Health Minister Adrian Dix says hospitals in the province see 200,000 emergency room visits per month and that he doesn’t believe patients are being dumped outside.
Last week, RCMP identified Joshua Freeman as the man who fled the scene after 21-year-old Joel Zimbalatti was shot. Previously, Freeman had only been known by the alias "Slim."
Last year, the Victoria resident said she called 911 for a man who was asking for help to get an ambulance to a sobriety centre – after he’d been dropped at the bus stop.
Joel Zimbalatti, 21, was found shot to death in a Sparwood trailer on Oct. 11, 2023. According to Elk Valley Mounties, one man fled the scene before they arrived.
"It's ridiculous, forcing people to live in tents in the cold that we suffer in these northern climates," said Bradley Gustafson of End Homelessness Canada.