Northern Health running out of public health officers to permit and inspect restaurants

CBC
·2 min read
The commercial building that houses Northern Health's regional office in Prince George, B.C. The health authority announced on Tuesday that it's experiencing a significant shortage of environmental health officers. (Google Street View - image credit)
The commercial building that houses Northern Health's regional office in Prince George, B.C. The health authority announced on Tuesday that it's experiencing a significant shortage of environmental health officers. (Google Street View - image credit)

The Northern Health Authority says some public health services will be downgraded or delayed because of staffing issues.

In its news release Tuesday, the authority based in Prince George, B.C., announced officers will temporarily be focusing on higher public health risks, like COVID-19, and will be spending less time inspecting and permitting businesses, like restaurants, due to a "significant shortage" of environmental public health officers.

Northern Health says since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, environmental health officers have taken on new duties investigating coronavirus clusters and outbreaks and enforcing provincial public health orders.

Recent data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows Prince George is one of the B.C. municipalities most affected by COVID, with a daily rate of 14 coronavirus infection cases per 100,000 people.

Longer wait-time for food business permits

Northern Health chief medical health officer Jong Kim says given that more than 60 per cent of environmental health officer positions are currently vacant, existing officers have a "significant workload" with pandemic response.

While the health authority won't cut any services provided by environmental health officers, Kim says there will be delays for lower priority items such as permits for food vendors and routine restaurant inspections.

"That's one example of the kind of permits that take a longer time to process, and they [vendors] need to take consideration of that," he said.

Northern Health
Northern Health

In addition to COVID-19, Northern Health says some of the higher priority issues environmental health officers deal with include food-borne illnesses and public health concerns related to emergencies such as floods and fires.

Lower priority items, the authority said in a statement, include inspections of water systems and food-related businesses that could be done virtually.

The health authority says it is "aggressively" recruiting environmental health officers — its recent job posting says it requires candidates to have a bachelor's degree in a health-related discipline and a Canadian public health inspection certificate. In return, it is offering an hourly wage between $32 and $40 and four weeks of vacation after one year of continuous employment.

CBC News has reached out to other regional health authorities across B.C. for comment on any staffing issues with environmental health officers. Interior Health and Island Health responded and said they are not experiencing the kind of shortages Northern Health is.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • The WNBA's Dallas Wings are planning a move downtown from the suburbs in two years

    The Dallas Wings are planning a move to the WNBA club's namesake city under a 15-year deal approved Wednesday by the Dallas City Council. Pending league approval of the $19 million agreement, the Wings will move to an arena that is part of the Dallas convention center for the 2026 season. The team plans to play two more seasons in its current home at the University of Texas at Arlington, about 20 miles from downtown Dallas.

  • Alberta warns of critical time for wildfire risk as evacuations start

    Alberta introduced more fire restrictions on Wednesday, as officials said the 2024 wildfire season had started earlier than usual due to ongoing drought and warned that the western Canadian province was entering a critical phase for fire risk. Around 30 people were forced to leave their homes in the Peace River region in the north of the province due to a fast-spreading wildfire on Tuesday, and local media reported inmates from the Peace River Correctional Facility were also evacuated. The evacuation orders mark what is expected to be another severe year for wildfires in western Canada, which is dealing with widespread drought and warmer-than-normal spring temperatures.

  • Border agency eyes smartphone facial recognition system amid privacy concerns

    OTTAWA — Travellers would be able to use facial recognition technology to identify themselves through their smartphones when crossing the border under a planned federal project. The Canada Border Services Agency says the initiative would allow for a faster and more seamless travel experience. The federal government recently issued a notice seeking technical solutions from possible vendors, an opportunity worth up to US$25 million. The system would match a photo from a traveller's passport with a

  • Aaron Boone’s ejection, Baltimore Orioles successfully tanked & answering listener emails

    Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman talk about Aaron Boone's controversial ejection from Monday's game, how the Orioles did more than just tank to get where they are now and respond to some listener emails.

  • Montreal Olympic Stadium fire: Quebec grants up to $40 million for cleanup, repairs

    MONTREAL — The Quebec government has awarded the organization that manages Montreal's Olympic Stadium up to $40 million to pay for repairs and decontamination after a March 21 fire. Parc olympique spokesman Cédric Essiminy says extensive decontamination work is needed in the stadium's tower because smoke spread throughout the building. He says around nine kilometres of ventilation ducts need to be cleaned, as do offices located in the tower. Essiminy says the stadium's tower and an attached spor

  • Chinese student gets US prison term for threatening pro-democracy activist

    A Chinese music student was sentenced on Wednesday to nine months in a U.S. prison for harassing an activist who posted fliers at the Berklee College of Music in Boston supporting democracy in China and threatening to report her activities to Chinese law enforcement. Prosecutors had urged U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston to sentence Xiaolei Wu, 26, to nearly three years in prison to send a message that the United States would not tolerate China's attempts to silence people of Chinese descent who express views at odds with the government.

