Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

DOUBLE-DECKER PORTABLES

E. Sturko: I rise in the House today to speak on a critical issue greatly affecting my constituents in Surrey South and the residents across my city.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

Overcrowded schools in Surrey have become a dire situation leading to the doubling of portables and a negative impact on the learning environment for students. Despite having been promised that portables would be removed, Surrey parents have instead seen more and more portables on school grounds across the district.

Now they’re hearing their kids in classes may indeed have double-decker portables. You did hear that correctly. I said double-decker portables.

Unfortunately, the situation the Surrey school board is currently contemplating…. When I first heard about double-decker portables, I actually thought the person was kidding. But, sadly, this is not a joke for the parents and students of Surrey.

In a letter to the government, Surrey’s school board trustee Terry Allen said: “We’re at the point now where we’re going to have to start to consider to stack portables, something that I don’t know if it’s ever been done.” This is how dire the situation is in Surrey right now. Parents, teachers, staff and students are all rightfully upset. They feel ignored, and they feel let down.

But how did we get here? Promises to eliminate portables were never met. In fact, portables have increased from 273 in 2016 to over 360 today, with the predicted number of portables to be more than 400 within two years. Edgewood Elementary, which only opened in 2021, currently has seven portables with eight more planning for the coming months.

[10:05 a.m.]

While portables may always be a necessity in fast-growing districts, poor foresight has led to an unnecessary increase in the number of portables. With Surrey being the fastest-growing city in the province, so too is its school district. The schools saw more than 2,200 new students enter what are already overcrowded class­rooms in Surrey. The rate of building new schools and classrooms is not matching the anticipated growth of the district, especially with new major transportation infrastructure projects set to come in the future, leaving Surrey schools to play catch-up.

Currently as many as 10,000 of the 78,000 students in the Surrey school district will be in portables in the next year when school starts in September. This problem will only continue to get worse as the number of new students enrolling only grows higher.

Just a couple of years ago the government made a commitment to expand the SkyTrain from Surrey to Langley, and it goes right through Fleetwood, the site of proposed double-decker portables. The school district should have been supported in shoring up plans to make sure that there would be adequate school spaces to go along with that development. The current overcrowding projections don’t even take into account the increased density which will be built along the transit line.

Overcrowded schools and the expansion of portables come with negative implications for students’ learning environment. The funds for building portables come directly from the schools’ operating budget. The Surrey school district has already spent $4.8 million buying or redeploying portables this year alone and has spent more than $17.5 million in the last five years. This is money taken directly from the fund that’s paying for laptops, hot lunch programs, after-school programs and staff.

In addition, increasing portables creates their own learning and accessibility challenges for students. To access services such as bathrooms, water fountains and lunch programs, students must leave portables to enter the main building. This can cause classroom disruptions, force children to miss class and take away from learning. Leaving the portables to access the school also presents safety issues during periods of extreme weather.

Parents of children with classes in portables have reported feelings of exclusion faced by these students: feeling like outsiders in their own schools, stuck in isolation from the rest of their peers. My kids are currently in elementary school in Surrey and have had experience learning in portables, so I’ve heard about the struggles that students face having to leave the classroom to go outdoors by themselves to access other services. That’s not, for me as a parent, something that I’m comfortable with as being a regular part of the school day.

If students in portables face challenges to learning, imagine the unintended consequences of double-decker portables. How are they accessible to all students? How do they access washrooms? What about noise disruptions? Families and students are feeling let down. It’s beyond time for the overcrowding issue in Surrey schools to be addressed.

There are students in Surrey who have only ever had their class in portables. It’s not an ideal learning environment. Portables cannot become a permanent solution, and double-decker portables cannot become the norm.

M. Dykeman: Thank you to the member opposite for bringing forward this very important topic. It’s a topic that I quite enjoy discussing — anything related to education, with my past experience with a school board.

As I was listening to the member opposite, I found that there was quite a bit that we could agree on. For instance, poor foresight definitely did get us here — absolutely. I do appreciate the opportunity to talk about the investments our government is making, but also: how did we get here? Those of us who had the misfortune of living through a decade of the most catastrophic funding decisions ever made can answer that. We remember it every day. It’s like something you can’t unsee.

I’d like to mention to the members in here today…. If they’d like to learn a little bit about what happened, there’s a full Auditor General’s report that talks about it. It’s actually a document that, at least, the opposite side of the House should be aware of: the release of assets for economic generation. It certainly lays out the plan which led to the fire sale of 164 B.C. schools, hospitals and industrial lots that were sold. What was really unfortunate about it….

Interjection.

[10:10 a.m.]

M. Dykeman: I’m just providing some context, because of course, this time isn’t partisan, but it’s important for us to understand the history.

It is interesting. As a new MLA, I’d like to just make an observation. It’s amusing in some ways that it becomes partisan, the message. When somebody doesn’t like it, then it’s partisan, but if you like the message, it isn’t. It’s kind of curious.

That decision to sell 164 lots, many of them schools, led to a position where school boards were told to sell — not only sell but close schools and shift around. Those were purely economic decisions, which maybe at the time seemed to be great, but they led to having to acquire those lots again at today’s market value. So in addition to being sold below value — like $400 million below value, in many cases — you’re facing having to reacquire it.

Talking about Surrey, families want to live in Surrey. They want to live in Langley. They want to live in lots of the fast-growing places. This is a very fast-growing community. In the last two years, 250,000 people moved to B.C., and that means that Surrey has seen record growth as more families chose to make that community their home.

The land sold in those fast-growing communities would have been there and would have been available to have schools built on. Instead, because of those decisions, school boards and the province are reacquiring land while addressing that fast growing…. That’s something that any person who’s served on the school board will tell you was just the most devastating decision ever made.

Kids and families need new and expanded schools, and our government is working to deliver them. We’ve accelerated investments in Surrey with half a billion dollars since September 2017, which will create over 10,000 new student seats, the equivalent of 400 classrooms. Since 2017, six new schools and ten new school expansions have been completed for Surrey kids, with more on the way. That’s in comparison to zero schools and one expansion completed in the previous government’s last four years.

We will keep building Surrey schools for years to make up for the years of infrastructure deficits left by the previous government. Compared to 2016-17, enrolment in Surrey has grown by 6,224, exceeding district estimates by more than 3,000. Funding per student has been increased by $2,126, or 24 percent, from $8,920 per student FTE to $11,046 per student FTE. As a result, operating funding has grown by $220.6 million.

We have always fully funded the impacts of enrolment growth in September, on the operating budget. On average, that’s led to an additional $229.2 million in funding for the district over what they budgeted for.

Having served as a school board trustee, I am proud of the investments our government is making. We need to continue to do more.

E. Sturko: I just want to perhaps start off by correcting the member for Langley East — information they provided on the record about the number of new schools announced, projects begun or additions created in Surrey between the ‘13-14 school year and January 2017. I can count one, two, three, four, five, six new schools, and then we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight additions.

In fact, the previous government actually reduced the number of portables in school district 36. Wow. I can say that there’s only one government that actually promised to reduce, to eliminate portables in school district 36, and that’s the current government.

Deputy Speaker: Member, this is not a partisan time. I believe the Member understands that.

E. Sturko: I just wanted to make sure, since the member for Langley East was talking about ensuring that the public understood the history of how we got here…. I’m just letting people understand the history is that…

[10:15 a.m.]

Deputy Speaker: Member. Member.

E. Sturko: …the government we currently…

Deputy Speaker: Member.

E. Sturko: …have is a government that actually promised to completely eliminate….

Deputy Speaker: Member. Member. Enough, Member.

Member, thank you. Your time is up. If you’re going to disregard the Chair in this way and the rules of this House, we’re going to move on to the next statement.

I would ask the member to withdraw their statement and to follow the rules of this House. If the member is going to be partisan, I would ask the member to withdraw their partisan statement. Otherwise, we’re going to move along.

The member refuses to withdraw. It’s clear to all members. This has always been the rule of this House. Monday mornings are private members’ time. It’s not opposition time. It’s not government time. If you have a statement that you want to make, you can fight for your party’s position. You can speak positively in it. But the rules are clear. We’re not to make negative statements against groups of other members in this House. We’re not to try and get one-upmanship or partisanship. Thank you, Members.

If the member wants to finish her statement in a non-partisan way, I will let her make that statement.

E. Sturko: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I thank the government member for their concern on the issue, and I truly hope they’re serious about taking steps to alleviate the overcrowding in Surrey schools. But actions do speak louder than words, Mr. Speaker. Families in Surrey were promised an end to portables, yet all they’re seeing is more and more portables added to their children’s schools.

Surrey is my home. Surrey is my home, and I drive by these schools all the time. I drive my kids to school. I walk them to school. We ride our bikes. Let me tell you there is no more room on school grounds for portables. More portables means less places for children to play, less sports fields.

However, despite the words from the government over the years, no one, including the school boards….

Deputy Speaker: Member. Member.

This is non-partisan time. I’ve given you a few warnings now. If the member wants to continue, I would ask them to take their words off of the script and get back into a non-partisan spirit. That is the spirit of this morning.

E. Sturko: Thank you, Speaker.

Let me just quote school board trustee Terry Allen. He says he’s feeling hopeful. He recently actually said, though, that eliminating portables “will never happen in my lifetime.”

Overcrowding of schools and the doubling-up of portables are just another concern stacked on the residents of Surrey, who are increasingly feeling let down. Promises of removing portables haven’t been met, promises of building affordable homes have silently gone away, and crime is surging on the streets.

