B.C. response to summer heat dome put people with disabilities, elderly at risk, Human Rights Watch finds
CBC
A report from Human Rights Watch has found a lack of government support during a period of extreme heat in B.C. this summer left the elderly population and people living with disabilities at risk — and that a lack of a provincial heat response plan and targeted support for at-risk populations contributed to "unnecessary suffering and possibly deaths."
The "heat dome" that blanketed B.C. between June 25 and July 1 shattered temperature records across the province. Temperatures reached above 40 C in many areas with little relief at night, testing the province's medical system.
At the height of the heat, the wait time for an ambulance stretched to 90 minutes in some cases.
The B.C. Coroners Service identified 569 heat-related deaths from June 20 to July 29, 445 of which occurred during the heat dome. Of those who died, 79 per cent were 65 years of age or older. It's not known how many of those who died had a disability.
The overall number of sudden deaths during the heat dome represented a nearly 300 per cent increase from the average number of deaths recorded over the same week every year since 2016.
Rachel LaFortune with Human Rights Watch said the lack of government support led to severe physical and mental duress for many people, with some saying they feared for their life.
"The absence of a broader provincial strategy to respond to the heat was very much felt — people were not prepared for the heat and particularly when it came to providing targeted supports, those supports were not in place," LaFortune said, adding that people felt particularly isolated because they feared the government could not support them if they were in crisis.
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