VICTORIA — The B.C. Liberals were forced into damage control this week after Ian Paton, their MLA for Delta South, accused the New Democrats of “literally stealing the assets” of the Delta Hospice Society.
An angry Paton responded by accusing the NDP government of “swooping in to take over” a hospice that was built via an $8.5 million fundraising campaign in his community. Heated is right. The controversy over the society’s reluctance to provide access to medical assistance in dying dates back two years. But the flashpoint arrived late last year after pro-life activists took control of the society board and cut off access once and for all.
But when his duck-and-cover act was reported in The Vancouver Sun and elsewhere, the backlash soon followed. With MLA Paton back on side with the law and a policy authored by the previous B.C. Liberal government, it fell to the Liberals to account for the gaffe.