Anna KIndy Waiting for the Legislature, the Health Critic and MLA for North Island

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Anna Kindy was sitting in her Campbell River office. Her assistant stood almost out of the frame long enough to wave, before handing Kindy a headset and disappearing. The thing I find refreshing about Kindy is she doesn’t sound like a politician, which is understandable because she only recently became one. She and her husband are both doctors. Anna Kindy was elected as the MLA for North Island on October 19, 2024 and is the Health Critic for the Conservative party Shadow Cabinet, but has yet to sit in the legislature.

This fact emerged when I asked her about the trips between her home in Merville and the legislature.

Anna Kindy: “ The NDP didn't call the house. We had no sitting which is unusual, currently there's a lot of crisis that needs to be dealt with. The first sitting will be February 18th.”

Cortes Currents: The legislature hasn't met in how many months?

Anna Kindy: “Well apparently, if you look back, it's since May because usually they don't run the legislature during the summer.”

Cortes Currents: The NDP government dropped the writ for the last election on September 21, 2024, four months after the last sitting. The legislature will have had a 278-day break when it reopens on February 18.

Anna Kindy: “Our party did FOIs (Freedom of Information requests) to see what kind of meetings they we're doing. To me it seems almost unconscionable that you're not at work when you've been elected and part of work is becoming accountable, sitting in the legislature to make sure that you respond to the questions that the electorate has and move forward on policy that might improve certain things.”

Cortes Currents: How many times have you been to Victoria?

Anna KIndy: “Since October 19th, I think twice. Around February 12th to 14th we have MLA school and then on February 18th, the house starts.”

Cortes Currents: Are your relationships with the NDP frosty?
Anna Kindy: “I don't think. From what I hear you still talk to each other, but once it comes to the Ledge gloves are off, but behind the scenes, you try to make things work.”

Julie Osborne is a former mayor of Tofino and was first elected in 2020. She was appointed Minister of Health in November 2024 - courtesy BC Government News

“For example, with this specialist group that I met , they try to get a hold of the Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, and for some reason they weren't able to get through. Which surprises me a little bit, but I think she's very busy and there's probably layers of bureaucracy that they have to approve. They've talked, I think, to the Deputy Minister and they still didn't get through.”

“So my job will be two things. I want to talk to her personally if I can, say, ‘hey, these are the specialists of BC.’ I probably would listen to what they have to say and then if that doesn't happen, I bring forward what their concerns are - bring it forward so that people are people at BC are aware. That's my job as a critic.”

“I've been pretty full on since being elected, to be honest.”