Across British Columbia and beyond, rural and Indigenous communities have already felt the strain of wildfires, floods, and extreme heat. These experiences have shown both the fragility of systems and the strength of local networks of care. Weathering the Storm, a symposium hosted by the Rural Health Services Research Network of BC (RHSRNbc), asked an urgent question: how can rural health systems prepare for the climate emergencies that are no longer distant possibilities, but recurring realities? The symposium was led by Dr. Stefan Grzybowski, a long-time champion of rural health and a core member of the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc).
The morning began with a heat-dome simulation in the fictional town of Cedar Grove. With only a small hospital, volunteer ambulance services, and a single road in and out, the scenario reflected the challenges many rural places face. Participants worked under pressure to coordinate care and resources.
“I kind of feel as our community is like a single life boat, and they're weathering a very big, rough ocean in the middle of a storm… all of our lifeboats, when we start joining together, have a lot more strength and resiliency.”
The afternoon panel brought lived experience to the forefront. Jordan Bassett of Hay River reflected on the challenge of being both a professional and a community member in crisis: “I’m part of the emergency plan within our hospital, but my house is flooding. And the next year… the fire is coming in my backyard. I can’t think about going in and helping the authority when I am threatened personally.” He also noted the stress of overlapping roles: “In an emergency, you’re really, you’re not just a nurse. You’re not just a doctor… job descriptions kind of become null and void and you really step in and help wherever you can.”
Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne highlighted both the resilience and the strain of rural communities: “We’ve bounced back more than once—flood, fires, supply chain issues. We’re still here.” But, he added, “Our people are tough. But even tough people get tired.” Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland underlined that “you cannot build resilience in the middle of a crisis — it has to happen long before.”
Speakers also emphasized the importance of communication and trusted local leadership. Mayor Coyne observed, “People don’t want to hear from someone who they don’t know. They want to hear from their local elected officials. They want to hear from their fire chief. They want to hear from their doctor. They want to hear from the people that they know in the community.”
Youth engagement was another strong theme. “Youth is key. We’ve got to get them into this. We’ve got to teach them what’s going on. We’ve got to give them that opportunity,” said Mayor Coyne. Mark Neufeld, of the Institute for Global Solutions program at Claremont Secondary, added: “We get to be in front of young people all the time, and that’s a gift… Not only do we think we should bring young people into these kind of conversations, but we think there’s a great deal that we can learn from young people.”
The symposium discussions underscored that low-tech, community-based solutions often work best. As Mayor Coyne noted, “Low-tech solutions work. They work incredibly well. They’re fast. They’re efficient. And we don’t need to be bringing in these big multinationals to solve small community problems.”
These lessons reflect RCCbc’s ongoing commitment to supporting rural physicians, learners, and communities as they work together for sustainable, resilient health care. This event was made possible with funding support from the Michael Smith Health Research BC REACH Grant.
Watch the symposium video series
