A Growing List of Professions. One Shared Warning About Your Healthcare.
They don’t share a lobby group, a governing body, or much common ground. But a growing number of them are raising the same concern about the same law. Here’s a question worth sitting with: when was the last time you saw physicians, psychologists, chiropractors, dentists, naturopaths, and physiotherapists publicly agree on anything? These professions don’t […]
Assessment Denied: How the HPOA May Shrink Access to the Evaluations British Columbians Depend On By Zal Saper, Ph.D., Psychologist
When a car accident claim, a disability application, or a custody case sits waiting for a report that no one is willing to write, the cost is measured in more than dollars — though the dollars add up quickly too. Most people never think about psychological assessment until they need one. Then, suddenly, it matters […]
Defensive Practice: When Fear of Complaints Begins to Shape Patient Care – By Zal Saper, Ph.D., Registered Psychologist
One of the least discussed—but potentially most significant—consequences of British Columbia’s new Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) is the increased likelihood of defensive practice. Defensive practice occurs when health care professionals begin making clinical decisions based not solely on what is in the client’s best interests, but also on how to reduce the risk […]
Minister of Health Needs to Hear What the HPOA Is Doing
If you want what is best for the public, start by listening to the people caring for them For reference, watch this exchange streamed live at the Legislature on April 1, 2026.Watch the video here beginning at 1:11 When MLA, and Health Critic for B.C. Anna Kindy raised concerns in the Legislature about health professionals […]
When the Architect Raises Concerns, It’s Time to Listen
B.C.’s new health care law is now in force — but the concerns surrounding it are not going away. As British Columbia’s Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) is now in effect, recent reporting in The Globe and Mail should give both government and the public pause. In the article, “B.C.’s move away from self-regulation […]