Why Bill M 232 matters for people living with dementia

Bill M 232, also known as the Long-Term Care Transparency Act, would require public reporting on waitlists, wait times and alternate level of care. It would give families, seniors and policy makers and the public consistent, standardized information about access to long-term care across BC. This comes at a critical time when budget pressures have halted the pace of long-term care development while demographic pressures are increasing. 

Across British Columbia, families affected by dementia are experiencing growing uncertainty and strain as long‑term care waitlists continue to rise. Today, more than 85,000 people in BC are living with dementia and they represent about 62 per cent of all long‑term care residents. Yet the system designed to support them is struggling to keep pace with need. When long‑term care spaces are unavailable, people with nowhere else to go frequently end up in already overburdened emergency departments and families are left to manage increasingly complex 24‑hour care at home, often without the support required to do so safely. Many caregivers describe exhaustion, burnout and impossible choices between employment, financial stability and caregiving. 

There’s a shortage of long-term care beds in BC and it’s going to get worse. 

BC’s Seniors Advocate has raised the alarm: since 2019, long-term care capacity has grown only five per cent while the senior population has grown 19 per cent. Waitlists have tripled and seniors now wait nearly 10 months for a publicly funded space. Rural and remote families face even steeper barriers, with few or no alternatives close to home. The province is already more than 2,000 beds short, with nearly 16,000 additional beds needed by 2036 to meet projected demand. 

What Bill M 232 is proposing 

The Alzheimer Society of BC and Yukon strongly supports Bill M 232 because it takes an important step toward greater transparency and accountability in the long-term care system. It would require public reporting on waitlists, wait times and alternate‑level‑of‑care (ALC) meaning someone who has been assessed and approved for long‑term care but cannot be discharged from hospital because an appropriate long‑term care placement is unavailable. This will help families affected by dementia better understand what to expect and will support smarter provincial planning, particularly as dementia continues to be a primary driver of long-term care demand. We believe British Columbians deserve clear, accessible information about the services they rely on and a care system that plans ahead rather than reacts in crisis. 

How the bill can be strengthened 

To strengthen the bill, we have recommended reporting waitlist data by primary diagnosis so that people living with dementia can be distinguished from others. We also recommend that the annual report required by the Act include explicit updates on planning, capacity estimates and quality measures related to dementia care. These additions would ensure that the needs of people living with dementia — who represent the majority of long-term care residents — are fully reflected in long‑term care system planning.Transparency alone is not enough. As pressure on long-term care grows, community‑based dementia supports must expand alongside infrastructure. We envision a province where Bill M 232 informs a broader dementia strategy which ensures British Columbians are supported from pre-diagnosis to end of life. 
 
People living with dementia deserve timely, person‑centred, high‑quality care wherever they live. Their families deserve stability, support and relief from the impossible choices they are often forced to make. 

We will continue to advocate for that vision and we appreciate the opportunity to share the experiences of the people we serve with the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills.