One Year Later: Survivors, Families, and Communities Affected by the April 26 Tragedy Deserve a Coordinated Provincial Recovery Response
May 29, 2026
To Premier David Eby, members of Cabinet, and elected representatives of the Government of British Columbia,
More than a year after the April 26 tragedy, survivors, families, and communities across British Columbia continue to live with its profound and lasting impacts.
In the absence of a coordinated provincial emergency response, community organizations, volunteers, allies, cultural groups, service providers, and grassroots leaders from within the Filipino community, stepped in to support grieving families. They organized meals, emergency fundraising, funeral support, transportation, childcare, housing assistance, hospital visits, victim advocacy, peer support, culturally grounded mental health programming, and wellness checks while helping survivors, witnesses, families, and community members navigate overwhelming grief, trauma and complex systems during an unprecedented crisis.
Community care played an essential role in helping people survive emotionally, spiritually, and physically in the aftermath of the tragedy. However, community organizations were never meant to replace government systems or long-term victim support services. The magnitude of this tragedy required sustained provincial leadership, coordinated recovery planning, and resources far beyond what any grassroots cultural organization could reasonably provide.
The Province of British Columbia has a responsibility to coordinate healthcare, emergency management, victim services, compensation systems, and long-term recovery support across ministries and agencies. Yet despite repeated calls from Filipino BC, survivors and community advocates, there has been no dedicated provincial funding to address the long-term impacts of this tragedy.
The shortcomings in the provincial response are evident in the continued absence of coordinated support for families navigating catastrophic injuries and long term rehabilitation. Requests for specialized out-of-country treatment have been widely reported, yet despite public attention and ongoing calls for provincial assistance, no action has been taken.
Healthcare coordination and access to specialized treatment are constitutionally provincial responsibilities. The Ministry of Health has both the mandate and authority to coordinate care, facilitate access to specialized services, and support families facing extraordinary medical circumstances.
This tragedy also revealed serious systemic failures in British Columbia's emergency response framework when responding to mass-casualty social disasters.
Following the attack, Filipino BC repeatedly requested the deployment of the Canadian Red Cross from the municipal, provincial, and federal governments. These requests were consistent with how the organization has been mobilized following natural disasters and other large-scale crises. In response to the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, the Canadian Red Cross was deployed at the request of the Province of Nova Scotia. The government also absorbed all the administrative costs of the Stronger Together Nova Scotia Fund to address some of the immediate and longer-term needs of families devastated by this event.
According to Emergency Management BC, the April 26 tragedy did not qualify for Canadian Red Cross deployment because it was not classified as a natural disaster. As a result, critical support—including an emergency reception centre, health equipment, family reunification, systems navigation, and long-term recovery assistance—were left largely in the hands of under-resourced nonprofit organizations and volunteers.
However, the Province of British Columbia did coordinate with the Canadian Red Cross following the 2026 Tumbler Ridge mass shooting and similarly to the Province of Nova Scotia, absorbed the administrative costs of the 2026 Tumbler Ridge Tragedy Appeal as part of the response. The contrast raises important questions about why similar coordination and support mechanisms were not activated following the April 26 tragedy.
The need for the province to update its emergency response protocols has already been identified. In August 2025, the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Police Department released their Joint Review of Outdoor Special Event Planning and Safety and recommended the development of a provincial incident response management guide to improve coordination during and after major incidents. The recommendation clearly recognizes the Province's role as the intermediary between governments, ministries, emergency systems, community organizations, victims, families, survivors, and affected communities. Yet, more than nine months later, that recommendation has yet to be meaningfully actioned.
Unfortunately, we know from recent comparative mass-casualty events that acceptable and stronger government responses are possible.
Following the mass-casualty attack at Bondi Beach in 2025, Australian governments quickly committed $60 million AUD for emergency and recovery funding alongside long term investments in community safety. In May 2026, the Australian Federal Government further committed a $604.2 million package over five years to combat antisemitism, address hate crimes, strengthen community safety, and support long-term resilience and recovery efforts.
Similarly, following the 2018 Toronto van attack, the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario assumed direct leadership roles in coordinating support and recovery efforts for victims, families, and affected communities. The attack also prompted changes to emergency planning and response frameworks to better address social disasters and intentional mass-casualty events. These reforms recognized that recovery requires more than emergency response alone—it requires long-term coordination, systems navigation, mental health supports, and sustained government leadership.
British Columbia has now experienced two mass-casualty events in less than a year. Yet despite the scale of trauma experienced by survivors, families, and communities, we have not seen significant new investments in mental health services, a provincially led recovery framework, dedicated long-term recovery funding, or even a confirmed timeline for the long-promised review of the Mental Health Act.
This is not simply a funding gap. It is a policy choice and public policy reveals priorities. It tells us what governments believe is urgent and what can wait. It tells us which problems demand action and which are left for communities to solve themselves.
When survivors, families, and communities continue to carry the impacts of mass trauma without a coordinated recovery strategy, without significant new mental health investments, and without a clear path toward reform, the message is difficult to ignore.
In May 2025, Victim Services estimated that as many as 500 people may have been directly affected by the April 26 tragedy, including witnesses, volunteers, first responders, staff, and community members experiencing lasting trauma. Recovery from mass trauma is measured not in weeks or months, but in years. We are still only beginning to understand and speak openly about the long-term emotional, psychological, social, and economics of the COVID-19 pandemic years later. The Impacts of April 26 will be felt across families and communities for a long time to come.
For these reasons, we call on the Government of British Columbia to:
Coordinate a whole-of-government recovery response across ministries and agencies;
Establish a provincially funded recovery coordination table;
Implement the recommendation for a provincial incident response management guide;
Support the Ministry of Health in coordinating specialized and out-of-country care where required;
Reform ICBC compensation limits for catastrophic injuries;
Expand the mandate of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness to include social and mass-casualty disasters; and
Provide sustained long-term funding for recovery, systems navigation, mental health services, and culturally grounded supports.
Survivors, families, and affected communities continue to carry the emotional, psychological, social, and economic impacts of this tragedy.
They deserve more than condolences and short-term support. They deserve more than praise for their resilience.
They deserve a coordinated recovery plan. They deserve meaningful investment in mental health and victim services. They deserve a provincial response that reflects the scale of what they have endured.
One year later, they are still waiting.
Sincerely,
Kristina Corpin-Moser
Executive Director, Filipino BC
RJ Aquino
Chair, Filipino BC