Doctors and other health workers in B.C. will soon be required to report gunshot and stab wounds to police.
Solicitor General Mike de Jong says the new legislation will help police take quick action to prevent more violence, injury or death as part of the government's efforts to fight gang and gun violence.
Under the bill, all gunshot wounds must be reported to police as soon as possible, without interference with the injured person's treatment, along with the patient's name and the name of the health care facility.
Health care workers will be protected from any liability as a result of reporting the information.
Stab wounds won't have to be reported if they're accidental or self-inflicted.
Several other provinces already require the reporting of gunshot wounds, but B.C. will be joining Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta in requiring the reporting of both bullet and stab wounds.