Overcrowding in Surrey schools and the increased use of portables is leading to a reduction in resources and services for students. It’s negatively affecting their learning environment. Instead of double-decker portables, we need a forward-thinking plan to build more schools and more classrooms faster to match the growth of Surrey.

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

M. Starchuk: Inaugurated by the Canadian Mental Health Association in 1951, May 1 to 7, 2023, marks the 72nd annual Mental Health Week in Canada. The annual campaign looks to shift attitudes and perceptions about mental health. Mental Health Week is a social change campaign to educate the public and shift beliefs and perceptions about mental health.

Mental health is the state of our psychological and emotional well-being. It encompasses our emotions, feelings of connection, thoughts and the ability to manage life’s highs and lows. Throughout our lives, we will all experience periods of positive and negative mental health. One-third of people in Canada will experience a mental illness or substance use disorder in their lifetime.

With the right support, people with mental illness or substance use disorders can and do thrive. Just as we take care of our physical health, there are many ways that we can help take care of our mental health.

We’ve been through a lot over the last few years as British Columbians. The COVID-19 pandemic, confirmation of mass residential school graves and climate-related emergencies have taken a toll on our mental health. When people make the brave decision to reach out for help, it’s vital that the services are there to meet them. The province is committed in building an integrated system of mental health and addictions care that people need and that works for everyone.

[10:20 a.m.]

Our government is making historic mental health in­vestments to continue the expansion of mental health and substance use supports and better connect people in all areas of the province to culturally safe and effective care. This includes virtual services that are available for people who are experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges, as well as low- or no-cost community counselling programs through 49 organizations across British Columbia, with counsellors that are able to truly meet the people where they’re at.

Whether it’s through outreach, in-person counselling or virtual supports, since 2017, the province has been scaling up supports and providing new ways to access care for people experiencing mental health challenges. I’d like to highlight some of the programs that our government supports in the field of mental health.

Wellbeing is an online resource connecting people to mental health and addiction resources. The B.C. virtual mental health supports website has low- and no-cost mental health supports, including free and affordable counselling services.

KUU-US crisis line provides Indigenous people with culturally safe, 24-7 telephone crisis supports. The Métis crisis line also offers culturally safe, 24-7 supports for Métis people.

Bounce Back is an evidence-based program designed to help adults and youth 15 years and older experiencing symptoms of mild to moderate depression, low mood or stress with or without anxiety.

Here2Talk has counselling and referral line connections for post-secondary students, with the service Here2talk.ca. Since April 2020, when the program launched Here2Talk, it has supported over 6,500 unique students from 176 institutions. Since April 2020, Here2Talk services have been accessed 23,600 times, and counsellors have provided nearly 14,000 mental health interventions at that time and more than 14,000 hours of clinical care.

The Kids Help program provides immediate and caring support information and, if necessary, referral to a local community or social service agency.

In Budget 2023, we made a historic $1 billion investment in mental health and addictions care. This included a $3 million investment as part of the safer communities action plan to expand integrated mobile crisis response teams — or the Car programs, as we’ve heard — to more communities throughout British Columbia. Teams include a police officer and a health care professional who respond to calls where people are experiencing a mental health crisis. Teams are able to connect the person in crisis with the supports and services that they need.

Foundry offers counselling, peer support, primary care and family support through virtual voice calls, video and chat. Foundry virtual services are available provincewide for youth aged 12 to 24 through their website, the Foundry B.C. mobile app or by calling 1-833-FOUNDRY.

The province is expanding the Foundry network, and currently there are 14 locations across the province. There are nine new centres currently in development, including Burns Lake, East Kootenay, Port Hardy, Sea to Sky, Surrey, Fort St. John, Tri-Cities, Kamloops and the Sunshine Coast.

On August 31 of 2022, the CRTC announced that Canadians will be able to call 988 — they can text it or call it, and that will start in the fall of 2023 — in case they’re in need of immediate mental health supports and suicide intervention. The government of Canada expects that this service will enable greater access to supports, regardless of one’s geographic location or socioeconomic status, and it will be available from coast to coast, 24-7, free of charge.

This year’s theme for Mental Health Week is “#mystory.” It invites people to share and embrace vulnerability and build resilience by sharing their stories with people they trust. These conversations are vital, because it reminds us that we’re not alone and that support is available. If you know someone who is looking for support, please visit wellbeing.gov.bc.ca or call 310-6789.

Let’s share our stories and support one another. so that more people can get the help that they need and the help that they deserve.

[10:25 a.m.]

B. Banman: I truly do thank the member opposite for his remarks. May 1 to 7 is the Canadian Mental Health Association Mental Health Week, where we join Canadians in taking the time to reflect, learn and spread awareness of all issues relating to mental health.

As legislators, we all know the importance of a healthy mind and its impact on the work we do here in the Legislature. Mental health is also important in our personal lives, as parents, as siblings, as grandparents and in the many other roles we fulfil. It’s important for us to put our actions where our mouth is and to focus on the well-being of ourselves and each other.

However, we must also recognize Mental Health Week during a very critical time for our province, as we all know very well, especially for our constituents back in our home communities. We are currently facing a mental health crisis, following the damages of the COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting impacts.

The surge in the cost of living, the lack of housing and the toxic drug crisis have only worsened the mental health of many British Columbians. On top of that, families are worried about their loved ones as crimes worsen. Parents in cities like Surrey are stressed about the possibility of their children having to learn in overpacked classrooms and the potential of double-decker portables.

It’s important that this week we take the time to reflect and think about how to change our approach to help advocate for stronger mental health supports for all British Columbians. This is a holistic approach that includes ensuring that the most marginalized people have the supports they deserve, ensuring that those who need treatment and recovery options have barrier-free access to them and making sure that workers, employers and, especially, small businesses, which are the backbone of our communities, are well protected to thrive and succeed, building healthy societies for us all.

Mental health issues affect people of all ages, all backgrounds and all circumstances. They can arise from a variety of causes, such as stress, trauma, illness and life changes. We must also work to address the root causes of mental health issues and ensure that all British Columbians have access to the supports they need. This means investing in mental health services, promoting mental wellness, and creating safe and supportive communities where individuals can thrive.

Attention to mental health is needed now more than ever. On behalf of the B.C. United caucus, I reaffirm our commitment to destigmatize discussions around mental health and ensure that proper access to the treatment and the care that people deserve is available, regardless of whether they can afford it or not.

Mental Health Week is an important reminder that all mental health is just as important as physical health. It’s time to reflect on the challenges we face as a society and to come together to create solutions that work for everyone. Let’s make a commitment to take care of ourselves and each other and to work towards a future where mental health is a priority, not a mere afterthought.

Healthy minds equal a healthy British Columbia. This Mental Health Week I look forward to working together to create a place where this is a reality.

Lastly, it is okay to say that you are not okay. If you are not okay, please tell someone. Please reach out. The life you save may very well be your own.

M. Starchuk: Thank you to the member opposite for his comments.

My story. Several years ago I had the misfortune of losing a number of family members over a very short time frame. My mother’s second husband, my father-in-law, my close uncle, my father and my brother all left this earth too soon and unexpectedly.

I remember the day my battalion chief called me and asked me when I was coming into work. I had lost track of the days. I began to drive to Surrey from Campbell River. I explained that I would be in as soon as I could, but it wasn’t going to happen that day.

[10:30 a.m.]

During that same time frame, there had been a number of traumatic incidents I had been exposed to, which added to the stressors I was exposed to. I found myself on the side of the highway, on the way back to the ferry, just wondering what had happened to me. Missing a day of work had never happened before. Now I was experiencing a shortness of breath and chest pains.

I made it home, and I wondered how I got there. I couldn’t recall my route home. I wondered if all the lights I drove through were green. I wondered if I was going to be able to report to duty. I couldn’t. My mental health and physical health wouldn’t let me. I could go on forever about my signs and symptoms. But the real issue my doctor was treating me for was an anxiety disorder.

Months later, with the toolbox filled with coping skills, I returned to work with a different perspective of life and, specifically, my life. Years later I would add another tool to my toolkit, and that was through a mindful coach. Kevin gave me the gift of mindfulness, which I used to complement my well-being each and every day. I do that today as well.

I didn’t think I’d ever have to use all of these new skills in my career outside of the fire service, but I did. In 2014, I remember reading the emails, the texts, receiving phone calls when a former colleague of my fire department went missing, and a short time later, they found him deceased. A few months later — similar circumstances with another colleague who took his life early as well. Both Kevin and Ernie left behind young families.

I remember how we all scrambled to find a root cause, and I remember how the shortness of breath and chest pains came back. I remember how difficult it was to be at those celebrations of life. I could not get out of my mind how difficult it had to have been for both of them to decide to end their lives early. But what I remember the most was the ramping up of mental health resources for those in my fire department. I remember the biggest hurdle for most of us was the stigma that came from admitting somebody had a mental health issue.

Seventy-two years later, we now understand more of the issues that surround the mental health challenges. There’s more work to be done to break down the barriers of stigma and to provide timely help to those in need. As the member opposite said, remember it’s okay not to be okay. Just let somebody know what you’re experiencing.

Let’s share our stories and support one another so that more people can get the help that they need and deserve. This is just the beginning. We still have a lot of work in front of us.

Speaker’s Statement

RULES OF DEBATE

Deputy Speaker: To assist members, I just wanted to remind the House of the spirit, intent, scope of debate and subject matter under private members’ time, Standing Order 25A. As noted in many Speaker’s decisions in this House, guidelines do apply to these proceedings — Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia, fifth edition at pages 103 and 104.