  • Juno winner Angelique Francis bringing the groove to Townshend Theatre

    Tour De Fort will hold the closing concert of its 30th anniversary season featuring the jazz stylings of Angelique Francis. The Tour De Fort show kicks off a string of northwestern Ontario shows. Francis says the shows are high-energy and she likes to take the audience through a variety of genres and styles. “For those of you who have been to an Angelique Francis show, come prepared to laugh, dance and have a great time,” Francis said. “It’s really lively and energetic, and we take you to a wide

  • Jockey Husbands, driver Filion lead 2024 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame class

    TORONTO — Jockey Patrick Husbands, who rode Canada's last Triple Crown winner, topped the '24 class named for induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame on Wednesday. Husbands, 50, guided Wando to a sweep of the Canadian Triple Crown in 2003 for owner Gustav Schickedanz and trainer Mike Keogh. Wando, Schickedanz and Keogh all preceded Husbands into the Hall of Fame. Husbands, a resident of Brampton, Ont., is a three-time winner of the $1-million King's Plate and has been named Canada'

  • Threads is testing automatic archiving for posts

    Threads is testing a new archive feature that can be used to manually archive individual posts or automatically hide posts after a set period of time, Adam Mosseri shared.

  • We are the West’s last generation before the new Dark Age begins

    There is a fatal contradiction at the heart of Western societies, a nihilistic impulse, a pathological self-loathing that threatens to destroy our way of life. We live in the freest, wealthiest, healthiest, fairest and most technologically advanced polities in history, and yet millions of young people are being taught to hate the West, to despise the liberties that make their lifestyles possible, to tear down every institution and tradition.

  • Canadian health-care professionals urged to share climate disaster mitigation info

    HALIFAX — After last summer's deadly floods, heat waves and record-breaking wildfires, some scientists are urging Canadian health professionals to take an active role in helping their patients better prepare for extreme weather. Scientist Blair Feltmate told a national public health conference today in Halifax there are inexpensive and effective ways of reducing harm caused by climate-related disasters. Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, told

  • Driver sleeping behind wheel bursts into song when deputy wakes him, Florida cops say

    The vehicle was sitting in a turn lane, officials say.

  • Rushing to aid deputy, Ada sheriff’s detective was in wreck. Idaho police just cited her

    The Ada County Sheriff’s Office will conduct investigate Dallas Denney’s conduct to determine whether she violated any policies and whether “professional discipline” is warranted.

  • Metro CEO says Canadian industry 'very competitive' as Ottawa eyes foreign grocers

    According to a report, Ottawa is weighing a list of dozen foreign grocery companies to lure to the country, including Germany's Aldi and Lidl.

  • 2025 BMW i4 and 4 Series Gran Coupe refreshed with tweaks throughout

    The 2025 BMW i4 and 4 Series Gran Coupe get tiny cosmetic tweaks and new 48V mild hybrid help, with most of the work done on the in-cabin technology.

  • Spanish PM Sanchez considering resignation after wife's graft probe

    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday he was "reflecting" on the possibility of resigning after a court opened an investigation into his wife Begona Gomez on suspicion of graft. "I need to stop and think" in order to decide "whether I should continue to head the government or whether I should give up this honour," he wrote in a letter posted on X, formerly Twitter, adding he would announce his decision on Monday and suspend his schedule until then.A Madrid court said earlier on Wed

  • Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash

    One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday. The pilot had made radio contact about the in-fight emergency shortly after taking off, said Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office. Alaska state troopers say no survivors were found.

  • ‘Stunned’ George W. Bush Crashed Car After Laura Dissed His Speech

    Daniel Shirey/GettyA young George W. Bush was apparently so rattled by his wife’s brutal honesty about a subpar speech that he accidentally crashed their car.That’s according to Jenna Bush Hager, who had the Today show crew in stitches on Wednesday when she shared the hilarious bit of family lore. “It’s funny that you bring up speeches because when my parents were first married, my dad gave a speech in Midland, Texas, and they were driving up and he thought [that was] pretty good. And he said, ‘

  • 'The Valley' star Jax Taylor makes 'refreshing' trip to Canada, praises Kristen Doute for being 'really good TV'

    For The Valley star and Vanderpump Rules alum Jax Taylor (both on Hayu(, a recent trip to Canada was seemingly a great respite for the reality TV star.

  • UPDATE 1-US plans 12 offshore wind auctions over five years

    U.S. President Joe Biden's administration unveiled plans on Wednesday to hold up to a dozen auctions of offshore wind development rights through 2028, including four before the end of this year. The schedule will help companies, states and others plan for projects that require massive amounts of investment and infrastructure, the Interior Department said in a statement. Interior has held just four offshore wind auctions since Biden took office in 2021.