Fax or email your MLA (and other policy-makers)

Send an email

As part of our campaign to keep and strengthen mask protections in BC healthcare, we’re flooding BC policy-makers with emails and faxes. You can use our click-to-send email tool here – but if you prefer to send your own messages, find some wording below to get you started!

Send a fax

Want to send a free fax? Download our letter as a document, and just add the policy-maker’s name and your own:

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Find a list of people you can fax here. We recommend starting with your MLA and the Minister of Health, then go from there!

SEND FREE DIGITAL FAXES

Template wording

Feel free to adapt as desired! If you have capacity, we recommend tweaking the subject line, and adding a sentence about yourself at the beginning to personalize the letter.

Subject: Keep and improve healthcare mask protections

Dear [title and name],

I’m writing about BC’s decision to drop mask requirements in medical settings. This action directly endangers me, my loved ones, and countless others. Without consistent mask coverage we can’t safely access care, and are forced to either avoid it, or endure unnecessary risks.

There are currently multiple illness outbreaks in medical settings. Despite BC’s claims about the “end of respiratory illness season”, diseases like COVID, influenza and norovirus continue to circulate, with NACI and the CDC both clearly noting that COVID is not “seasonal”. Measles and tuberculosis are surging right now, while experts warn that H5N1 avian influenza has pandemic potential. Both measles and COVID are also infectious before symptoms show up, meaning symptom-based risk assessments alone aren’t enough.

Removing the protection of masks is an unforced error. While vaccination is essential, vaccines are no longer required for BC healthcare workers, and may be less effective for many immunocompromised people – while some (like newborns) cannot be vaccinated at all. Studies show that requiring staff to wear masks reduces respiratory illness transmission in healthcare by a third, while N95 masks offer near-total protection. (References at DoNoHarmBC.ca) Dropping these measures directly leads to more preventable illnesses, disability, deaths, staff shortages, care delays, and rising healthcare costs (note that COVID hospitalizations alone average over $24,000 each).

I urge you to reverse this grave misstep by:

Restoring mask requirements in all medical facilities and maintaining them year round;
Ensuring clear, consistent implementation across all health authorities;
Increasing the use of N95-equivalent masks or better (respirators), as the only masks rated to properly protect against airborne illnesses like measles, H5N1, and COVID-19; and
Closing gaps in prior rules by requiring masks for patients (with reasonable exceptions), in hallways, and in privately-run medical settings.

[Your name]
[Your postal code – ensures your message is sorted to the top of the pile!]

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Seeking a template letter from a past campaign?

Find them below. (Click to expand.)

Subject: Keep and improve healthcare mask protections

Dear [title and name],

I’m writing as a concerned BC resident regarding safety in healthcare. Currently, BC requires masks in some medical settings to help protect patients, workers, and our healthcare system. However, policy-makers have signalled an intent to drop these mask protections in spring 2025. This would put people like me at greater risk. It’s also contrary to the recommendation of BC’s Human Rights Commissioner, who has stated that “removal of universal masking directives in healthcare settings does not uphold a human rights centred approach to public health”. [1]

Vulnerability isn’t seasonal, and neither are many contagious illnesses. In fact, rates COVID-19 have *increased* over the summer months for three years straight [2], and we are experiencing an unusual late season surge of influenza [3] alongside a comeback of measles [4]. 85-91% of poll respondents report they must delay healthcare due to lack of safety [5, 6], while a single case of H5N1 avian influenza resulted in potential exposure for 60 healthcare workers, highlighting the rising threats from many airborne illnesses. [7]

As our healthcare system grapples with staff shortages and ER closures [8], we can’t afford unnecessary healthcare infections – or the surgical delays, staff absences, and prolonged, costly hospitalizations that can follow.[9] Studies show that staff masking reduces hospital-acquired viral respiratory infections by 33% [10], while N95 masks (respirators) can reduced exhaled viral load by 98%. [11]

I urge you to support keeping and strengthening BC’s healthcare mask requirement with these practical steps:

1. Maintain mask requirements in BC healthcare year-round.

2. Provide clear direction to all health authorities on concrete steps to enact this mask requirement, in order to avoid reported gaps in implementation. [12]

3. Increase usage of N95-equivalent masks or better (respirators), as the only masks rated to properly protect against airborne pathogens like H5N1, measles, and COVID-19. [13, 14]

4. Close gaps in coverage, including for patients (with reasonable exceptions), and in areas like hallways where patients often need to wait. Direct private healthcare settings to meet the same minimum mask requirements as government facilities.