Of course, practice in this House under Standing Order 25A does not preclude members from expressing their own views or their party’s position on a political issue or a matter of policy. However, private members’ statements are not proceedings for a member to indulge in partisan attacks or arguments against a group of members in this House. The weekly hour devoted to these statements is an important opportunity for private members to make statements on issues of current interest and on matters of concern to them and their constituents.

A Speaker’s decision in this House dated March 1, 2007, succinctly noted: “Statements should not reflect negatively on individual members or groups of members in the House.” I’d ask all members to remember that in the spirit of the intent of this private members’ hour. Thank you.

Private Members’ Statements

LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THE
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

M. Lee: I rise in the House today in view of the concerns of many British Columbians, including those in my constituency of Vancouver-Langara, to speak to the lack of confidence in the administration of justice here in British Columbia. People simply don’t feel safe, and they are worried about the well-being of their loved ones. They are tired of seeing repeat violent offenders being caught and released in a never-ending cycle.

In Vancouver, it has been reported that just a small group of 40 individuals are responsible for 6,385 police files in the last year alone. This level of crime is completely unprecedented. From random attacks on transit across British Columbia to increased pressures on small businesses, crime has never been worse for British Columbians.

We saw three stabbings on public transit in just one week alone last month, but it didn’t stop there. Throughout the month, we saw a surge in transit-related crime, which has naturally left many commuters feeling unsafe.

Small businesses have been asking for financial relief because they cannot keep up with the added cost being brought to them due to vandalism, theft and the need to continuously clean their storefronts from drug para­phernalia and sometimes even human feces.

[10:35 a.m.]

British Columbians are fed up with the public safety situation here in B.C. Just last week, the Enough is Enough rally was held throughout British Columbia in communities such as Prince George, Kamloops, Penticton and right here in Victoria in front of this Legislative Assembly building. People are tired. They want answers, and they want to feel that as victims, their safety will be protected. However, the current system continues to prioritize offenders over victims.

These rallies are only the most recent things to have occurred. We’ve seen outcries from British Columbians for over a year now. My colleague from Peace River South pre­sented a petition from over 3,000 residents from Dawson Creek, pleading for the protection of their families and their livelihoods.

I would say that the data that has been shared, including by my colleague the member for Abbotsford West with the Attorney General, simply demonstrates that crime is on the increase under this government’s watch. We’ve known and cite the February 14, 2023, report from the Vancouver police department to the Vancouver police board that says the following: “Serious assaults involving weapons or bodily harm, level 2, and aggravated assaults involving life-threatening injuries, level 3, are up 30.1 percent compared to the 2017-2019 average.”

We also know, in another document, the violent crime severity index in B.C., 2017 to 2021…. That document indicates that in 2017 the violent crime severity index in B.C. was 74.1, and in 2021, the violent crime severity index was 95.16. These are the concerns that we see every day in our province.

We know, of course, that what is as concerning about this is that we’ve seen the challenges. When we look at what has come forward by the Attorney General, under her watch, using data that was released just last week, in a sample size of 425 bail hearings involving a suspect with a violent history and who breached their pre-existing bail file, Crown counsel only sought detention orders in 222 cases. This works out to be only 52 percent of the cases.

British Columbians have the right to expect from their government, from this Attorney General….

Deputy Speaker: Member, as I just noted, statements should not reflect negatively on individuals or members of groups in this House. That’s the practice in this House. If the members don’t like it, they can argue that it should change, but that is how private members’ time works.

We do have question period, we have bill debate, we have estimates, and we have committee stage where those kinds of statements can be made. That is not in keeping in the spirit of this time in this House.

M. Lee: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m reading from the Crown Counsel Policy Manual, which is available online to all British Columbians, for the transparency that’s important by this government and this Attorney General in the role that she plays and the role that her former predecessor, the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and the Premier. I’m stating only….

Deputy Speaker: Member. Member, this is not a time to argue with the Speaker.

M. Lee: Mr. Speaker, I’m only stating the fact, though.

Deputy Speaker: Member, members can state facts. They cannot target members individually or as groups. That’s the order. That’s the way this time works.

M. Lee: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will then read, with respect, the excerpts from the Crown Counsel Policy Manual, which does, of course underline the point that “the duty to prosecute offences flows directly and exclusively to the Attorney General” of this province “as the chief law officer of the Crown…. The Attorney General is ultimately responsible for all prosecutions within provincial jurisdiction and must fulfil this constitutional role in an independent and judicial manner.

The AG’s,” or Attorney General’s, “prosecutorial function is delegated to Crown counsel, who exercise the prosecution function on the Attorney General’s behalf as their lawful agents. The AG superintends this function and remains accountable to the Legislature for all exercises of prosecutorial authority.”

This is what I’m speaking to here today. We know that as we look forward, as this government continues to want to frame this issue as a national issue….

Deputy Speaker: Member. Member.

Member, I’ve provided clear direction, as has been pro­vided by previous Speakers of all partisan stripes. This is not the time to be targeting government, and it’s not the time to be targeting opposition. This is a time where you can put forward your own beliefs about your own party’s position on issues, but it is not the time to target others negatively.

[10:40 a.m.]

If the member continues down this route, we’re going to have to move on to the next statement. I would ask him to reframe his comments in keeping with the rules and practice of this chamber.

M. Lee: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I’ve tried to demonstrate in my remarks this morning, B.C. is leading in the numbers and in an increasing crime situation here in this province and in Canada. Un­like other provinces in the rest of this country, we have exceptionally low charge approval rates and an extremely minimal population of individuals actually being held in custody. We have a soaring number of violent criminals. B.C. stands out for being unsafe.

We need to strive to be better. We need to strive to protect victims and condemn repeat violent offenders and provide real consequences so that our streets can be safe.

Our municipalities have been plagued by the ongoing crisis for too long. In Vancouver, we see an average of four random attacks happening per day.

We need immediate action. We know that without that immediate action, confidence in the administration of justice in our province weakens. This is the concern. It should be the concern of all of us in this House.

Ultimately, when British Columbians lose confidence in their justice system, they start to doubt government itself. This is a concern. If we lose that confidence, we have less accountability for the actions that those repeat violent offenders are taking in our streets and that plague our communities every day.

This is why British Columbians and our voice in this House, the voice on the legislative lawns from Enough Is Enough…. We are speaking to this, and I hope this government will hear our voice.

N. Simons: I’ll do my best to remain completely non-partisan in the spirit of the hour that we’ve been allowed.

I thank the member across the way for his comments about crime statistics. As a former criminology student and instructor, I would just advise him to be careful about how he uses crime statistics. You have to look at the length of time, you have to look at the crime severity, and you have to go back beyond six years in order to actually look for trends. So I would just caution him on that.

I totally agree with him, with respect, when it comes to accountability. Any fear of crime is unhealthy in our society. As a victim of crime myself and as family members have been victims of crime, nobody is more…. People have a right to be absolutely concerned about becoming victims of crime. We do our best. Our province has taken important initiatives in order to address the concerns that are being expressed in this chamber.

The member talks about the Vancouver police department statistics. The last two weeks I spent in a coroner’s court in Burnaby, attending the coroner’s inquest into the death of Myles Gray. When it comes to accountability, I agree. It is important that we have accountability for our justice system.

Myles Gray was a 33-year-old businessman from Sechelt. He was on a delivery in South Vancouver, in the Burnaby area, in August of 2015. He left his vehicle, leaving his keys and such behind, and he went walking, obviously disturbed and with a challenging mental health condition. He sprayed a woman with a hose. A 911 call was made, and he was followed by the police into a secluded area, whereupon he engaged in, obviously, a confrontation with the police. He ended up dead.

The coroner’s inquest heard from a number of police officers who testified about their interaction with him. He had numerous bone fractures. He had ruptured testicles. He had bruising on his body. The advanced life support paramedic couldn’t tell his race because of the coloration of his body. He was left with dorsal handcuffs on his chest after having been pepper sprayed numerous times.

This is a man who had successfully operated his business out of Sechelt for over ten years. This was a man whose family and whose communities were concerned and anxious to find out what exactly happened.

[10:45 a.m.]

Police refused to take notes in many cases. Their testimony contradicted some of the ambulance paramedic’s testimony. Firefighters were prevented from attending him, even though he was both hobbled and handcuffed and lying on his stomach. Pressure was put on his back. He ended up dying. The pathologist said that it was a combination of events. He would not have died had he not had an interaction with the police that day.

Our system of justice requires oversight. Our system of justice requires a careful review of all circumstances that involve violence to individuals in our community. I believe private members’ time is an opportunity to make suggestions to government on how we can improve our system.

I know that the coroner’s jury paid special attention the whole time, during the two weeks of testimony, and they will be coming out with their verdict. I hope all members of the public take a close look at the findings of that jury, members of the public, just like us, who look at a situation and try to determine if there are ways that the system can be made better.

I would suggest, based on the recommendations from previous inquiries…. Require that an independent special prosecutor be appointed in all cases where the independent investigations office makes a report to Crown counsel.

I would also recommend highly that we reinforce the importance of de-escalation techniques for law enforcement. De-escalation is primarily used in order to prevent violent confrontation.

Do we need body cams? I’m sorry, at this stage, that this seems to be something that is becoming more in the public discussion.

Better training in the use of force. A requirement that police cooperate with investigations. As Mr. Speaker can well understand, this has been an important issue of concern for Margie, Myles’s mother; for Mark, his father; for Melissa, his sister. If anyone has the right to lack confidence in the administration of criminal justice or the administration of justice, it’s the Gray family.

I urge all members of this House to do what they can to improve the system of oversight and prevent these deaths from occurring.

