Hi everyone, Mark Iype in Alberta filling in for Wendy today.
On Sunday, Premier David Eby announced plans to introduce involuntary care for people with concurrent addiction, mental illness and acquired brain injuries.
In addition, he said he’d introduce legislation to compel youth to receive care if they are unable to seek it themselves.
Of course, take the pronouncement with a grain of salt. The province is weeks away from an election, so much of Eby’s plan counts on him winning at the ballot box next month. So at this point, it should probably be seen as a campaign promise.
In fact, as The Globe’s Andrea Woo and Mike Hager reported, just last week, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad himself promised to introduce involuntary care for “those at serious risk due to addiction, including youths and adults.”
Eby’s plan is for intervention services to be offered through correctional facilities, “highly secure regional facilities” and hospitals, he said Sunday.
“It is costly for the people struggling with these conditions; they are not safe,” the Premier said. “And, increasingly, I’m concerned that the way that they are interacting in our communities is making everybody less safe.”
While not a wholly new or original concept, involuntary care has been discussed in several jurisdictions recently.
As Andrea and Mike reported on Sunday: “The issue of forcing people into treatment has gained traction in recent years as municipalities across Canada grapple with the symptoms of a runaway drug crisis and street disorder that can be attributed to substance use along with a host of other social issues.”
Last year, The Globe first reported that Alberta was eyeing involuntary treatment, and legislation could be introduced this fall. New Brunswick was also considering a similar bill, but it has been put on hold since that province is also heading to the polls next month.
Forced treatment has had detractors, with lack of evidence of success, and ethical and civil liberties being raised as concerns, which is why similar legislation proposed by previous governments has never been enacted.
But on Sunday, Squamish Nation general councillor and spokesperson Sxwíxwtn Wilson Williams spoke about how Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by substance use, incarceration, suicide and other social issues, and called Eby’s plan a “significant step forward for all.”
The first correctional facility would be Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, which would have a 10-bed unit for people being held on remand or sentenced, while the first secure housing and care facility would be on the grounds of the Alouette Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge.
This is the weekly British Columbia newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.