Cariboo North MLA is the last BCU incumbent to not announce her electoral fate. Something she won't be changing until she finishes resolving concerns from constituents, particularly with medical concerns.
"I certainly respect everyone is wanting to know what that decision will be," Oakes told The Observer on Monday, Sept. 9. "I'm doing my utmost to ensure that (constituent files) are resolved before the writ is dropped."
When the writ is dropped, the government enters an "election mode" and MLAs cease to hold those positions, leaving nobody to advocate for constituents with concerns.
One of Oakes' constituents she had meetings with was involved in a car crash. The constituent needs an MRI to continue their medical care, but she keeps getting bumped down the list, Oakes said. Constituents are concerned about the transition period between elections should the riding get a new MLA, she added.
"It is very difficult when you meet with constituents to walk them through what this next transition will look like. They start talking about their funeral, they feel that it is such a hopeless case," Oakes said.
In another file, a constituent of Oakes' was given the wrong dosage of medication. The incorrect dosage ended up costing the constituent $175 to pay for it. When she called Urgent Primary Care, she was told to call back. When she did call back, she was told no doctor could see her. She was then sent to Northern Health's virtual clinic where a doctor told her they needed documents uploaded before they could fix the dosage issue and get the medication covered. Oakes' office worked with the constituent to get through it.
"Without somebody to advocate on her behalf, where does that person go?" Oakes questioned, adding she'd like to see someone in place on the government end who can take on urgent files during the writ period and while new MLAs are adjusting to their roles. "I know from personal experience, it takes months to get a new office up and running." She said everything from deciding where a constituency office will be, to setting up phones to learning to navigate the government is a challenge for new MLAs and their staff.
The third file Oakes shared is from a man who just finished his cancer treatments and has complex health challenges. He is struggling to get a doctor in Quesnel and Northern Health stated in an email provided to The Observer by Oakes that he doesn't "meet the criteria for priority placement with a primary care provider."
"We used to have a person in our community where on those most dire cases if it's life or death or really significant challenges, we could go to that person and we could navigate the system and figure out how we were going to help. Three months ago that changed," Oakes said.
Oakes said given all of the cases and advocacy she's been working on, she can't yet make a decision on her electoral future.
"I'll get through this piece and try to get this caseload as much addressed as I possibly can and then figure out what the next steps are," she said.
Oakes said the process to get on the ballot takes time. Other BCU incumbents who have announced independent runs like Mike Bernier in Peace River South or Tom Shypitka in Kootenay East were already on the ballot and with BCU removing its endorsement of candidates they become unattached independent candidates.
Another challenge she would face if she chose to run is a lack of data from the past elections. Data like who has donated to her campaigns, who has volunteered or taken signs in the past was locked to her when BCU announced it wasn't fielding candidates.
"I could not put any money into a campaign for myself, even if I wanted to because I had already contributed the maximum amount to BC United," Oakes said. "Probably the same with a good portion of our strong supporters that had already donated the maximum prior to the party suspending the campaign." Which adds to the challenges of BCU candidates who might switch over to independents.
She said what happened to BC United was a "sucker punch."
"It didn't provide the adequate time for us to prepare as MLAs to close out our offices, to make sure that we are leaving our constituent files in a good place, to doing the necessary work that we needed to do," Oakes said. "All this energy and focus being put on the political upheaval that has happened because of this, the constituents are the ones I worry about."
When asked if the NDP or Conservatives approached Oakes to ask her to join them, she said "My focus is best kept on this transition period of serving the constituents. That is where I'm going to maintain my focus right now."