M. Lee: I just want to thank the member for Powell River–Sunshine Coast for his thoughtful response in pro­viding his perspective on this very important topic.

Coming back to my comments, I’m very concerned that since the government has been looking to its provincial prosecutors…. They’re only seeking detention in 50 percent of the cases involving violent prolific offenders. These people have a history of committing violent crimes and a history of breaching court orders or have committed another crime subject to a warrant for arrest.

The Attorney General and her office need to ensure that as we look at how we deal with violent repeat offenders in our province, we’re taking every action possible to ensure the safety of our streets, the safety of our communities. I know that the Attorney General, as the Premier and others have been speaking to, talks about the importance of reform of the Criminal Code.

When I look back at the important decision which was based upon the decision of Zora in the Supreme Court of Canada…. The principles around appropriate bail conditions include a recognition of the risk and harm to public safety and protection or reducing confidence in the administration of justice. This is in the very court decision for which changes to the Criminal Code have been based.

There is an acknowledgment that the administration of justice is fundamentally important in terms of how Crown prosecutors, the Attorney General, the criminal justice sys­tem, the court system review the applications for detention. But the applications for detention need to be made. When they’re only being made 50 percent of the time…. This is when the confidence in the administration of justice becomes weakened.

[10:50 a.m.]

This is my point. It has been made by my good friend and colleague the member for Surrey South and the member for Abbotsford West. I know that he may have the opportunity to continue this discussion in estimates with the Attorney General.

We’ve seen the pattern, where the variation of decisions not to seek detention is varying around that 50 percent mark. I urge the government to consider stronger action to be taken against these repeat violent offenders.

Deputy Speaker: Just to draw everyone’s attention to the standing order, under 25A, which does say that we are not to discuss a matter which has been discussed in the same session. And if it has been discussed extensively in the estimates process, in order to protect private members’ time to discuss issues that haven’t had that chance, I would ask members to consider that standing order. Thank you.

YOUTH WEEK

H. Yao: B.C. Youth Week is a provincewide celebration of youth held during the first week of May. It was initially designed to be a week of fun-filled interactions and celebrations intended to foster a stronger connection between youth and communities. The celebrations in the community are designed to highlight the interests, accomplishments and diversity of youth across the province.

Although the concept of Youth Week started in 1995 by a small group of local municipal planners and youth recreation leaders in the Lower Mainland, it has now blossomed into a provincewide celebration built on partnerships with youth, community leaders, advocates, different levels of governments, businesses, non-profits, schools, media and many more local youth champions.

During the first week of May, youth in B.C. will be given the opportunity to participate in activities and events organized by youth for youth. B.C. Youth Week often includes youth award ceremonies, advocacy campaigns, services projects, entertainment, educational forums, games, sports, competitions and other opportunities to engage the full spectrum of diverse youth in a meaningful, constructive, respectful and appreciative manner.

Youth Week is an important opportunity for us to recognize and celebrate the incredible contributions young people make in our province. Young people are the future of our province. They will be the leaders, innovators and changemakers of tomorrow. We must show them that we understand and appreciate that they are valued members of our community and we believe in their potential to make a positive impact in our economy, social justice, equity and prosperity.

That’s why our government is committed to support the growth of our young people into someone who they want to be. For starters, our government initially was committed to build 8,000 on-campus housing beds in ten years. Only five years in, over 7,700 new student housing beds are already open and underway. Budget 2023 includes new investments to exceed that target by adding $575 million over three years to build an additional 4,000 beds.

In 2019, our government ended interest payments on student loans, and in April 2023 we announced that we are increasing the weekly student loan maximum for the first time since 2006. We also lowered the maximum repayment amount from 20 percent of household income to 10 percent, making life more affordable to new graduates.

In 2019, our government made the single biggest investment in open education resources and open textbooks. Over 330 textbooks are now available, and they range from popular first and secondary subjects such as math, computer science, chemistry and business. It also includes textbooks for skills and technical subjects such as foundational trade courses, health care, tourism, hospitality and adult basic education.

In 2020, we launched a B.C. access grant as one way to make post-secondary education and training more affordable and accessible.

In 2023, the tuition waiver program, which waives tui­tion fees for former youth in care, is now expanded so all former youth in care, no matter their age, can access post-secondary education and training. Budget 2023 invests $480 million over three years to support future-ready plans to break down barriers to post-secondary training so more young people can get the training they need in in-demand careers.

One of the reasons we should celebrate Youth Week is to empower youth development. Youth development is a process that enables young people to grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults. However, some young people expressed overwhelming challenges, and they need community to rally together with them.

[10:55 a.m.]

At any given time, an estimated 95,000 or about 12.7 percent of B.C. children aged four to 18 are experiencing a mental health challenge that is causing significant symptoms and/or impairment. Approximately 75 percent of serious mental health issues emerge before the age of 25.

Due to intergenerational trauma and the ongoing effects of colonization and racism, First Nation, Métis and Inuit children and youth are at higher risk of mental health and substance use challenges. That is why our government is working hard to support youth in our community.

We’ve strengthened the Foundry network across the province. Foundry provides virtual support, free and confidential mental health and substance use support, physical and sexual health services, peer support and social services to young people aged between 12 and 24 and their families.

Our province further strengthened our support to young people by committing to implementing integrated child and youth teams in 20 school districts by 2024. Integrated child and youth teams are a groundbreaking approach designed to fill gaps and better coordinate mental health and substance use care through multidisciplinary teams.

There are also 92 child and youth mental health teams across the province. Child and youth mental health team clinicians provide initial assessments to ensure that children and youth are connected to the right supports.

Everyday anxiety strategies for educators, also called EASE, is an online course for educators that helps bring mental health supports and resources right into the classroom for K-to-12 students. Rooted in cognitive behavioural therapy, EASE includes strategies for effective anxiety management skills.

The mental health services in schools strategy also outlines a vision and pathway for mental health and substance use support for students and adults throughout the K-to-12 education system and expands on the Pathway to Hope. The strategy includes compassionate systems leadership, in-school capacity building and mental health in classrooms.

There are also other government and community initiatives that support young people’s mental health needs, including Here2Talk; Kids Help Phone; FamilySmart; Confident Parents, Thriving Kids; and much more.

Youth Week can also help break down stereotypes and negative perceptions of young people. Young people are often unfairly characterized as lazy or apathetic. However, Youth Week celebrates and demonstrates many ways in which young people are active, engaged, caring and committed to create a better world for all. Youth Week celebrates young people’s talents, skills, interests and passion.

As a former youth worker in Richmond, I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity, dedication, compassion and conviction young people have as they serve and better the community through volunteerism. Furthermore, young advocates are champions of raising awareness of issues that matter. We need to work with young people and foster safe, inclusive platforms for them to voice their concern.

I look forward to the member opposite’s additional comments on Youth Week. Thank you, everyone.

C. Oakes: Listening to, empowering and supporting our youth is of paramount importance to all members in this House, and I’d like to thank the member for Richmond South Centre for his comments this morning.

B.C. Youth Week, being held in the first week of May, is an opportunity for all members of this House to recognize the significant contributions that youth have in each of our communities. The week is designed to foster a strong bond between young people and their communities, and it’s packed with lots of opportunities and engaging activities across this province.

One of the most significant obstacles facing youth is the challenge of figuring out where they belong, how they can contribute in this world. As they navigate the complexities of youth and adulthood, they often encounter pressures in their life, mental health struggles and difficulties in finding stable employment or educational opportunities.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

I’m sure every member in this House remembers that anxiety of figuring out exactly what is next and feeling a little lost at times, but it is crucial that we recognize the importance of youth and ensure that they have every opportunity to succeed. Members of this House, of this Legislature, play a vital role in that effort, and we must do everything we can to empower and establish the right policies and programs that will support the development of young people in British Columbia. In the next decade, 80 percent of jobs in this province are going to require some type of advanced education.

[11:00 a.m.]

Currently since 2017, we’ve seen a significant decline in students transitioning from K to12 to post-secondary and advanced education. We need to be paying attention to this fact. Why are we struggling with ensuring that students feel empowered to move on?

If we continue to not pay attention and ensure that we’re setting up the right environments, this is going to have a significant impact on all of us. Whether we’ve seen the impacts of Indigenous and vulnerable students not transitioning as high as they should…. I think that’s important. Showing that actions matter can have a considerable impact to connection and to communities and is important.

The member for Richmond South Centre talked about the supports necessary in our K-to-12 system. I can share with the member that our communities are struggling to access the important, necessary supports, whether it’s supporting our students to get access to mental health supports, whether it’s supports that…. Our students are on significantly long waiting lists to access things from speech language pathologists to counsellors, you name it.

In rural British Columbia, some of these students and young people are waiting months, up to a year, to access very critical, important supports for youth. And this is having a tremendous impact on our young people, their mental health and how they’re feeling engaged in the community. It’s something all members in this House need to be paying attention to.

It’s one thing to announce all of the great things or investments in dollars, but it’s another to start looking at outcomes and what kind of outcomes the money that government is putting into communities is delivering on the ground in our communities. I can share with members in this House that our young people are struggling.

As we celebrate Youth Week, it is critical that we continue to listen and prioritize the needs of youth in British Columbia, ensure that they have access to the resources and opportunities that they need to thrive. This includes investing in mental health and wellness programs and making sure that those programs are available in all of our communities across British Columbia, providing access to affordable housing and education and supporting initiatives that support and promote building connections and community involvement.

Celebrating Youth Week is an essential part of creating a brighter future for young people in British Columbia. By highlighting their achievements and diversity, we can send a message that they are valued members of this society and have much to contribute. We must listen to the students and ensure we are supporting them.

