Lobbying Activity Report

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Organization: Canadian Diabetes Association operating as Diabetes Canada
Associated registration: 6886-728-25
Lobbying Activity date: 2021-08-23
Arranged a meeting: No
Posted date: 2021-09-13

In-house lobbyists who participated in the lobbying activity: Joan King Footnote1
Senior Public Office Holders who were lobbied in this activity: Pam Alexis, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Brittny Anderson, MLA for Nelson-Creston
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Dan Ashton, MLA for Penticton
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Michele Babchuk, MLA for North Island
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Brenda Bailey, MLA for Vancouver-False Creek
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Harry Bains, MLA for Surrey-Newton
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Bruce Banman, MLA for Abbotsford South
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Lisa Beare Beare, MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Garry Begg, MLA for Surrey-Guildford
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Mike Bernier, MLA for Peace River South
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George-Valemount
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Jagrup Brar, MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Stephanie Cadieux, MLA for Surrey South
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Spencer Chandra Herbert, MLA for Vancouver-West End
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Susie Chant, MLA for North Vancouver-Seymour
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Katrina Chen, MLA for Burnaby-Lougheed
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Raj Chouhan, MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

George Chow, MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Doug Clovechok, MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Katrine Conroy, MLA for Kootenay West
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Dan Coulter, MLA for Chilliwack
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Nathan Cullen, MLA for Stikine
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Bob D'Eith, MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Dan Davies, MLA for Peace River North
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Mitzi Dean, MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Adrian Dix, MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Lorne Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Fin Donnelly, MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Megan Dykeman, MLA for Langley East
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

David Eby, MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Mable Elmore, MLA for Vancouver-Kensington
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Mike Farnworth, MLA for Port Coquitlam
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Rob Fleming Fleming, MLA for Victoria-Swan Lake
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Rick Glumac, MLA for Port Moody-Coquitlam
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Kelly Greene, MLA for Richmond-Steveston
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Trevor Halford, MLA for Surrey-White Rock
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

George Heyman, MLA for Vancouver-Fairview
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

John Horgan, MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Ravi Kahlon, MLA for Delta North
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Anne Kang, MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Karin Kirkpatrick, MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Greg Kyllo, MLA for Shuswap
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Michael Lee, MLA for Vancouver-Langara
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Norm Letnick, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Grace Lore, MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Melanie Mark, MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Andrew Mercier, MLA for Langley
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Renee Merrifield, MLA for Kelowna-Mission
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Mike Morris, MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Coralee Oakes, MLA for Cariboo North
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Josie Osborne, MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Ian Paton, MLA for Delta South
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Lana Popham, MLA for Saanich South
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Bruce Ralston, MLA for Surrey-Whalley
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Murray Rankin, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Jennifer Rice, MLA for North Coast
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Selina Robinson, MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Ellis Ross, MLA for Skeena
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Janet Routledge, MLA for Burnaby North
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Roly Russell, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

John Rustad, MLA for Nechako Lakes
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Niki Sharma, MLA for Vancouver-Hastings
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Tom Shypitka, MLA for Kootenay East
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Jinny Sims, MLA for Surrey-Panorama
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Aman Singh, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Rachna Singh, MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Mike Starchuk, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Ben Stewart, MLA for Kelowna West
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Todd Stone, MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Jordan Sturdy, MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Jackie Tegart, MLA for Fraser-Nicola
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Adam Walker, MLA for Parksville-Qualicum
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Teresa Wat, MLA for Richmond North Centre
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Jennifer Whiteside, MLA for New Westminster
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Andrew Wilkinson, MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Henry Yao, MLA for Richmond South Centre
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly

Michael de Jong, MLA for Abbotsford West
Member(s) of the BC Legislative Assembly
 
Subject Matter of the Lobbying Activity
Specific Topics of Lobbying Communications Intended Outcomes Associated Subject Matters
Diabetes Canada asks the government of British Columbia, the Minister of Health in particular, the official opposition and individual MLAs to extend support to the federal government for our recommendation that the federal government invest in and lead a nation-wide diabetes strategy, Diabetes 360.