You can learn more at https://DoNoHarmBC.ca/masks-in-healthcare. I look forward to hearing back from you in terms of next steps, and I hope you’ll advocate for consistent, evidence-based safety in healthcare – not shifting policies that change with the weather.

[Your name]
[Your postal code – ensures your message is sorted to the top of the pile!]

REFERENCES:

[1] https://bchumanrights.ca/news-and-events/news/human-rights-commissioner-troubled-by-end-of-mask-mandates-in-healthcare-settings/
[2] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/vaccines-immunization/national-advisory-committee-immunization-statement-guidance-covid-19-vaccines-2025-summer-2026.html#a4.1
[3] https://globalnews.ca/news/11011759/flu-on-the-rise-in-canada-what-to-know/
[4] https://globalnews.ca/news/11049785/measles-canada-whats-driving-surge/
[5] https://x.com/chantz_y/status/1648042288076193792?s=20
[6] https://x.com/cv_cev/status/1588963778519236609
[7] https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-update-teen-bird-flu
[8] https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/government/ministries-organizations/premier-cabinet-mlas/minister-letter/mandate_letter_josie_osborne.pdf
[9] https://www.cihi.ca/en/covid-19-hospitalization-and-emergency-department-statistics
[10] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2827170
[11] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(24)00192-0/fulltext
[12] https://bsky.app/profile/geronursing.bsky.social/post/3lfgon6ykv22c
[13] https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/commentary-what-can-masks-do-part-1-science-behind-covid-19-protection
[14] https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/376346

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Subject: We need healthcare mask requirements now

Dear [title and name],

I’m writing to ask you to call for restored mask requirements in BC healthcare settings.

Healthcare mask protections were dropped in April 2024, citing the end of “respiratory illness season”. However, community transmission has remained high in the months since then, and there have been multiple healthcare outbreaks. Now as we enter fall/winter, BC still lacks these essential protections – meaning that I and my loved ones can’t safely get the care we need.

There is no acceptable level of avoidable infection in healthcare. Polls have shown that 85-91% of respondents delay or cancel healthcare due to lack of safety measures, and BC’s Human Rights Commissioner has stated that “removal of universal masking directives in healthcare settings does not uphold a human rights centered approach to public health”. The Canadian COVID-19 Hazard Index currently shows severe COVID spread in BC; meanwhile, the recent rise in walking pneumonia, local measles warnings, and Canada’s first human case of avian influenza highlight the risks from many contagious illnesses.

Places like Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador have already restored healthcare mask requirements. British Columbia must follow suit without delay. I urge you to advocate for mask protections in all healthcare settings (including private and community practices), and to call for improved protection against airborne illnesses with the wider use of respirators.

You can learn more about this issue (and find links to all the references) at DoNoHarmBC.ca. Thank you for your attention – I look forward to hearing back on how you’ll take action to protect me and my loved ones!

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your postal code – this ensures your message is prioritized!]

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Subject: Urgent: restore universal masking to BC healthcare

Dear [title and name],

I’m writing about BC’s decision to drop healthcare mask requirements. The loss of consistent mask protections directly affects me and my loved ones. It means we can’t safely access medical care, and when we have no choice but to go, we’re forced to endure unnecessary risks.

In the last couple weeks, vulnerable British Columbians have sent over 18,000 messages begging BC maintain and improve healthcare mask protections. This choice shuts out the voices of those most impacted, and can only contribute to avoidable illness, disability, and death.

Not only does COVID continue to circulate in BC, but we are facing warnings about measles and tuberculosis, and the looming threat of H5N1 (avian influenza). Despite claims about the “end of respiratory illness season”, NACI guidance clearly states that “the seasonality of COVID is not yet established”. The spring vaccination campaign underscores the ongoing risks to many British Columbians – including immunocompromised people, for whom vaccines often provide less protection.