H. Yao: I want to thank the member opposite for her remarks. I deeply appreciate her comments.

Now I’m going to be shamelessly promoting some city of Richmond Youth Week activities. Everything I share can be found on Instagram by checking out @cityofrichmondyouth.

The city of Richmond is hosting a scavenger hunt, an opportunity for young people to get familiar words and discover areas and services in the community. By completing the full scavenger hunt, they can enter to win prizes.

Thompson youth community is inviting youth to compete in a T-shirt design contest, creating a T-shirt in line with the theme “Connecting youth and building community.” Young people are asked to digitize their design and submit it to the ssy@richmond.ca.

West Richmond is hosting a photography challenge. The theme is “What does Richmond mean to you? Where are your favourite spots in Richmond?” Young people are asked to send photos of their favourite spots in Richmond for a chance to win a prize. The winner will be based on the creativity, uniqueness and technical aspects of the photo submission. West Richmond youth is also hosting a game show Monday. Youth are invited to play for prizes and challenge each other on a game-show style activity and compete and have some fun together.

Steveston youth is hosting a movie night. Young people are invited to watch a movie, complete with popcorn and fun games. Please bring a blanket and padded seat, as seating is limited. The movie of choice: The Lorax.

South Arm youth is hosting a three-on-three basketball tournament. Young people are asked to assemble their best squad and compete with others to be crowned Richmond basketball champions.

[11:05 a.m.]

Thompson youth welcomes people to join them for baked treats and sweets. Youth get to make, bake and eat delicious handmade food. People are asked to bring their own containers to take away.

The city of Richmond will be hosting the annual U-ROC awards to celebrate the achievements and dedication of Richmond’s outstanding youth and Asset Champions. This event is by invitation only, unfortunately.

The West Richmond Community Centre is also hosting a glow in the dark night. Youth are invited to a Friday night hangout with a glow in the dark theme. They’re going to be playing hide-and-seek and — this is the first I heard about this — laser sabre tag. I don’t know what that is, but it sounds fun.

The city of Richmond is also hosting a career in media arts. If anyone is interested in a career in media arts, this is a great opportunity to hear from the pros and to learn about the prospective field, career opportunities and more. Topics include journalism, filming, videography and more.

City centre C-Change will be hosting a youth mental wellness art workshop. Young people are invited to come and spend a relaxing afternoon with snacks, friends and the arts. The young leadership team will be leading a paint workshop and celebrating youth and Mental Health Week.

Therefore, I will say it to everybody. Happy Youth Week, everyone.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you very much, Member. Love your enthusiasm.

Hon. J. Whiteside: I ask that the House consider proceeding with Motion 43, standing in the name of the member for West Vancouver–Capilano.

Deputy Speaker: Members, unanimous consent of the House is required to proceed to Motion 43 without disturbing the priorities of the motions preceding it on the order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 43 — INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT
FOR VULNERABLE PERSONS

K. Kirkpatrick: I move:

[Be it resolved that this House supports the limited use of involuntary treatment to keep our most vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or others safe at modernized, compassionate facilities with twenty-four seven psychiatric and medical supports.]

I rise in the House today to advocate for supporting the limited use of compassionate involuntary treatment to keep our most vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or others safe at modernized, compassionate facilities, with 24-7 psychiatric and medical supports.

British Columbia is facing a crisis. Since the overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency in 2016, more than 11,000 British Columbians have, unfortunately and unnecessarily, lost their lives.

I want you to think about that number for a moment: 11,000. That is 25 percent of the number of Canadians that died in World War II. It’s four times the capacity of Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

I want you to think about that the next time you go to see a play or show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Look around and imagine four times the number of people sitting there.

Clearly, the current approach isn’t working. We can’t continue to do more of the same and expect better results.

Currently we value a child’s right to refuse treatment over a child’s best interest. But is the child or is anyone able to exercise free will while they’re in active addiction?

We know untreated addiction leads to homelessness, criminal activity, prostitution and overdoses. These result in health issues such as heart attacks. Permanent brain damage is a significant issue with overdoses. Girls and women are most at risk of sexual exploitation in order to feed addiction.

In addition, many individuals are struggling with un­treated mental illness, and communities continue to grapple with increasing homelessness and social disorder.

If a child is refusing treatment, the choice is not between voluntary and involuntary treatment. It’s between involuntary treatment and an untreated life-destroying addiction. Under the UN convention on the rights of the child, children have the right to be protected even from themselves.

As compassionate citizens and legislators, it’s our duty to explore every possible avenue for those struggling to overcome addiction and to provide them with access to all types of treatments and support services that can help them in achieving their long-term recovery. As laid out in the official opposition’s Better Is Possible plan, this includes the limited use of involuntary care as a necessary tool to treat mental health and substance use disorders.

[11:10 a.m.]

Now while involuntary care should only be used when all other options have been exhausted. It’s crucial to recognize that there are extraordinary situations where this type of intervention and support is necessary and beneficial for both adults and children. In fact we have a moral obligation to protect the small portion of the population that is at a point in their life where their mental health and their addictions have caused them to lose the ability to make decisions which are in their own best interests.

These individuals are often in a state of vulnerability and require our support and care to recover and to lead a healthy life. So many parents are struggling with this issue, and we can’t leave these parents to cope on their own with their loved ones’ deteriorating health and the threats of exploitation by drug dealers and human traffickers. They need our support and compassion, not our judgment or indifference.

That’s where the government has a role to play: to look after and provide support to these families and individuals who are in desperate need of help. So we must work together to provide better care and support for our most vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or to others. We owe it to them. We owe it to their families to ensure that they receive care and treatment in a safe environment where they can recover and lead fulfilling lives.

A. Singh: Involuntary treatment just doesn’t work. It makes things worse.

Firstly, let me just dispel the myth. Involuntary care is already a tool that’s used in our system. We use it for treatment for people who are deemed not criminally responsible for crimes. But more importantly, for this purpose, it’s used to keep people involuntarily under the Mental Health Act for medical reasons. It already exists. We leave that discretion, generally, to the experts who make that decision objectively, based on evidence and medical examination, and not on emotions.

I get it. I have a daughter, and I want to protect her. But sometimes what we want is fuelled by emotion alone, and it may not produce a result that we want. We want people to be able to overcome their addiction, and that takes work. We already have a system in place that has the ability to keep someone, if needed, in place. Is it perfect? No. No system ever is. But it’s on the right path. Can it be improved? Of course it can.

We need more psychiatrists, more resources and an actual system in place. That is exactly what our government has been creating from the ground up, what it’s been doing for the last few years: creating, from the ground up, a multifaceted complex care system, a regime.

You know, we get elected to represent our constituents. But sometimes there are things that happen in life that also spur us and fuel us to do this service work. This motion really hits at the heart of one of those things for me.

It’s no mystery to most of you in this House that I am a recovering alcoholic. I say “recovering,” because I now recognize that I have a condition of the mind and soul that I need to be cognizant of. I need to remind myself of the depths that I can go.

Mental health, especially when it comes to substance use, is not a simple public policy issue with a simple solution. Its complexity is something that we recognize, hence the myriad solutions that we’re working on.

I was once at a place where there seemingly was no hope for me, in the depths of a mental disease that took all control from me, having had several GI bleeds, liver cirrhosis, and where I nearly died on multiple occasions. I attended voluntary treatment several times, and I still drank after that. Addiction is like that. Until you are ready, and you’ve had that moment of clarity, you and those around you can expend all the resources at your disposal, all just to see repeated failure.

Until I had that moment of clarity, that spark, and heard what I felt from another person telling their story, I wasn’t going to recover. That’s the thing about treatment. You have to seek it, and you have to want it. This is my lived experience, and hence, anecdotal. I know that. But it’s also a sentiment that is echoed by addiction and medical experts alike, and the majority of those with lived experience, like myself. You will find journal after journal with that sentiment.

I quote one study funded by the National Institutes of Health in the U S. “Involuntary interventions for substance use disorders are less effective and potentially more harmful than voluntary treatment, and involuntary centres often serve as venues for abuse. Scaling up voluntary, evidence-based, low-barrier treatment op­tions might invalidate the perceived necessity of involuntary interventions and could go a long way towards reducing overdose risk.”

[11:15 a.m.]

How did we get here? Unfortunately for us, there was almost two decades of not only inaction but going backwards — closing of institutions, deregulating recovery homes. This contributed to the problem that we are seeing today. What’s needed and what was missing is a system of care that looks at the larger picture and doesn’t pander to simplistic views not based in lived experience or science. That’s what we’re building today and have been — a system of care so people can access treatment and services when and where they need it.

As part of our Pathway to Hope, the government’s vision is to build an integrated and seamless system of mental health and substance use services from the ground up through historic investments, including enhancements across a full spectrum of treatment and recovery and increasing access to harm reduction measures like drug checking and overdose prevention sites. I know that these services are making a difference.

I also know that in addition to all of these services, we have to look at the real human factor, the fragility of a person in that situation, and that our approach has to be to destigmatize drug use so that we can pull people out of the shadows and keep them alive so that we can get them to treatment when they need it and when they want it. Safe supply and decriminalization are important pillars of that.

The minimizing down to only treatment ignores the complexity and is doomed to fail and is also rooted in the troublesome morality of denigrating people with real-life mental health issues, confining them to one dimensional creatures with a problem. The system that we are building recognizes that and recognizes that dignity is of foremost importance, especially for those who are already at the bottom of a seemingly bottomless pit and who have little, if any, self worth.