Diabetes Canada lobbyists, together with patient advocates, speak directly to elected officials about Diabetes 360 in individual meetings, at community events, in caucus meetings, and at MLA functions such as receptions. We also send correspondence, including letters and emails that include information about the benefit to the province of a nation-wide diabetes strategy. We also connect with and deliver our call to action through social media channels.

Diabetes 360 is a nation-wide comprehensive strategy to achieve improved diabetes prevention, screening, treatment, and health outcomes. When a nation-wide diabetes strategy is adopted, provinces and territories will benefit from the federal government's financial investment and leadership to develop a coordinated approach to reversing the diabetes epidemic and reducing the tremendous personal and economic burdens of the disease.
  • Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation
  • Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
 Health
Diabetes Canada recommends that the government of British Columbia develop a provincial diabetes strategy using our Diabetes 360 strategy framework.

Diabetes Canada speaks to executive members of the Ministry of Health as well as the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) about developing a provincial diabetes strategy to address the accelerating prevalence of type 2 diabetes in BC, as well as the increasing public cost to treat diabetes and its complications, including kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes, blindness and amputations. Diabetes Canada presents its comprehensive strategy framework, Diabetes 360, as a template to build a provincial strategy. PHSA committed in 2019 to developing a strategy by spring 2020, but it has yet to be presented or launched.
  • Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation
  • Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
 Health
Diabetes Canada works to enhance access to diabetes medications, medical supplies and medical devices on behalf of the diabetes community in British Columbia.

Together with patient advocates, Diabetes Canada lobbyists meet with elected officials in individual meetings, caucus meetings and in all party receptions to recommend better access to diabetes medications as recommended in Diabetes Canada's Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs). Diabetes Canada also sends emails to elected officials and connects via social media platforms. We advocate for insulins and newer oral medications to treat patients with type 2 diabetes to be listed on the provincial drug formulary and therefore be available through BC PharmaCare programs. We also lobby that the cost of these medications not be a barrier or a burden to their access.

Diabetes Canada does not lobby for access to a particular drug, but sometimes for a class of drugs, but most specifically we lobby for access to the medications recommended in our Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) that patients require to best manage their diabetes. Many of the newer diabetes drugs with proven efficacy to improve health outcomes (i.e. better managed blood sugar levels to reduce the risk of long-term complications) are not available to British Columbians unless they can afford to pay out-of-pocket for them or have private employer insurance. We lobby for public access to these important medications so that all British Columbians have the opportunity to treat their diabetes and reduce the risk of complications.

Diabetes Canada also lobbies for patient choice related to the BC Biosimilar Initiative, rather than the current forced switch from an originator biologic drug to its less costly biosimilar. We believe that patients, along with their healthcare team, should be agreeable to changes in their diabetes therapy.

Diabetes Canada also lobbies for improved access to medical devices that are proven to provide benefit to people with diabetes. Although British Columbia has an insulin pump program, it limits the choice of British Columbians with type 1 diabetes. We lobby for enhanced choice to devices in this program. We also lobby for public coverage of advanced glucose monitoring devices, including continuous glucose monitors and flash glucose monitors, that are currently covered by many private and employer health plans. The government of BC does not provide public coverage for these devices which places many British Columbians in the position of paying out-of-pocket for going without. Diabetes Canada has a tentative plan to launch an educational and advocacy campaign in fall 2020 related to the proven benefit of these devices for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

We also advocate for public coverage of off-loading (specialized devices that off-load a wound so it can heal) devices for British Columbians with diabetes and a diabetic foot ulcer, a complication of diabetes. Access to these devices can reduce the number of lower-limb amputations conducted in British Columbia and significantly reduce the tremendous personal and economic burden that an amputation causes.
  • Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly
  • Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly
  • Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation
  • Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
 Health
 
Senior officer who filed this Lobbying Activity Report: Laura Syron
 
The above name is that of the most senior paid officer who is responsible for filing a Lobbying Activity Report for the organization (the Designated Filer), whether that person participated in this lobbying activity or not.
 
  1. Footnote1  Indicates new information that was added through a Lobbying Activity Report.
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