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 of complaints, investigations, or regulatory consequences. At first glance, this may sound like a minor concern. After all, accountability is an essential part of health care. Psychologists, like other regulated professionals, support meaningful oversight and believe that those seeking mental health care deserve safe, ethical, and competent care. The concern arises when a regulatory environment unintentionally creates incentives for clinicians to avoid risk rather than provide the care that clients may truly need. The Clients Most in Need May Be the Ones Most Affected Psychologists often work with individuals experiencing severe emotional distress, trauma, PTSD, chronic mental illness, addiction, or complex interpersonal difficulties. Many of

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 leaving British Columbia because of the HPOA, the Minister of Health responded by repeating the government’s description of what the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) is supposed to do, even though it is not reflecting the realities practitioners are reporting. In doing so, she dismissed the voices Anna Kindy was bringing forward into the Legislature on behalf of front-line health professionals. Information that is real.  Information that could be validated by conversations and data. Information that a Minister of Health should at the very least want to consider, explore, question, and be concerned about, if there was even a possibility it could be true.

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 for health professionals was overdue, expert says”, Harry Cayton — the expert whose 2018 report helped shape B.C.’s move away from self-regulation — supports some aspects of the shift, including stronger public accountability. But he also raises issues that many psychologists and other health professionals have been voicing for some time. In one sense, that is refreshing. For years, regulated professionals across disciplines — including psychologists — have been raising thoughtful, measured objections to parts of this legislation and its implementation. These objections have not come from resistance to accountability or opposition to reform. They have come from front-line experience, professional responsibility, and a serious