I know that feeling. I’ve been there, and the last thing I needed was someone preaching at me. I was lucky. I got a helping hand to pull me out. And that is what we as a government want. We want the system that we’re building to be that helping hand.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

A. Singh: Look, I get it. It’s an emotional subject…

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

A. Singh: …when you see a loved one suffering and it seems like an easy fix.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

T. Halford: I’m grateful to rise today to speak on this motion.

I want to first start by saying I want to thank the member for Richmond-Queensborough for sharing his personal journey. That’s not the first time that he’s had the courage to do that in this House, but each time that he does do that helps reduce one of the biggest challenges that we’ve got and that’s in terms of stigma. So I want to thank him for doing that.

When we talk about involuntary treatment to keep our most vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or others safe in modernized, compassionate facilities with 24-7 psychiatric and medical supports…. For years, our caucus has been advocating for urgent comprehensive action to help stem the deadly tide of the overdose crisis.

Now when we talk about involuntary care, we should also mention, too, that the current Premier has had some conflicting positions on involuntary care. Very early on, he’s come out and spoke in terms of the necessity of involuntary treatment, and that position may have changed in the last couple of months. I think we need to get some clarity on that.

What we do know is that since this crisis has first been declared in 2016, declared a public health emergency, more than 11,000 British Columbians have lost their lives. Six years after the creation of a specific Ministry for Mental Health and Addictions, we need to understand that things, in a way, have gotten worse, not better. I think that’s something that’s affected and touched every community in our province. I know it has mine. I know it has in every other member’s.

We have to realize that the results we are seeing show that this government’s approach is failing on a number of fronts. It’s failing our youth. It’s failing almost every demographic that touches this province. And I’m not the only one to think so.

[11:20 a.m.]

Last year the second B.C. Coroners Service death panel review report concluded: “With illicit drug-related deaths continuing to increase, it has become clear that the current response to this emergency is not working.” That’s from the second report from the coroner.

This past week ASK Wellness executive officer Bob Hughes wrote about the current crisis and said: “Looking at the landscape today, what seems so glaringly absent is a coordinated framework, a pathway out of this human and civic catastrophe.” So we’ve said it in this House, but experts are saying it very clearly: the toll our current crisis is having on communities throughout B.C. is demanding a comprehensive change.

Now, we put forward a clear vision for what is possible in this province. I think part of that vision has been echoed, hopefully, by people in this House, on the other side of this House. When we talk about the fact that better is possible, because it is, here are some of the things that we talk about.

We talk about eliminating user fees on publicly funded addiction treatment beds and providing direct government funding for private beds, because your T4 slip should not determine whether or not you get the help that you need when you need it. Addictions can’t wait. They can’t wait until there is a bed available, because in that two weeks, two months, six months, in terms of waiting…. Oftentimes it’s too late.

We talk about building regional recovery communities where people struggling with addiction can stay for up to a year, with individualized holistic treatment support. Those are the steps, and many more steps, that this opposition has put forward to deal with the crisis.

S. Chant: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the motion from the member for West Vancouver–Capi­lano: “Be it resolved that this House support the limited use of involuntary treatment to keep our most vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or others safe at modernized compassionate facilities with twenty-four seven psychiatric and medical supports.”

I will start by acknowledging that I’m speaking today from the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən people, specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees. I am very grateful to be welcome in this place and be given the chance to learn of the unwavering stewardship over time immemorial.

I also acknowledge that I represent North Vancouver–​Seymour, which is in the territory of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. There, I live, work and learn ongoing of the remarkable work that has been done to preserve language, culture, land and water so that the nations are once again thriving.

As a health care clinician who has worked not only in psychiatry but also in a variety of other areas where mental health impacts the ability to provide safe and effective care, this topic is very challenging for me. On the one hand, we have the Mental Health Act, which allows for the detention of individuals against their own wishes if they are deemed to be unsafe for themselves or others. Although this sounds very simple to implement, it is nothing of the sort and requires two physicians to assess, agree to and sign involuntary certification.

As well, a number of other steps are required to be taken to ensure that the patient, to the best of their ability at the time, understands what is happening and what their recourse can be — in a nutshell, to know their rights.

I’m not sure, hon. Speaker, if you have ever dealt with someone who is posing a risk of harm to themselves or to others. However, it should not be a surprise to anyone that those are very difficult situations. The individuals could be manifesting mental health distress, the effects of drugs or alcohol, a response to recent or long-term trauma, an intense emotional response to their current situation or something as simple as a urinary tract infection or low blood sugar.

If they have, in fact, come in or been brought in to somewhere for help, it is up to a clinician or a clinical team to make the best assessment they can of what has happened, what is currently going on and how to provide the best care for the best outcome.

[11:25 a.m.]

The patient themselves could be wanting a range of services: admission to a supportive environment where they are fed, safe, accommodated, cared for and possibly treated with a variety of interventions by a team of clinical professionals, or a brief assessment in an emergency room — some type of outpatient treatment and discharge.

The other end of the spectrum is when someone is brought in for assessment, does not want to be there and does not want to stay. You can possibly imagine a situation where everyone around you is convinced that you need help, yet you, yourself, believe there is no need for it, that it is useless and it is not wanted.

Our current Mental Health Act allows for an individual to be held without consent but not to be treated against their will. The province of B.C. continues to implement a full system of care for people who are experiencing mental health and addiction disorders, the Pathway to Hope; prevention and harm reduction in the school system, in the workplace and in communities; intervention through multimodal treatments; rehabilitation as appropriate; and ongoing support for relapse management both in mental health and addiction.

Indigenous treatment centres have been established with culturally sensitive and safe interventions offered by those who know and understand so much more of the First Nations experience. There are services for children, youth, adults and seniors throughout our province. An investment of $1 billion is in the 2023 budget to expand on the services already in place and to fill in gaps so that people can get the services they want or need when they want or need it.

Additional work is being done across our communities to provide and publicize the variety of services available so that others can get help — for friends, family or community members — to a door that is open for that first and crucial step.

Trying to find help for someone in a mental health or addictions crisis is a dark place to be, particularly if the individual feels that they do not want help. However, our government is committed to building and maintaining a system that is accessible when and where it is needed. Every person presents a unique set of characteristics and care needs, and we will ensure that there is an open and welcoming door to offer support, treatment and hope.

D. Davies: I’m glad to have the opportunity to rise today and support this motion.

Like others in this House, across British Columbia, many of us have personal stories. I, myself, as many know, lost a brother to addiction and have another family member that is currently in addiction. It makes it very personal.

Substance use in British Columbia does continue to have devastating effects. In fact, as of March of this year, the highest number of overdose calls to police and paramedics happened ever in a 30-day period. The lone day of March 22 also had the highest number of calls in a single day, with a staggering 205 calls for overdose.

The situation is desperate. The substance use crisis has never been more dire in this province. How many people must die, risk brain damage or go through trauma before meaningful action is taken by this government, before this government starts listening to the recommendations of the Health Committee, which I and a number of other members sat on?

My concerns arise from the serious lack of treatment and recovery services, in fact, in my constituency and, certainly, across more rural and remote areas. Just recently a new supervised consumption site was announced in Fort St. John. Now, we completely agree with and support the full continuum of care, but this government is focusing far too much and far too heavily on harm reduction without focusing on treatment and recovery.

In fact, the Canadian government’s letter of requirements, which explicitly outlines the work that was supposed to be done as a condition of decriminalization, lays out a set of actions and commitments that were to be fulfilled, such as enhancing the availability of treatment options and guaranteeing that the health and social systems are adequately prepared and equipped. However, that deadline has come and passed, and we have yet to see these guardrails put in place, leaving many British Columbians with no access to treatment.

The lack of treatment access is considerably bad in my region, where we have no detox beds or any recovery services — in the northeast. This leaves individuals in my region with only access to a consumption site but none of the supports that are supposed to go along with that, including resources to support someone through their recovery.

[11:30 a.m.]

Most people suffering from addiction, and their loved ones, are upset that they are not able to immediately access the services when they need them, where they need them. In fact, the closest resource is 500 kilometres away through a mountain pass in Prince George. Many must take this long bus ride only to be turned away, in a seemingly never-ending waiting list.

The city of Prince George is already struggling to care for its own population, and now it must somehow make room for all northern British Columbians, but as usual, the NDP does not focus, sadly, on the impacts on northern and remote British Columbia. The province is desperately in need of change that would save lives and provide safer communities for everyone.

The limited use of compassionate and voluntary treatment will help our most vulnerable youth and adults reach the care that they need themselves to keep others safe. Better is possible. That is part of our highlights of our plan. Part of the Better Is Possible plan addresses the absence of regional facilities. Our plan calls for a minimum of five regional recovery communities for addiction treatment, where residents can stay up to a year with individualized, holistic, long-term care and treatment, including Indigenous-specific care.

We propose modernized spaces that provide 24-7 psychiatric and medical support, so that people are supported at every step of their journey. We pledge to work with individuals and get them to a place where they, the public and everyone are protected. Our plan is even backed by professionals, such as the notable Simon Fraser University addiction and substance use expert, Dr. Julian Somers. So why won’t the government listen? The time for action is now.

The substance use crisis has entered its seventh year, and it’s clear that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results isn’t working. We need to recognize that this isn’t our new normal, that better is possible for all British Columbians, but only if we try to make those changes.

Compassionate and voluntary care can deliver the results British Columbians are waiting for, the results the families are waiting for and, most importantly, the results the individual is waiting for. It’s time for the NDP to open resources and deliver the care that people expect.

