Why We Wrote to David Eby

May 28

On Monday, May 26th, Blueprint's co-founders Dr. David Kuhl and Dr. Duncan Shields, along with the Chair of our Board Daniel Muzyka, sent a letter to British Columbia’s Premier David Eby, expressing their disappointment at the provincial government's failure to respond to years of requests for financial support for our life-saving work with B.C.'s first responders.

At the end of next month - June 2025 - after ten years of delivering mental health education, counselling, and support to organizations representing over 10,000 municipal fire fighters and police officers, our First Responder Resiliency Program will end. The reason is straightforward: a lack of provincial funding, despite years of requests and overwhelming evidence of our program's impact.

Preventing a crisis is an investment, not an expense

Nobody really plans for a mental health crisis, yet the costs associated with it are escalating. Through our work with partners like the Canadian Men's Health Foundation, we've learned this is an alarming trend nationally: Saskatchewan's agriculture sector has seen a spike in the costs of psychological harm (what we in B.C. call "psychological-only injuries"); Ontario and Nova Scotia are seeing mental health and addiction issues related to the housing and construction sector; and in Alberta, public data indicates the mental health crisis are affecting many of the province's most important sectors.

Here in B.C., while these broader trends are deeply concerning, the impact on our first responders is particularly acute and demands immediate attention, affecting not just their individual well-being, but also our healthcare system, public safety, and the economy. A healthcare crisis is almost always a ‘downstream’ economic issue—a cost that comes later, from something happening today. No government wants to be hit with an unplanned-for bill; given the chance, most would take decisive action to avoid it by doing something today.

The cost of delivering healthcare results in large social spin-off effects, because it's not just one person's sick day — things get worse for the economy (when your employees are home sick, your labour costs go up), public safety (when first responders stay home, public harms increase), and for the entire healthcare system (one person's suffering has ripple effects in families and communities).

The value of working upstream

Fortunately, healthcare also offers compelling scientific evidence for preventative (and thus cost-saving) solutions. Prevention means investing before a crisis hits—much like seat belts prevent injury or diet and exercise prevent illness. When treatment only comes after harm, the problem, and the cost, are far greater. This is why investing in research-based, evidence-backed, "upstream" measures is critical. We urge the government to trust the science, follow its recommendations, and champion proven solutions that protect those who protect us.

The numbers don’t lie; Our program works and saves lives

And the science shows our B.C. First Responder Resiliency Program works. We know the B.C. government is aware of our program, its effectiveness, and the strong desire for it from provincial firefighters, police officers, their unions, associations, chiefs, and municipal councils. Key figures, from Premier Eby and cabinet ministers to MLAs across B.C., have been repeatedly told: this program helps our frontline personnel, strengthens families and workplaces, and saves lives.

An independent, academic evaluation of our program demonstrates a return on investment of $5.48 for every dollar invested – a 448% social ROI.
Movember Canada, after an international evaluation of military and first responder mental health programs, acknowledged that the B.C. First Responder Resiliency Program has had the greatest, measurable impact.
The B.C. government's own Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services previously recommended funding for our program.

Despite ticking all these crucial boxes—effective, valuable, verifiable, endorsed, and in high demand—our requests for provincial financial support have, to our profound surprise and disappointment, yielded no results.

This is why we wrote the letter.

This impending closure and the unmet need are why we wrote to Premier Eby. We’ve asked the provincial government for $3 million. This funding would allow us to continue the First Responder Resiliency Program in B.C., integrate vital fatherhood material, and double our operating capacity over the next two years – preventing its shutdown at the end of June.

While more financial support would enable us to reach even more British Columbians in critical sectors, our immediate, urgent plea is to keep our doors open. This is about continuing essential upstream work: safeguarding public safety by preventing harm to first responders, alleviating the strain on our healthcare system, and keeping dedicated professionals engaged in their work, families, and communities.

We believe that’s worth the investment.

How you can help

Write to your local MLA, tell them about this post and urge their immediate support for funding the B.C. First Responder Resiliency Program
Contact key Ministers and the Premier directly
Premier David Eby premier@gov.bc.ca
Minister of Health Josie Osborne HLTH.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Minister of Labour Jennifer Whiteside LBR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Garry Begg PSSG.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Make a donation: to help our small NGO continue this critical work, please consider donating - we need approximately $50,000 monthly to continue our work.