Province announces involuntary treatment ahead of election

Good morning!

In Friday’s newsletter, we included an item about Lime scooters coming to Vancouver, which gives me an excuse to talk about something I’ve been thinking about the last week. I live in New Westminster, where Lime e-bikes have recently popped up, and while there are a couple of Evo e-bikes around, they aren’t all that available.

Having e-bikes, where I can just hop on and ride (within a narrow zone), has been a really nice change for me, especially as my own e-bike was stolen last summer, and I haven’t had an opportunity to get a new bike. But it got me thinking: why doesn’t TransLink get into the bike-sharing game? It feels like a natural fit for public transportation. There would be a lot of tech infrastructure TransLink would need to invest in upfront, and there would be maintenance costs alongside that, but ultimately, e-bikes are relatively affordable modes of transportation, and they don’t remotely have the maintenance costs of buses or trains.

I’m not the most versed in tech stuff, so maybe the upfront infrastructure would be too much of a barrier, but it seems to me like something worth exploring.

Today, we’ve got a new announcement from the BC NDP regarding involuntary mental health and substance use treatment.

—Dustin Godfrey, freelancer 

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INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT

Province announces involuntary treatment ahead of election

What happened: Premier David Eby announced a regime of involuntary treatment for people experiencing what he described as three overlapping issues: severe mental illness, substance use disorders and brain injuries following repeated overdoses.

The announcement comes following heavy pressure from the BC Conservatives, and in particular after the overdose death of a 13-year-old in an Abbotsford homeless camp, which sparked calls from the girl’s family members to revisit involuntary treatment.

A shift from the NDP: The move is the latest in a trend of the BC NDP acquiescing to calls by the right and other organizations to move away from harm reduction and towards more carceral approaches to drug policy. In the announcement, Eby also raised concerns about reductions in funding for the Canada Border Services Agency and a lack of enforcement against the import of synthetic opioid precursor chemicals at the Port of Vancouver.

• Eby has been shifting away from harm reduction over the last few years, but recent months have seen that trend increasing, with the province pausing machines dispensing harm reduction supplies outside hospitals in the Vancouver Island Health region, according to CBC, as well as a mail-order safe supply service in the Fraser Health region, according to Filter Magazine.

The details: The province doesn’t have a significant set of details on the legislation that will be introduced around this. Though it was a government announcement, Eby said legislation would be brought in after the election if his party is successful. But there were details around the kinds of facilities the province will be using for the involuntary treatment, which come in three components.

• Secure treatment facilities will be set up around the province for “secure, safe and compassionate” treatment, with the first to be set up at the Alouette Correctional Centre, a provincial women’s jail in Maple Ridge.

• The province will also have secure treatment in BC’s jails, with the first 10 beds to open at Surrey Pretrial Services Centre.

• And the province is creating 140 new beds and updating 280 existing “outdated” beds in hospitals to provide voluntary and involuntary treatment.

Eby told reporters at a press conference yesterday morning that the province can’t use Riverview, as it is currently the subject of a land title claim by the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation. CTV reported last year that work to expand treatment at the old psychiatric hospital had been quietly paused. And Eby said the province “can’t wait” for Riverview to be available.

The latest effort: The announcement is the latest in a series of efforts by BC parties to expand involuntary care in the province. A private member’s bill was quashed in the spring, according to the Globe and Mail, while the BC Greens refused to support a 2020 government bill that would have expanded involuntary treatment for youth, which then-premier John Horgan cited as the “deciding issue” for the snap election that year, according to the Vancouver Sun.

• In 2022, the province expanded information sharing between police and medical professionals, which again was subject to pushback by rights groups, according to CBC.

Reactions: Alongside Eby at the announcement, Mayor Ken Sim praised the move, while also touting his own effort to combine police with mental health workers — an effort originally billed as 100 police and 100 mental health workers, but which he noted in the press conference has instead landed the city with 175 police officers and 33 mental health workers.

• Sim called Eby and the NDP “incredible partners” and praised him for his “willingness to support us on public safety by pivoting on policies like decriminalization and now boldly addressing the mental health and addictions crisis.”

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation councillor and spokesperson Sxwíxwtn Wilson Williams noted at the press conference that while Indigenous people make up 6% of the population, they account for 35% of the incarcerated population, while Indigenous youth life expectancy is 14 years lower than the general population.

‘Flip-flopping’: The BC Conservatives, in a statement posted to Twitter, accused the BC NDP of “flip-flopping,” something the party said “demonstrates a lack of leadership and vision.” The party’s mental health and addictions critic, Elenore Sturko, noted that the BC NDP under John Horgan had introduced involuntary treatment legislation, but they “broke that promise.”

• The BC Greens hadn’t put out a statement on the policy as of writing, but the party has come out hard against expanding involuntary treatment in the past. In 2021, the party published a statement following the release of a report by the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth, which noted involuntary treatment for youth had increased 162% over 10 years. 

The evidence: In the press conference, Eby and Dr. Daniel Vigo, a psychiatrist and UBC associate professor who was appointed earlier this year as BC’s chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, said the province was following evidence-based policy. However, opponents of involuntary treatment say it flies in the face of research.