B. D’Eith: I did want to rise to speak to this motion.

I’ve spoken a number of times in the House about the struggles that my family has dealt with, in terms of mental health and addictions. I won’t repeat that, but I will say that I did want to thank the people that work in mental health and addictions. Particularly, recently there was one family member who had to get treatment and was very well taken care of within the system. I really want to say that I appreciate the professionals.

The question of involuntary treatment is a complex one. It’s not as binary as the opposition may be making it out to be. While I understand that some advocates for youth and adults suffering from overdose and addiction are calling for stricter involuntary holds, there’s a real issue presented by other advocates where there may be significant trauma associated with holding youth or adults against their will — in particular, Indigenous youth.

The Premier has asked the minister to assess and ex­pand the supports for people who are causing detrimental harm to themselves and others as a result of their mental health and substance use, but we need to do this on an evidence-based approach. This will be assessed and then move forward.

In fact, as has been mentioned, British Columbia’s Mental Health Act already allows the admission to treat people with serious mental health issues who are at risk to themselves or others. People who are certified by two doctors, under the Mental Health Act, can be treated involuntarily for mental health disorder.

All members of this House know we need to redouble our efforts to save lives and get people the help they need to beat addictions, but for the majority of people dealing with addictions, forced treatment is simply not effective. They need to want treatment. Certainly, in my family, I have seen this happen, when they ask for it. But that’s the trick. When people ask for treatment, that’s when they need to get it. They need to get to detox and treatment when they ask for it.

[11:35 a.m.]

That’s why I’m particularly pleased with the Premier’s new initiative with St. Paul’s, which would have a seamless transition from addiction to detox to treatment. Also, hon. Speaker, there’s no single pathway to recovery from addiction. With over 100,000 people suffering from addictions, we have to offer a variety of ways for people to get the help they need.

It was really great to see members from right across the House work with the all-party committee, coming up with 37 unanimous recommendations, including harm reduction, safer supply, increased treatment and recovery and decriminalization.

In 2017, our government inherited a fractured and disjointed approach to mental health and addictions. We’ve been building a system of care, through the Pathway to Hope, that is leading this country in terms of response to the crisis and using more tools than anywhere else. Prior to the pandemic, there were results happening. There was a marked decrease in the number of overdose deaths, but the supply has become even more toxic.

We are continuing to build that system of care with $1 billion of funding allocated to the Pathway to Hope in 2023 to invest in all four pillars — harm reduction, yes, but treatment and recovery and prevention, education and enforcement. It’s all four pillars that are needed.

We can only look at what’s happening right now: opening 360 adult and youth beds and treatment — that’s doubling youth treatment beds; 42 expanded overdose prevention sites; expanding access to safer supply; expanding access to mental health supports through community counselling and the addition of complex care beds; implementing decriminalization so that for people who are using, there will be a reduction in stigma and more access to safer supply.

On the enforcement side, hiring nearly 300 new police officers — 270 — to help prevent money laundering and organized crime that fuels this toxic drug supply, and get more boots on the ground. In my riding, there is funding specifically for youth. We have a Foundry that helps incredibly with mental health and addictions, and it’s tied closely with the ICY team that’s embedded in the schools. Maple Ridge has that, and now Mission is going to be getting that as well. We also opened two new treatment beds in the Maple Ridge Treatment Centre and others.

The point here is that we have to focus on all four pillars: harm reduction, treatment, prevention, enforcement — all of these things. We are building the system of care, and we will continue to do so.

T. Shypitka: British Columbia’s addiction crisis has been spiralling out of control for years, and it’s time to start getting some results. Far too many people are losing their lives and suffering from the drug toxicity crisis as the longest-ever public health emergency in our province’s history extends even further. This is a crisis of incomprehensible scale, and I extend my condolences to those who have experienced the loss of a loved one.

The 596 lives lost between January and March of this year is staggering, and it is now the second-highest total ever recorded in the three-month calendar year. Something is clearly not working. Five people have died in the East Kootenays so far in 2023.

We need to change our approach. This crisis requires an urgent response and one that follows the recommendations of the Select Standing Committee on Health. Their recommendations were clear. There can’t be decriminalization without the provisions of evidence-based treatment and recovery services along with requirements for reporting outcomes. We fully believe in a comprehensive approach to care, and we are concerned that the current government is neglecting the crucial elements of treatment and recovery, including involuntary care as a last resort.

The recently introduced decriminalization pilot project exempts small amounts of select hard drugs from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but this agreement was supposed to be contingent on meeting specific conditions outlined in the government of Canada’s letter of requirements. These include expanding the capacity of accessible treatment and ensuring the readiness and capacity of mental health support systems. Unacceptably, the state of our treatment facilities clearly shows that British Columbia has failed to meet these conditions and continues to be ill-prepared to effectively implement this experimental policy.

The overdose crisis has underscored the urgent need to provide individuals who want to quit using drugs with access to life-saving treatment measures. While publicly supplied addictive drugs can be a component of a continuum of care, they are not the solution. It’s essential to explore a range of options and approaches to effectively address this issue and support those in need.

[11:40 a.m.]

Individuals who seek help should be able to pick up the phone and immediately receive the treatment they need without barriers. However, under this NDP government, individuals who are struggling with substance use face long wait-lists and limited access to facilities that are supposed to be helping them. Sadly, some of these individuals will die while waiting.

In my riding of Kootenay East, this is about compassion for those suffering from substance use but also those who are on the front lines responding to far too many overdose calls daily. This is a massive strain on our emergency health care workers, who want to help those that are the most vulnerable but that tend to fall through the cracks.

This is why the B.C. United caucus presented the public with the Better Is Possible plan, a comprehensive plan to overhaul the delivery of mental health services and build a recovery-oriented system of care for those suffering from addiction. A large part of this plan is understanding that addressing this crisis means providing more than just decriminalization and harm reduction but also expanding free and accessible treatment and recovery options.

We also propose to implement involuntary care where necessary. It must always be a last resort; however, we do recognize that some cases require this type of intervention and support for both adults and youth. This application of involuntary treatment will be to safeguard our most vulnerable youth and adults, who are at risk of harming themselves or others, by providing them with access to modernized and compassionate facilities with around-the-clock psychiatric and medical assistance.

Simply put, without the proper guardrails in place, addiction and mental health are left unaided, out in our streets and in government-purchased hotels. Local businesses are being attacked, and innocent citizens are victimized as much as those with mental health and addiction issues. The truth is that nobody generally thinks the current approach is effective. Simply continuing down the same path will not improve outcomes. What we require is a significant shift.

As a personal plea, I would like to strike the term “safe supply.” Use the term “less toxic” or “publicly supplied addictive drugs,” whatever the term is. Once you mix the word “safe” with these hard, addictive drugs, the message is wrong, and it’s sent to our children. I can testify to that personally. I know people who have died from what this government refers to as safe.

I support the motion. Quite honestly, better is possible, and I strive for that outcome.

R. Leonard: We are debating the limited use of involuntary treatment to keep our most vulnerable youth and adults, who are at risk of harm to themselves or others, safe at modernized, compassionate facilities with 24-7 psychiatric and medical supports.

It’s important to acknowledge the complexities of having a loved one who has serious destructive behaviours. Whether self-inflicted or lashing out, whether seated in mental health or substance use, or both, it is devastating. There can come a time when it feels like the only solution is an involuntary admission to a facility to keep them or others safe. If only it could be that simple. Unfortunately, the spectre of involuntary care increases stigma and can work against the goal of compassionate care and safety of the person and others.

On the Foundry website is the story of Ashleigh, whose mental health spiralled down dangerously. This young person says that for two years she hid that she was hearing voices, because she was fearful that she would be “locked up in a padded room for the rest of my life.” Ashleigh would have benefited from an early intervention, before her mental health broke down significantly. Taking away someone’s freedoms is a big deal.

Then there are the folks with substance use disorders, whose destructive behaviours you just want to stop, especially when it leads to psychosis. If only you could separate them from the drugs that are destroying their lives. Unfortunately, the evidence is in: there is a heightened risk of death after compulsory treatment. These are just two of the unintended adverse outcomes. Taking away someone’s freedoms is a big deal.

We all benefit from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That includes people who are subject to involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act. In the one-year span of 2021 to ‘22, there were approaching 29,000 involuntary hospitalizations, including repeat patients.

[11:45 a.m.]

In January 2021, the Representative for Children and Youth released her report Detained: Rights of Children and Youth Under the Mental Health Act, revealing that the number of involuntary admissions of adults increased by 57 percent but that, for children and youth, the increase was 167 percent. It’s important to note that those figures covered a nine-year period from 2008 to early 2018, primarily when the opposition was in government. It begs the question of: what is “limited use of involuntary treatment”?

To protect the Charter rights of those tens of thousands of British Columbians, last year our government passed amendments to the Mental Health Act which led to this year’s selection of the Canadian Mental Health Association to develop and deliver — in partnership with Health Justice, the Community Legal Assistance Society and Métis Nation B.C. — the independent rights advice service recommended by B.C.’s Ombudsperson in 2019. Providing information about their rights and options will be a phone call away. This help is independent of the health professionals who are making the decisions about their care.

The Representative for Children and Youth raised the question of balance. If so many resources are dedicated to involuntary care, what’s left for voluntary care? Since taking office, our government has been building a seamless system of care with a particular focus on youth and marginalized Indigenous people. Involuntary admissions, yes, but with voluntary programs at the forefront, simply because early intervention and willing participation is the recipe for success.

I mentioned Foundry earlier. In speaking to Angie Pres­cott at Comox Valley’s award-winning centre for youth, I heard that the options for children and youth aged 12 to 24 on Vancouver Island are robust.

