BCACC records 83% growth in RCC coverage in B.C. municipalities since 2023
When BCACC first looked closely at extended health benefits offered by B.C. municipalities in 2023, the results highlighted an important gap. Just 12 municipalities confirmed that their employee benefit plans included coverage for Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs).
Three years later, that picture has changed considerably.
In 2026, BCACC repeated the review and found that 22 municipalities now confirm coverage for RCCs, an 83 percent increase in just three years.
It is an encouraging shift, and one that reflects more than the work of any single organization. Behind those numbers is a story of sustained advocacy, strong partnerships and, importantly, workers and communities speaking up about the mental health supports they need.
Many voices helped move the needle
Municipal employees do work that keeps communities functioning every day. Public works employees, recreation staff, planners, engineers, utilities workers, bylaw officers, administrative professionals, firefighters and, in many communities, police personnel all form part of the municipal workforce.
Their roles can involve emergencies, public scrutiny, difficult interactions and complex community needs. Ensuring employees can access counselling when they need it can help people seek support earlier, strengthening both individual well-being and organizational resilience.
Over the past decade, the case for expanding access to RCCs has been advanced from many directions.
Organizations including the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Association (BCPFFA) and First Responder Health have championed improved mental health coverage for firefighters, educating professionals on the importance of having ongoing mental health support. Just as importantly, professionals and workers themselves have advocated and bargained directly for better access to mental health supports. Those voices have helped employers understand both the need for counselling and the importance of providing employees with greater choice in who delivers that care.
Bringing the conversation to decision-makers
Alongside this community-led momentum, BCACC has worked deliberately to bring the case for RCC coverage to the people responsible for designing and administering employee benefit plans.
That has meant getting in front of human resources professionals and policy decision-makers through targeted conference presentations, providing practical information to help employers make informed decisions about effective benefit plans, and building stronger relationships throughout B.C.’s municipal community.
Those relationships have also created opportunities to think beyond traditional benefits coverage.
BCACC’s partnership with the BC Municipal Safety Association (BCMSA), for example, led to the development of Connection to Care, an upstream approach to supporting workplace mental health. The program provides local government and B.C. forestry workers with free, anonymous and confidential support by phone, helping connect workers with mental health assistance when they need it.
Progress built together
The increase from 12 municipalities providing RCC coverage in 2023 to 22 in 2026 demonstrates what can happen when multiple forms of advocacy reinforce one another.
BCACC has worked to educate employers, build relationships and bring RCCs into conversations about workplace mental health. Unions and partner organizations have advocated stronger benefits through bargaining opportunities and other initiatives. Workers and professionals have added their voices by asking directly for access to the mental health care that meets their needs. One needs only to look at the BC Teachers Federation for an example of this in action. The BCTF’s inclusion of Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs) demonstrates how collective bargaining can expand access to mental health care. Beginning in 2023, the negotiated provincial benefits plan broadened psychologist coverage to include RCCs, while increasing the annual counselling maximum to $1,200. That gain has been sustained and strengthened in the 2025–2029 agreement, with counselling coverage rising to $1,500 and scheduled to reach $1,750 in 2028. The evolution shows how unions can use the bargaining table not only to increase benefit dollars, but also to expand provider choice and improve members’ access to care.
Together, those efforts are changing benefit plans.
There is still more work to do. But an 83 per cent increase in municipal RCC coverage in three years is meaningful progress. It is an encouraging indication that more B.C. employers are recognizing the value of providing their employees with access and choice when seeking mental health care.
BCACC commends the municipalities, partners, advocates, employers, shop stewards and unions who have helped move this work forward, as well as the growing number of communities investing in stronger mental health supports for the people who serve them.
Read BCACC’s press release on growth in RCC coverage across BC’s municipalities here.