These risks aren’t theoretical. Last year, BC’s experiment in healthcare mask removal was followed by multiple COVID outbreaks. Research shows hospital-acquired COVID is at least 70 times more deadly – and multiple polls show 85-91% of respondents must delay healthcare due to lack of COVID safety.

Unless you take action to reverse this, it will be an indelible stain on your legacy. Please learn more at DoNoHarmBC.ca – and then please, use your voice and decision-making power to help restore universal masking to healthcare.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your postal code – this ensures your message is prioritized!]

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Subject: Vulnerability isn’t seasonal. Keep masks in healthcare.

Dear [title and name],

I’m writing as a concerned BC resident regarding safety in healthcare.

Currently, our province has mask requirements in hospitals and long-term care to help protect vulnerable patients, staff, and our healthcare system. However, so far policymakers have only committed to these measures for a limited time period, during the fall/winter.

Me and my loved ones need safe access to healthcare year round. That’s why I’m urging you to support maintaining the healthcare mask requirement – and to advocate for practical steps to strengthen these protections:

1. Maintain and enforce mask requirements in hospitals and long-term care settings year-round, for all BC medical staff, contractors, visitors and volunteers.

2. Restore mask requirements for patients, with reasonable exceptions and accommodations. At present, patients aren’t included in mask requirements, but they’re often the ones who are sick / infectious in places like ERs, wards, and crowded waiting rooms.

3. Improve airborne precautions with wider use of N95-equivalent masks (respirators). Consider following the lead of numerous European countries in making them the default, or at minimum, use them around vulnerable patients and on request. These are the only medical masks rated to protect against airborne disease, which is particularly crucial given the rising measles risks this spring highlighted by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

4. Issue a clear directive to private and community healthcare settings, requiring the same minimum mask coverage as government facilities.

Continued mask protections are crucial to BC patients like me, especially since illnesses like measles and invasive strep are on the rise, and hospital-acquired COVID is at least 70 times more deadly than COVID contracted in the community. Multiple surveys have shown 85-91% of respondents must delay healthcare due to the lack of masks and Covid safety. Meanwhile, study co-authored by Dr. Bonnie Henry on SARS-CoV-1 states, “Consistently wearing a mask… was protective for the nurses” and “[r]isk was lower with consistent use of a N95 mask than with consistent use of a surgical mask.” (All references can be found at DoNoHarmBC.ca/vulnerability-isnt-seasonal)

Thank you in advance for your attention. I look forward to your reply, letting me know how you’ll take action to support safe, accessible healthcare for me and my loved ones throughout 2024.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your postal code – this ensures your email is prioritized!]

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Subject: Pandemic provisions in 2024 budget

Dear MLA [their name],

I’m writing as one of your constituents to express my deep concern regarding the expiration of BC’s Pandemic Recovery Contingencies – and to urge you to support some provincial budget recommendations put forward by DoNoHarm BC.

The Pandemic Recovery Contingencies have supported economic recovery; the well-being of vulnerable British Columbians; and vital health measures like vaccination, testing, and PPE for healthcare workers. As we head into 2024, we need to apply lessons learned from COVID-19 and climate emergencies, and make strategic investments that continue to strengthen public health.

That’s why I’m asking you to support DoNoHarm BC’s Budget 2024/25 Recommendations:

1. Renew a three year-plan for economic recovery, sustainable health management of communicable diseases, and resilience against future pandemics;

2. Establish a Clean Indoor Air Act to harness the cost-effective public health benefits of clean air (which has a benefit-cost ratio from 3:1 to 100:1);

3. Support a comprehensive building retrofit strategy that includes cooling and indoor air quality improvements in the BC Building Code;

4. Provide a tax credit of $5 million/year offsetting PPE costs for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities (bolstered by expanding medical equipment coverage, and raising rates of income and disability assistance indexed to inflation);

5. Include Long COVID care in support for complex chronic illnesses;

6. Invest in improved digital health solutions including better usability and interoperability between health authorities.

You can read the full budget recommendations at donoharmbc.ca/budget2024-recommendations/ – I hope I can count on you to take positive action protecting the health and prosperity of British Columbians.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your postal code – this ensures your email is prioritized!]

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Find more ways to call on BC to keep masks in healthcare!

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