The new Red Fish Healing Centre in Coquitlam pro­vides a welcoming space with 105 beds, 15 of which are an enhanced care unit designed for people who need help managing aggression or behaviour issues in addition to treatment for their mental illness and substance use challenges. It has been quoted as saying “This care model is a catalyst for change,” and our government is rolling out this model to regions across B.C. It’s only one of many additions with the more than $1 billion dedicated in the 2023 budget.

In the face of the complexities of providing safe and compassionate care, our government is committed to continue assessing all the facets of our mental health and substance use services, including the use of involuntary admissions for care, in order to keep people and communities safe.

R. Merrifield: I rise today to speak in support of the motion that’s before us, because we need to ensure the safety of our vulnerable youth and adults who are at risk of harm to themselves or others. We need modernized, compassionate facilities of 24-7 psychiatric and medical support. Unfortunately, this government has failed to take adequate action to address this crisis. They are answering the call of treatment and mental health supports with more addictive drugs, and the results are getting worse.

There are so many within my constituency struggling with finding the mental health supports for their children, young adults and relatives. The desperate cries from these relatives, to try and secure mental health supports, literally haunt me, because there are so many. The subject line from an email I received late Saturday night said: “Is anyone listening anymore?”

The Premier has yet to take action on the government of Canada’s letter of requirements to support B.C.’s decriminalization of hard drugs like crystal meth, crack cocaine and fentanyl, which includes specific actions and commitments to expand treatment capacity, engage with key stakeholders and Indigenous partners, increase public education and communications, and develop monitoring and evaluation models.

Illicit drug use in public spaces has exposed innocent children to harmful scenes, substances and paraphernalia. Increased social disorder has impacted our communities and small businesses. Shockingly, someone dies from an overdose every few hours, averaging out to six lives taken every single day, and it’s getting worse.

This is unacceptable, and British Columbians have had enough. Their compassion fatigue is growing. It needs to end, and those suffering from addictions deserve the treatment, care and respect from the government to get well and to one day thrive and reach their full potential.

[11:50 a.m.]

The B.C. United caucus stands by our Better Is Possible plan which, amongst many other results-focused initiatives, includes compassionate involuntary treatment. We propose bringing forward legislation allowing the limited use of involuntary treatment to keep our most vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or others safe at modernized, compassionate facilities with 24-7 psychiatric and medical support to give them a path to wholeness and healing, rather than the path that they are given today, which leads to homelessness and hopelessness.

Better is possible, which is why our plan also calls for a comprehensive range of supports for the most vulnerable British Columbians experiencing addiction and mental health troubles, such as affordable and accessible treatment, which would eliminate user fees for publicly funded addiction treatment beds and provide direct government funding for private beds through surge capacity agreements to ensure no one faces financial barriers to treatment.

This is on top of complex mental health support, which calls for a tripling of the beds at the Red Fish Healing Cen­tre at Riverview and building additional regional centres, using that successful model in the North, Thompson-Okanagan, Kootenays and Vancouver Island to ensure that those requiring highly specialized mental health support can receive it close to home.

Experts such as Dr. Julian Somers, a distinguished professor at SFU, and treatment and recovery experts such as Susan Hogarth from Westminster House support this plan. Compassionate, recovery-focused involuntary treatment used as a last resort for those who are most at risk of harming themselves or others should be considered.

After more than six years of poor results for all British Columbians and an absolute downward spiral that is taking place, a change in approach is needed. By taking a comprehensive, collaborative approach, we can work to­wards creating a society where everyone has the opportunity to live healthy, fulfilling lives free from the devastating impacts of addiction.

We cannot afford to keep losing more lives to the addiction and toxic drug crisis. We must protect our loved ones, colleagues and fellow British Columbians. Action is needed now.

D. Routley: I’m pleased to rise and speak to the motion regarding the use of involuntary treatment.

The issue around involuntary care for people with mental health and substance use needs is complex. Clearly, there are many factors to consider. As the member for Richmond-Queensborough suggested, it has never proven to be a particularly successful approach to delivering care to people who need it.

Involuntary care is a tool. We already use it in the case of those who are considered not criminally responsible for the acts that they might have carried out or people who have been involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act.

Every member here has called for exactly what our government is doing, and that is building a comprehensive system of mental health supports. I understand that many members of this House who participate in private members’ debate haven’t been here for a long time and may not have witnessed the outcomes of what happened in the 15, 16 years prior to this government taking power.

When this government took power, we formed government and found a system of treatment and care that was in disrepair. In 2003, there were 23 percent cuts announced to the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Across the board, social programs were cut. The legacy of that is long-standing, and we’re now dealing with that.

We are building a system of care so that people can access the treatment and care services where and when they need them. We have opened over 360 new treatment and recovery beds for adults and youth. The members opposite should know that their government had 15, 16 years to do these things but did not.

[11:55 a.m.]

Complex care housing for people with a higher level of need is also being invested in by this government. We have opened the Red Fish Healing Centre for people living with the most severe, complex substance use and mental health needs. That’s 105 beds.

Last spring, we passed legislation that amended the Mental Health Act and provides people involuntarily admitted under the act to access an independent rights adviser that can help them navigate the system without the trauma that would naturally, of course, be experienced by anyone who is apprehended under the Mental Health Act.

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all treatment and recovery model. That’s why we are building a full set, a comprehensive set, of options for people. Those options will meet people where they’re at and provide the kinds of services that all of the members have said they desire.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

That’s why this province made a historic $1 billion in­vestment in this recent budget into an integrated and seamless system of mental health and addiction care that people need and deserve. That included $586 million for treatment and recovery.

Members across the way will say: “Well, the amount of money doesn’t matter. The results matter.” Mr. Speaker, it is true that the toxic drug crisis we are all experiencing is an unparalleled tragedy in this province. There is barely one of us in this province who can’t place the face of someone they love or knew on the face of this problem. But we need an evidence-based approach.

Involuntary care is shown not to be effective. We can’t measure what didn’t happen. We can’t measure the peo­ple who didn’t die out of the 30,000-plus overdoses that happened in safe consumption sites but were reversed. We can’t measure what didn’t happen, but we can look at what would happen if we had done more of the same. More of the same would have meant more cuts. More of the same would have meant less support. More of the same would have meant the continued deregulation of care homes, etc.

This is a legacy, and our support is going to build a new legacy. We are addressing the needs of fragile and vulnerable British Columbians without cynicism and with the appropriate forms of treatment and service.

The supports people need, need to be offered as viable alternatives, where….

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Member.

D. Routley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

S. Bond: That is a perfect example of why we find our­selves where we are at today.

I would remind the member opposite that a public health emergency was declared in 2016. Since that time, under this government’s watch, six people a day are dying, more than 11,000 people have lost their lives, and this member wants to take a walk down and look in the past. He should look in the mirror and move to do something about this.

Let me remind him of a quote. Here’s a quote: “We need to have better interventions, and that could and should include involuntary care to make sure they at least have a chance.” Well, according to the members on the NDP side today, they must have forgotten who said that. It was the current Premier of British Columbia, who called for involuntary care during his nomination campaign.

Was that then, and this is now? There is evidence, and plenty of it. More than 11,000 people have died. To suggest that we can just keep doing more of the same is absolutely outrageous. This is one of the most important issues facing our province, and it is absolutely vital that we have discussions in this place about doing everything we possibly can to support British Columbians, no matter how difficult that discussion might be.

B.C. continues to experience a mental health and addictions crisis, and coupled with the overdose crisis, there is so much suffering in our province every single day. Every day in this province, British Columbians lose siblings and parents and children. We simply must do better.

[12:00 p.m.]

Let’s remind the member opposite that this is a government that took this House to an election during a pandemic, based on this very issue. All I can say to that is: shame on them. We can’t keep doing things over and over again in the same way and expect different results.

To save lives, something must change. We have an opportunity to take bold new steps that will make a real difference, and apparently the Premier of British Columbia thought it was a good idea during his campaign to become the leader. So what has changed?

We need a new approach, with people, their health and well-being, at the centre of the actions we take. We need to create an accessible, no-cost, recovery-oriented system of care. We have to do more, and a focus on helping people get well is critical.

We have a responsibility as leaders to do our very best to make this a reality for every single British Columbian. Now more than ever, we must treat this issue like the crisis it is. We heard over and over again on the Select Standing Committee on Health that we need to stand up a response to this crisis, just like we did when we were facing a pandemic.

When we act with urgency, dealing with this crisis, we have to do everything possible to make decisions that include the health and safety of everyone that is involved. Of course, we have to prioritize keeping people alive, and that will sometimes require difficult decisions, including — and I will say it again — the limited use of compassionate involuntary treatment.

The time has come to bring forward legislation allowing involuntary treatment for our most vulnerable. As we know, the current Premier of British Columbia called for that during his campaign to become the leader of this province. The people who are at risk of harm to themselves and others need us to make bold decisions. Not institutionalizing or warehousing people, but keeping them safe and providing them with modernized, compassionate care, which includes intensive 24-7 psychiatric and medical supports.

We have all said it over and over. Involuntary care should always be a last resort. But there are situations, we believe, where it is necessary for the health of the individual and those people around them. The issue is complex, emotional and challenging, but we have a responsibility to British Columbians to be prepared to have those tough conversations that will ultimately lead to a better system of care and, most importantly, improved results.

While prevention, early intervention and treatment must be the main focus, it is time to include involuntary care in our response. With bold, new action and a new approach, I am convinced that better is possible.

S. Bond moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. J. Whiteside moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. today.

The House adjourned at 12:03 p.m.