The province has released an independent report that makes 26 recommendations, such as being better prepared, more transparent and fostering public trust, for how the government could improve its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Overall, despite being unprepared for a provincewide emergency, the Government of British Columbia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was strong, showing resilience, balance, and nimbleness that should give British Columbians confidence in its ability to respond to future provincewide emergencies,” reads the executive summary of the 144-page report, simply called COVID-19 Lessons Learned Review.
It was prepared by three authors — Bob de Faye, Dan Perrin, and Chris Trumpy, all former civil servants —who generally praised the province for its handling of the health emergency that began in March of 2020.
Still, the report says the health emergency provided the province with an “opportunity” to be better prepared to respond to similar emergencies in future by acting ahead of time, making changes to its emergency management plan and how to better serve and co-ordinate with First Nations.
The province commissioned the report as an operational overview of its response to the pandemic, which to date has claimed the lives of 4,642 people in B.C.
In March, when the undertaking was announced the Opposition Liberals were critical saying the report would be limited because it would exclude any examination of public health decisions and economic recovery actions.
