Brian Westgate
Brian Allan Westgate1) is a Canadian regulatory official based in Cobble Hill, British Columbia. He is the Director of Strategic Priorities at the British Columbia Ministry of Health.2)
History
Westgate was the recipient of a letter from Michelle Da Roza, Registrar of the College of Chiropractors of British Columbia, dated December 19, 2016, discussing amendments to the college's bylaws.3)
On July 21st 2017, Geraldine Vance of the British Columbia Pharmacy Association wrote to Westgate with comments on the proposed amendments to the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act Bylaw and to the proposed Telepharmacy Standards of Practice.4)
In May 2018, Westgate was asked by Mark MacKinnon to prepare guidance for how to deal with a regulatory college that “is not meeting its legal obligation” in response to so-called “anti-vaccination” statements by Avtar Jassal, Parm Rai and Gil Desaulniers.5)
Westgate wrote a letter to Heidi Oetter on April 8, 2019 on the topic of amendments to registration bylaws for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.6)
COVID-19
In April 2020, Westgate was the listed contact point for comments on a proposed addition to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia bylaws surrounding the registration of international medical graduates.7) A group of concerned physicians wrote a letter to Westgate and Heidi Oetter expressing their concern and alarm over the manner in which the new policy was “being introduced and rushed through in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”8)
On April 21, 2020, Westgate signed Ministerial Order M117 to amend College of Psychologists of British Columbia laws to allow rapid registration of retired or out-of-province practitioners.9)
Activities
Lobbying target
| Date | Lobbyist | Organization | Topic | Intended Outcomes | Associated Subject Matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 23, 202010) | Agnieszka Knott | British Columbia Chiropractic Association | Advocacy related to health professional regulatory changes | Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly | Health |
| September 24, 202011) | Alexina Picard, Lesley Lutes, David Mensink | British Columbia Psychological Association (BCPA) | Advocacy regarding changes to the Modernization suggestions from the Ministry of Health and medicare coverage for psychologists | Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly | Health |
| April 21, 202212) | Michael Sandler | Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia | Advocacy on behalf of nursing in British Columbia; NNPBC will seek to change and/or update policy in areas that impact nursing, that include but may not be limited to the areas of mental health and addictions, changes to nursing regulatory scope, areas focused on social determinants of health, nursing education and other areas of nursing policy. As a result of such lobbying activities we would hope to see either changes to regulations, expanded scope for nursing providers and/or increased nursing involvement in mental health and addictions resources. We may also at some point request funding from government to help fund supplemental nursing education. As the professional association that represents all four of BC’s nursing designations, we have an opportunity to advocate to government to allow us to administer educational funding dollars (perhaps in the areas of nursing leadership, cultural sensitivity and Indigenous nursing) that can benefit nursing on the whole. | Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity | COVID-19, Health, Mental Health and Addictions; Advanced Education, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Mental Health and Addictions |
| May 19, 202213) | Michael Sandler | Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia | Advocacy on behalf of nursing in British Columbia. | Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity | COVID-19, Health, Mental Health and Addictions |
| December 8, 202214) | Angela Wignall | Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia | Advocacy on behalf of nursing in British Columbia; Health, Nursing, Mental Health, Anti-Racism, Indigenous Health; NNPBC will seek to change and/or update policy in areas that impact nursing, that include but may not be limited to the areas of mental health and addictions, changes to nursing regulatory scope, areas focused on social determinants of health, nursing education and other areas of nursing policy. As a result of such lobbying activities we would hope to see either changes to regulations, expanded scope for nursing providers and/or increased nursing involvement in mental health and addictions resources. We may also at some point request funding from government to help fund supplemental nursing education. As the professional association that represents all four of BC’s nursing designations, we have an opportunity to advocate to government to allow us to administer educational funding dollars (perhaps in the areas of nursing leadership, cultural sensitivity and Indigenous nursing) that can benefit nursing on the whole. | Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity; Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly; Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation; Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity | COVID-19, Health, Mental Health and Addictions; COVID-19, Health, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Mental Health and Addictions; Advanced Education, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Mental Health and Addictions |
| January 12, 202315) | Angela Wignall | Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia | Advocacy on behalf of nursing in British Columbia; Health policy and program recommendations; Nursing policy and program recommendations; NNPBC will seek to change and/or update policy in areas that impact nursing, that include but may not be limited to the areas of mental health and addictions, changes to nursing regulatory scope, areas focused on social determinants of health, nursing education and other areas of nursing policy. As a result of such lobbying activities we would hope to see either changes to regulations, expanded scope for nursing providers and/or increased nursing involvement in mental health and addictions resources. We may also at some point request funding from government to help fund supplemental nursing education. As the professional association that represents all four of BC’s nursing designations, we have an opportunity to advocate to government to allow us to administer educational funding dollars (perhaps in the areas of nursing leadership, cultural sensitivity and Indigenous nursing) that can benefit nursing on the whole. | Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity; Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly; Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation; Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity | COVID-19, Health, Mental Health and Addictions; COVID-19, Finances and Budgets, Health; Advanced Education, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Mental Health and Addictions |
