Archived events

Our Healthcare – how bad is it?

September 27, 2022 @ Terminal City Club

Meet the panelists

  • An advocate for a hybrid healthcare system incorporating elements of both private and public care, Dr. Brian Day founded the Cambie Surgery Centre in 1996 – the only free-standing private hospital of its type in Canada, billing privately for procedures including orthopedic, oral, and plastic surgery. Dr. Day pioneered the introduction and teaching of arthroscopic surgical techniques in Canada – a minimally-invasive technique for diagnosing and treating joint problems where a narrow tube with a fiber optic camera is inserted through a small incision. Earlier this summer the BC Court of Appeal rejected his challenge of a previous court decision denying his constitutional challenge of laws preventing patients from accessing private care when public system wait times are too long.

    Dr. Day is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is past president of the Canadian Medical Association and the Arthroscopy Association of North America, has served as a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Society of Sports Traumatology, and has chaired five international seminars on arthroscopic surgery. He is a former VP of the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation (a national charity), a past Director of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, and former Executive member of the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society. For three years, he chaired the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Test Committee in Orthopaedics, responsible for setting the Canadian national qualifying exams in the specialty of orthopaedics. He served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Arthroscopy and is on the editorial board of several other journals. He is an honorary member of the Cuban Orthopaedic Society and the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is a physician staff member at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia.

  • Troy Clifford is President of the Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of BC, the union and professional body representing BC’s 4,500 ambulance paramedics and dispatchers. He started his career as a paramedic and EMS leader in BC over 34 years ago, working in diverse roles in patient care, dispatching, training/education, emergency management, advocacy, and supervision across BC. He currently holds the position of Paramedic Chief in Osoyoos, in addition to his role with the union. He has a Masters in Pensions and Benefits and is a trustee on the BC Public Service Pension Plan and the APBC Supplemental Pension plan.

  • Terry Lake is CEO of BC Care Providers Association. Terry trained and practiced as a veterinarian and taught animal health technology before entering public life as an elected representative. He served as councillor and then Mayor of the City of Kamloops and then was elected Member of the Legislature for the riding of Kamloops North Thompson in 2009. He served as Minister of the Environment from 2011-2013 and Minister of Health from 2013-2017. He was awarded the Canadian Public Health Association Public Health Hero Award in 2017 for his groundbreaking work on the opioid overdose crisis. He is a recipient of the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Achievement Award and the British Columbia Veterinary Medical Association Award of Merit. Terry was VP of Corporate Social Responsibility for Hexo Corporation, one of Canada’s largest cannabis producers from 2017-2019.

  • Dr. Ali Abdalvand, MD. MSc., is an emergency physician at Royal Columbian and Eagle Ridge hospitals in New Westminster and Port Moody, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at UBC, and Physician Leadership and Administration fellow at the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine-Brigham Health-Harvard. Having completed medical training in both Iran and Canada, Dr. Abdalvand practiced medicine in rural, urban, academic, and community settings before moving to BC 6 years ago to continue his emergency medicine career here. Today, he is on the frontline of the acute healthcare in BC and Canada.

  • Vaughn Palmer has been the Vancouver Sun’s provincial affairs political columnist since 1984, writing about the issues of the day facing 10 premiers and their governments – and counting. He’s detailed governments’ efforts to address the healthcare crisis and its numerous challenges in recent weeks - shortages of family doctors and nurses, deaths caused by last summer’s heat dome, COVID-19, federal funding formulas, ER closures, and a lot more. Palmer is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation’s Bruce Hutchinson Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hyman Solomon award for excellence in public policy journalism from the Canadian Public Policy Forum, and other honours.

  • Aman Grewal is the president of the BC Nurses’ Union, which represents over 48,000 licensed practical nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and registered nurses across the province. Aman has been nursing for over 35 years, beginning her career at Surrey Memorial Hospital where she found her passion in pediatrics and later in pediatric emergency. She was elected BCNU vice president in 2019 and served as chair of BCNU’s Human Rights and Equity Committee, and Truth and Reconciliation Working Group. She is dedicated to ensuring fellow nurses’ rights are protected and believes in raising equity issues for patients and members.