current DHS leadership rejecting many society membership applications by Delta residents opposed to the board’s actions.
They are part of a new group, Take Back Delta Hospice, which says it is composed of DHS members, supporters and advocates who believe the society should be accountable to its members and the community it serves.
“We believe Delta Hospice and its services should be available to all that require hospice care, regardless of their end-of-life choices. We are committed to ensuring a membership that reflects the wishes of the entire community and we’ll use this delay to strengthen our representation of them as we head into the fall and the BC Court’s decision,” a news release this summer stated.
Accused of stacking the membership to impose their viewpoint, the current board is alleged to have breached the Societies Act by blocking people from joining, only allowing supporters who have the same religious views.
Chris Pettypiece addressing a large rally at Paterson Park this summer. Many Delta residents including some prominent names were denied membership to the society.
The board and its president Angelina Ireland are opposed to providing the legal procedure medical assistance in dying (MAiD) at the Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner.
The current board reversed a decision by the previous board to allow MAiD.
In a news release following an appeal hearing this summer, Ireland stated, “We feel like the Court heard us today. We welcome the chance to argue on constitutional grounds why it’s wrong for the courts to force us to let a hostile group take over the Society, change its foundational purposes, and seize the assets built up for over 30 years.”
Her news release also noted lawyers for the DHS argued that B.C. Supreme Court’s Madame Justice Sheila Fitzpatrick erred in fact and law when she ordered on June 12th that the society must accept 310 applicants who had been denied membership.
The board contends she mistakenly treated the membership process as if the DHS was a public institution rather than a private association.
Even if the B.C.’s Societies Act permits such an order, it then violates charter rights of free association and freedom of conscience, Ireland noted, adding appeal court justices agreed to hear both aspects of the DHS legal claim.
Ireland also stressed the membership applications rejected were part of an attempted takeover of the society through “a public and coordinated campaign to infiltrate the Delta Hospice Society and overwhelm the existing membership with those who do not share our constitution. Their whole purpose was to reverse our policy on euthanasia.”
In a letter to the Delta Optimist last week, Take Back Delta Hospice noted the current board’s recent paid public announcements remind the community the board wants to have sole control over who gets to be a member of the Delta Hospice Society, an organization that was created through the efforts and generosity of the entire community.
Nancy Macey said, “The Society has the experience of 30 years of providing palliative care and bereavement support. Nothing has changed, or will change, in the quality and specialized services being provided to all citizens of Delta.”
“This latest move is yet another attempt by the DHS Board to deny memberships and is exactly what the Take Back Delta Hospice movement is fighting to overcome through our legal challenge in the BC Supreme Court,” the group stated.
The DHS board’s appeal is a further attempt to restrict the right of community members to participate in their own hospice, the group noted, adding that Take Back Delta Hospice continues to sign up members to join the fight.
In a recent letter to the editor, the society’s Nancy Macey claimed the advocacy group seems is causing confusion for the citizens of Delta.
She said it seems the objective of the group is to “take over” the society for the sole purpose of bringing euthanasia to the hospice.
“The Board decided to present the membership with the concept of acquiring religious status because that is the only option under Ministry of Health policy to gain an exemption from having euthanasia imposed on the hospice. The exemption, if granted, would in no way affect our current admission policy or conditions of employment. There are presently over 150 faith-based health facilities in the Province, of which St. Paul’s Hospital is an outstanding example,” her letter goes on to state.
“Because of this action, some of the TBDH advocacy group have labelled the DHS Board religious zealots, which means advocates. This is no different than labelling the TBDH advocacy group euthanasia zealots.”
By next February, the battle for control of the society could be a moot point.
Fraser Health has mandated that non-faith based hospices offer MAiD to those who ask for it, putting Delta Hospice on a collision course with the health authority and the province, which announced earlier this year the society would lose its funding by Feb. 25, 2021.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said it would not matter who controls the society by then and that it would no longer be permitted to provide palliative care beds.
