A Fernie resident is petitioning the Government of Canada to step in and review a recent policy change from the Alberta provincial government, that restricts people in BC from getting medical care in Alberta.
TJ Hagarty launched petition e-6974 in November, in response to a recent change in interprovincial licensing and credentialing for medical professionals that has made it so that B.C residents cannot get medical care in Alberta.
The petition calls on the federal government to work with the provincial government on a cross-border care agreement, explore ways to support licensing, review policies that restrict access to essential healthcare, and support interim solutions that could maintain care during the transition.
Hagarty has been directly affected by this regulatory change. His 11-year-old son Jackson has cystic fibrosis and he was getting regular care from the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary since infancy.
A few months ago, Hagarty got a call from the hospital, who informed him that Jackson would no longer be able to get care in Alberta, and would have to transfer to the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
“[It was] a total shock,” said Hagarty. “I was talking to them about medication not too long ago, so I thought it was just about that … It wasn’t happy news.”
The prospect of lengthy travel, and accompanying hotel and gas bills, leaves Hagarty worried. Visiting Vancouver would mean travelling 11 hours by car from Fernie, or catching regular flights from Canadian Rockies International Airport. A trip to the coast would take at least three days of travel, compared to the short three hour drive from Fernie to Calgary. This places a major burden on their family, who visit the hospital four times per year.
Local medical centres like the Elk Valley Hospital in Fernie and the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook do not offer services for Jackson. Kelowna General Hospital may be able to complete blood testing, but he’d still have to go to Vancouver to meet with a team of specialists.
“[It’s] creating undue hardship on my family, forcing us to go a whole lot further, breaking the continuity of care which is extremely important, and forcing us to spend more money and put ourselves at risk,” said Hagarty.
Hagarty has written to Kootenay MP Rob Morrison, Kootenay-Rockies MLA Pete Davis, BC Minister of Health Josie Osborne, and Interior Health, to appeal for help.
Morrison has brought the petition forward to the House of Commons in Ottawa, in the hope that he can bring some attention to the issue. The petition requires a response from the Minister of Health in 45 days, so Morrison remains optimistic that it will garner some attention. It will be an uphill battle however, as provincial governments have more sway in how healthcare policy is managed than the federal government does.
“It is a complicated issue because the federal government provides the provinces with funding, so all the medical funding comes from Ottawa in the tune of billions of dollars. It’s left to the provinces to manage their own healthcare,” Morrison explained.
Morrison said Hagarty is not the only person he’s talked to who has been impacted by this change in policy.
“It’s not just TJ. It’s thousands of people I’ve talked to that have had the same problem,” he said.
Morrison has been fielding concerns about interprovincial healthcare since 2019. He said there has always been billing issues between the provinces, with payments for out-of-province care not being allocated properly.
“It always ends up that there’s a billing issue between BC and Alberta,” he said.
Hagarty is also investigating the situation to try and find out why the decision was made and under what authority, but he’s not getting answers.
“The decision was made without any sort of consultation with any of the impacted members of the decision — families, doctors. It just seems like it was done without any sort of risk assessment … I’m really in the dark as to why,” said Hagarty.
BC’s Health Professions Act is currently being repealed, and will be replaced by a new Act in April 2026. Morrison said he plans to advocate for the inclusion of a section that supports the Canada Health Act’s conditions for reasonable access to healthcare.
“They’re changing some of their healthcare definitions. Maybe we’ll have an opportunity to get in a little clause that supports what the Canada Health Act says,” he said.
In the meantime, the Hagarty family is waiting for their first appointment at the BC Children’s Hospital. Alberta Children’s Hospital is continuing to provide them with prescription refills on medication as they prepare for their visit.
Hagarty said there may be a possibility of some kind of financial compensation for travel expenses, although he would much prefer to visit Calgary.
“To me, it’s a moot point because it’s incurring costs into a system that’s already overrun with expenses. It’s trying to a Band-Aid over a problem that was never there before,” said Hagarty.