| February 9, 202316) | Angela Wignall | Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia | Advocacy on behalf of nursing in British Columbia; Health, Nursing, Mental Health, Anti-Racism, Indigenous Health; To increase awareness of the nursing association and to ensure that the nursing 'voice' is embedded at a policy level | Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity; Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly; Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation; Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity; Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly; Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly | COVID-19, Health, Mental Health and Addictions; COVID-19, Health, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Mental Health and Addictions; COVID-19, Education, Emergency Preparedness, Employment and Training, Health, Hospitals, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation |
| February 24, 202317) | Alix Arndt | Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia | Advocacy on behalf of nursing in British Columbia; Health policy and program recommendations; Nursing policy and program recommendations; To increase awareness of the nursing association and to ensure that the nursing 'voice' is embedded at a policy level | Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity; Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly; Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation; Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity; Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly | COVID-19, Health, Mental Health and Addictions; COVID-19, Finances and Budgets, Health; COVID-19, Education, Emergency Preparedness, Employment and Training, Health, Hospitals, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation |
External links
1)
Office of the Comptroller General. Public Accounts 2017/18. British Columbia Ministry of Finance. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230415172653/https://www.statefunding.ca/wp-content/uploads/Archive/BC/2018_BC_PA.pdf
2)
Brian Westgate. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.04.15-080906/https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-westgate-818bb345/?originalSubdomain=ca
3)
Da Roza, M. (2016). Letter to Brian. College of Chiropractors of British Columbia. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415171755/https://www.chirobc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Letter-to-Brian.pdf
4)
Vance, G. (2017, July 21). Re: Telepharmacy Bylaw Amendments Posted for Comment April 24, 2017. British Columbia Pharmacy Association. https://web.archive.org/web/20220421212742/https://www.bcpharmacy.ca/system/files/assets/paragraphs/file/file/SubmissionstoCollegereTelepharmacy.PDF
5)
Lindsay, B. (2019, March 18). Ministry considered options for handling “dysfunctional” chiropractors college after CBC report, FOI shows. CBC News. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-082009/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/chiropractor-college-health-ministry-complaint-vaccination-1.5058659
6)
Minutes of the Board of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. (2019, May 17). College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columia. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415181047/https://www.cpsbc.ca/files/pdf/Board-Minutes-2019-05-17.pdf
7)
Lafrenière, C. (2020, April 2). Proposed amendment to College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. bylaws for restricted registration for international medical graduates (IMGS). SOCASMA. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-164807/https://socasma.com/legal/proposed-amendment-to-college-of-physicians-and-surgeons-of-b-c-bylaws-for-restricted-registration-for-international-medical-graduates-imgs/
8)
Re: Response to College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and BC Ministry of Health Proposed Bylaw Amendments: Section 2-24 and Schedule A. (2020, April). DocLounge. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415180829/https://doclounge.net/system/files/users/cwang/2020-04_CPSBC_Bylaw_Amendments_Response_Letter_FINAL.pdf
9)
Hainsworth, J. (2020, April 23). Psychologists’ help to come faster. Vancouver Is Awesome. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-165412/https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-covid19/psychologists-help-to-come-faster-2278326
10)
415-3717 - Lobbying Activity Report. (2023, February 6). Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-182214/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=3717
11)
Picard, A. (2023, February 6). 523-7528 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415192232/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=7528
12)
Sandler, M. (2023, February 6). 197-18583 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415192603/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=18583
13)
Sandler, M. (2023, February 6). 197-18860 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-192832/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=18860
14)
Arndt, A. (2023, February 6). 197-23245 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-193340/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=23245
15)
Arndt, A. (2023, February 6). 197-23850 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-193742/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=23850
16)
Arndt, A. (2023, March 15). 197-24658 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. http://archive.today/2023.04.15-200828/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=24658
17)
Arndt, A. (2023, March 15). 197-24649 - Lobbying Activity Report. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists British Columbia. https://web.archive.org/web/20230415202115/https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=24649