There is no denying Dr. Bonnie Henry is now a household name. When we look back at this time for the rest of our lives, I believe that Henry’s role will forever be connected.
We all know how busy Henry is right now and I thought I’d take a shot in the dark and try and land an interview. When she agreed, I couldn’t believe it. Henry is B.C.’s superhero. She is our voice of reason and we are all turning to her for guidance.
Dedicating her career to public health, Henry said she knew she would be speaking with the public on health issues, but never imagined her role as the Provincial Health Officer would be as public as it is now.
With the publicity, comes pressure. I asked Henry about her role and her leadership during this time.
“This is the Big One. We had to look at it and think: ‘What would happen if we overreacted and what would happen if we didn’t?’ ” said Henry. “A few weeks ago it was a challenge of not knowing if we were doing the right thing. We were concerned and also wanted to be reassuring.”
Henry has an impressive resumé with extensive work in public health, including pandemics, epidemics and infectious diseases globally, nationally and provincially.
Henry is quick to credit her team and acknowledge their efforts, too.
“I work with a lot of wise people, and have a strong team,” said Henry.
When I asked Henry for some leadership advice, she offered some thoughts I hadn’t heard yet.
“This is the time you need to be calm and kind,” Henry said. “Part of my role is to say that this is going to be hard, take a deep breath. Now is not the time to make assumptions about why people are doing what they are doing. As leaders, we need to make allowances for people right now.”
I admire Henry and she is teaching us a lot more than just staying safe.
She is a strong, intelligent woman that our entire province is turning to for guidance. I see her as an incredible role model for girls, especially girls in science.
“That is something really special to me. I grew up in a family of four girls and my father was in the army,” Henry said. “My mother and father brought us up believing we could do whatever we wanted to do. I support the importance of education and I have worked in countries where girls aren’t valued.”
Henry has also used her leadership role in another fantastic way, demonstrating respect, understanding and acknowledging Indigenous communities and Indigenous people. Henry understands the importance of this and the sensitivities around it. She keeps that in the forefront even during a crisis, and that is something to recognize.
Henry spoke highly of an elder from Alert Bay who recently passed away. She acknowledged the role elders plays within Indigenous communities and the role Indigenous elders play for our province.
She also supported Haida Gwaii’s decision to request visitors refrain from visiting their community and reminded British Columbians that First Nations are self-governing communities.
“We want to acknowledge the important cultural role First Nations communities have and we want to work toward fostering and supporting it,” Henry said.
Henry credits Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, an Aboriginal health physician adviser on her team, the First Nation Health Authority and other partners for their guidance and expertise.
Everyone I know is following Henry’s recommendations.
The day she stated that driveway beers with neighbours and friends were allowed made many people happy, including myself. I made sure to personally thank Henry for letting us know it’s OK to connect from a distance with a beer, wine or lemonade.
During this pandemic, I’ve participated in drive-by birthday parades, ordered groceries from restaurants that newly offer the service and I even renewed my car insurance over the phone.
“It’s the creativity of B.C. that is going to get us through this. I’ve heard from congregations that have increased their congregation from hundreds to thousands by streaming services,” Henry said.
“I’m a Maritimer and we have a saying that community suffering builds strong bonds.”
