British ColumbiaOver 100 residents attended a rally for healthcare Saturday in Tumbler Ridge, protesting recent weekend and evening ER closures.Tumbler Ridge, B.C., residents protest cuts to evening and weekend on-call emergency careTom Summer · CBC News · Posted: Oct 04, 2025 10:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 5Residents marched to the local health centre, following a short protest outside Tumbler Ridge’s town hall on Saturday morning. (Matt Preprost/CBC)More than 100 people braved chilly, fall weather on Saturday in Tumbler Ridge to protest cutbacks to local emergency health care.Until recently, Tumbler Ridge residents had access to emergency healthcare 24/7, thanks to an ER room open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, accompanied by on-call services available whenever the ER was closed.But since September, when Northern Health announced cutbacks due to doctor shortages, the on-call hours have been scaled back. Now, the on-call service is only available on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The health authority has said the service reduction is temporary.But many in the community of 2,400, located approximately 230 kilometres northeast of Prince George, say that’s not enough.Tumbler Ridge residents gathered Saturday to protest recent changes to ER hours. During evenings and weekends, there’s no one in the community to provide emergency care. (Matt Preprost/CBC)The protest took place at the District of Tumbler Ridge’s town hall at 11a.m., where residents aired their grievances and fears of dying when no medical professionals are available to treat illness or injury outside of regular business hours. “This is the hill to die on,” said Dr. Charles Helm, a longtime resident and retired family physician. “The tragedy is that some of us are going to die as well, if this carries on,” he said. “I don’t know who’s going to be first.”A well-respected physician with 30 years of service, Helm moved to the community in the early 1990s.Today, Helm says Northern Health is failing to see the consequences of the closures, but he was reassured by the turnout at the rally.”It’s you guys that are going to make the difference,” he told the crowd. “The citizens of Tumbler Ridge will get our ER back after hours.”The cutback comes at a time when many B.C. hospitals are facing periodic closures due to staffing issues and a shortage of health care workers.’Emergencies don’t check the clock’Ed Griffith, a miner by trade, but Tumbler Ridge resident by heart, said Premier David Eby, Minister of Health Josie Osborne and Northern Health are abandoning the community in a time of need. “One of the happiest days of my life was becoming a Canadian citizen,” Griffith told CBC News after the protest. “But one thing about Canadians is we don’t leave our people behind … This is un-Canadian.”A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, Griffith noted that it’s unusual for mining communities to not have 24-hour medical services. Protest organizer and resident Chris Norbury says his community deserves access to healthcare all of the time, not just when it’s convenient. “Emergencies do not wait for business hours. Emergencies don’t check the clock before they happen,” Norbury said, speaking to the crowd. Peace River South MLA Larry Neufeld attended the protest and was handed a petition demanding 24/7 emergency care, signed by more than 1,800 people. Neufeld vowed to take residents’ concerns to Victoria. “I’m proud to be a part of this fight,” he said.ABOUT THE AUTHORTom was born and raised in the Peace Country, growing up in Hudson’s Hope. Now working for CBC in Fort St. John, he previously reported for the Alaska Highway News, covering community issues, courts, municipal politics, Site C, and travelled across Northeast B.C. working on the traditional territory of Treaty 8 First Nations. You can reach him at tom.summer@cbc.ca.With files from Matt Preprost
Tumbler Ridge residents take to the streets to protest emergency care cuts
