Delta politicians at all levels and political stripes have come together to address the tumultuous situation at Delta Hospice.
In a joint letter to Adrian Dix this week, Mayor George Harvie, MP Carla Qualtrough and MLAs Ian Paton and Ravi Kahlon asked for a meeting with the province’s health minister, noting the Delta Hospice Society board’s opposition to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has become a distraction from the good work of hospice staff and volunteers, causing severe damage and division within the hospice and throughout the community.
Saying they appreciate the government had taken earlier action by notifying Delta Hospice its funding and service agreement will end Feb. 25, 2021, the letter also states there’s growing anxiety in the community over statements by board president Angelina Ireland.
“As elected officials, we are united in voicing our concerns with the board’s recent decision to significantly alter its constitution and bylaws, while at the same time seemingly thwarting the efforts of our citizens to have a say in the direction of the society,” the letter notes.
The Delta officials are referring to a special meeting the hospice board has scheduled for June 15 for members to vote to amend the society’s constitution to include statements on Christian principles.
The meeting was scheduled as a large number Delta residents opposed to the board’s actions saw their membership applications denied without explanation, a move alleged in order to stack the membership with a minority, including non-Delta residents, trying to impose their religious views.
“We are worried and would like to ensure that the care provided by the society in the interim is of the highest quality. It is important to us that this critically important service is available to the people of our community into the future,” the Delta letter states.
It’s been a turbulent several months for the Delta Hospice Society following a heated annual general meeting late last year that saw newly signed-up members opposed to MAiD change the balance of power and vote in a new board.
That board, with Ireland at its helm, promptly reversed a policy that had been passed by the previous board to allow the end of life procedure at the Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner.
Saying it was never the intention of Delta Hospice to do procedures that would hasten the end of life, Ireland has maintained that MAiD is not in keeping with the principles of palliative care, accusing the province of trying to “steal” the Delta Hospice facility.
She told the Optimist last week those who want MAiD should form their own group and build their own facility.
In 2016, the federal government passed legislation permitting MAiD. Fraser Health approved its policy later that year that mandates hospices provide the procedure, although faith-based facilities are exempt.
After refusing to adhere to the policy, Dix this year announced that Delta Hospice had been given one-year’s notice without cause that the province would pull its funding and the society would not be permitted to provide palliative care.
It left the future of the 10-bed hospice and adjacent supportive care centre in doubt, although Dix offered assurance to the community those beds would continue to operate.
Ireland said the province shouldn’t be able to do so if Delta Hospice is faith based and the upcoming meeting will formally affirm the Christian principles on which hospice care is based.
