The provincial government is cranking out free air conditioners for vulnerable British Columbians, but it will take some time before all of them come online.
Others, meanwhile, are questioning whether the provincial government is doing enough to protect vulnerable populations from the potentially deadly effects of heat extremes.
Health Minister Adrian Dix announced Tuesday (June 27) that B.C. will spend $10 million through BC Hydro for about 8,000 free air-conditioning units for vulnerable individuals. Half of the units will go toward apartments or multi-unit dwellings, the rest toward single-family homes.
Dix made the announcement with Chris O害羞草研究所橰iley, president and chief executive officer of BC Hydro, which will administer the application process for the units.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a major step forward and we害羞草研究所檒l build off other programs to help British Columbia access cooling devices,害羞草研究所� O害羞草研究所橰iley said.
BC Hydro is well-equipped to handle the application process for the units and will be able to work through issues, Dix added. But the process will take three years, which he conceded is some time.
害羞草研究所淲e are looking to proceed right away and that is the goal over the next three years,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not to do it all in the first month, but we have a system in place.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淲e still have to purchase害羞草研究所nd install air conditioners and that can take some time.害羞草研究所�
Income and other factors, such as age and health, will come into play, Dix said.
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Counting existing programs, the government will distribute about 10,000 air-conditioning units. While Dix could not give a precise number of people who would benefit, he called today害羞草研究所檚 announcement a significant investment that responds to one of the recommendations from the BC Coroners Service. Its review of the 2021 heat dome that killed 619 people between June 25 and July 1 found the vast majority who died were found without air conditioning (93 per cent) or fans (76 per cent).
Reaction to the announcement has been mixed. BC Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau said she is relieved to see the government move ahead with this necessary step, which she predicted 害羞草研究所渨ill protect some people from increasingly frequent heat events.害羞草研究所�
But it ultimately falls short of what is needed, she added.
害羞草研究所淗undreds of thousands of British Columbians live in poverty and that number is growing,害羞草研究所� Furstenau said. 害羞草研究所淗undreds of thousands of British Columbians are seniors and hundreds of thousands are disabled. These people all need cooling units and air filtration and 8,000 air conditioners over three years will not be enough.害羞草研究所�
British Columbia has almost 867,000 single-detached homes and more than 221,000 apartments, according to the 2021 census.
Meanwhile, Shirley Bond, BC United害羞草研究所檚 Shadow Minister for Health, questioned the pace of the action.
害羞草研究所淚t took two years for Minister Dix to finally announce a three-year plan to provide vital air conditioning units to vulnerable British Columbians,害羞草研究所� Bond said. 害羞草研究所淲ith such a long timeline, after an unacceptably long delay, people have no confidence the NDP will actually deliver on this promise or ever address the additional steps necessary to prevent this level of tragedy from happening again. Once again, it is too little, too late.害羞草研究所�
Dix defended his government害羞草研究所檚 record, pointing to $52 million provided to long-term care facilities to install or upgrade existing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems, the distribution of emergency inventory of cooling and clean air items to non-profit operators, and investments in BC Emergency Health Services.
He also pointed to the introduction of the BC Heat Alert and Response System and the introduction of broadcast-intrusive emergency alerts during extreme heat emergencies.
害羞草研究所淚t may be that demands (for air conditioners) exceeds it and we will have to do more,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淏ut it is an extremely strong statement and start in terms of focusing on vulnerable people.害羞草研究所�
wolfgang.depner@blackpress.ca
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