The death of a 17-year-old Indigenous boy in Kitimat is raising fresh concerns about emergency care in northern British Columbia, after he died waiting for help that came too late.
Skeena MLA Claire Rattée said the death was preventable and highlighted what she described as serious gaps in access to diagnostic tools and emergency services in remote communities.
Rattée said the boy, named Vincent, had suffered severe stomach pain for years, which was often dismissed as constipation. When his condition worsened last month, she said he waited nearly five hours in the Kitimat ER before a CT scan was arranged in Terrace.
“He waited nearly five hours in the ER while turning blue before a CT scan was finally arranged in Terrace,” Rattée said.
“But no ambulance was available. He had to wait for one from Terrace. This should never happen in British Columbia,” Rattée added.
Vincent died at 10:48 p.m., before he was ever transferred. A congenital hernia was later identified as the underlying issue.
Residents in Kitimat have been especially shaken, in part because the community raised funds for a CT scanner in 2023 to prevent situations like this. However, construction on the CT suite did not start until August 2025, and the equipment is still not operational.
“The equipment that could have helped this boy was sitting behind a construction barrier,” Rattée said.
Rattée said she informed the Health Minister’s office two weeks ago and then followed up twice, but received no response from them. She is now calling for an independent public review into Vincent’s death and is calling for the Kitimat CT scanner to be activated immediately for use in emergencies.
“How many more people have to die before this government gets the CT scanner running in Kitimat?” she said.
The tragedy has left the Kitimat community grieving and demanding answers, with many residents now openly questioning how something like this could happen in a modern healthcare system and whether more could have been done to save a teenager’s life.