• In 2021, the Harm Reduction Nurses Association and Canadian Public Health Association presented a webinar calling involuntary treatment “more harm than good,” echoing research that has shown involuntary treatment to be associated with a higher risk of non-fatal overdose in Mexico. 

Are there benefits? While proponents of involuntary may acknowledge the evidence against it, they argue it is outweighed by the potential positive effect of getting people into much needed healthcare. But the evidence doesn’t back that up either. “Although secure care may prove effective for select youth with strong supports, the evidence for mandatory treatment is weak,” noted researchers in a 2018 Canadian Medical Association Journal commentary.

• The commentary cited a systematic review of studies into court-ordered treatment which, “found that forced treatment did not improve outcomes for substance use. Instead, findings showed higher levels of mental duress, homelessness, relapse and overdose among adults after discharge from mandated treatment.”

Criticism from the left: While those on the right were not appeased by the BC NDP folding to their demands, it has also faced significant criticism from the left, some of whom cited the above evidence against involuntary treatment. 

“It seems that Eby did not like the advice he got for years from his chief coroner and his provincial health officer, so he went shopping for an expert who would support the carceral measures he seems to have had in mind since he worked in the DTES,” wrote Crackdown podcast host and Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users member Garth Mullins on Twitter.

Why not voluntary: A common critique of involuntary treatment has been that the province doesn’t have enough voluntary treatment. Shannon Waters, the politics reporter for the Narwhal, noted that the wait for patients seeking to access inpatient substance use treatment is currently still more than a month long.

• In response to a question from Globe and Mail reporter Andrea Woo, Eby said the difference is that the people targeted by this policy — those with brain damage from past overdoses — are “incapable” of making the choice to seek voluntary care. 

Zoom out: It’s also unclear if the move is a good election strategy, as several people on the left, including former NDP staffers and labour activists, have argued. One labour activist noted that flip-flopping by the BC NDP “won't make conservatives suddenly vote for the NDP, but it will make the NDP base stay home on Election Day.”

What it means: Editor Geoff here jumping in for one section after Dustin’s stellar summary of the issue. For Vancouver, it comes five days after Mayor Ken Sim called for the revitalization of Riverview, as mayors across BC demanded more action from the province. Looking at the politics of the issue rather than the policy outcome, it can likely be considered a big win for the mayor as he seeks to make a case that he’s improving public safety in the city, after little recent changes around the issue.

• As Dustin mentioned, the lack of policy details make it very hard to understand just exactly what the province is proposing for this policy. It’s one thing to make an announcement, it’s another to determine the nitty-gritty of what it will entail.

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VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🌳 $11.1 million: The budget for the Vancouver Park Board’s Stanley Park dead tree removal program ballooned by this much, for a total of $18 million in a confidential vote in May. [Global]

🤝 $159,000: The Metro Vancouver Regional District spent this much on networking events, such as a reception for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference, since 2017. [Global]

🛒 40%: BC households living on the poverty line spend this much of their income on food, according to an analysis by Quest Outreach Society, based on 10,000 receipts at its non-profit grocery stores and responses by 800 clients and 400 partner institutions. [CBC]

THE AGENDA

🏥 A year after a triple-stabbing at a Chinatown festival, the BC government says it has accepted all recommendations in a recent report by former Abbotsford Police Department chief Bob Rich, including improving care teams, improving patient leave policies, more staff training and tools like GPS tracking systems. [Vancouver Sun]

💗 If you cross the inlet to climb the Grouse Grind, you may notice some new equipment along the trail — Metro Vancouver has installed defibrillators along the trail in case of medical emergencies, something emergency responders say could save lives. [CBC]

♿️​​ Construction projects already underway won’t have to comply with the updated BC Building Code regulations, which include new accessibility requirements — particularly, large condo and apartment buildings will need to be more adaptable for accessibility. [Vancouver Sun]

⛽️ While removing consumer carbon pricing in BC would make things like gasoline and natural gas more affordable for some, experts say it would also take away the tax credit that is paid out to lower-income households in the province. [Vancouver Sun]

🚅 A BC Greens policy to make public transit free may not improve ridership, transit advocates say, noting users find poor service — such as routes not serving needs, or service being too crowded or infrequent — to be a greater barrier to accessible public transit. [Vancouver Sun]

🚌 A 15-hour negotiating session wasn’t fruitful in solving the conflict between HandyDART drivers and Transdev, the company operating the service, leaving drivers still on strike. However, the Amalgamated Transit Union said while the parties are “miles apart” on some issues, they’re close to an agreement on others. [CBC]

🛩️ If you have plane tickets with Air Canada, you’ve likely been anxiously watching the labour dispute with pilots — but you can fret no more, with a deal reached between the two parties, avoiding a nationwide shutdown. [CTV]

⚽️ A big win for the Whitecaps has them fifth in the Western Conference, two points back from fourth. The team beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 on Saturday. [Lakeland Today]

EVENTS

In Defence of Clutter | Slice of Life Gallery | Until Tuesday | A maximalist daydream celebrating of objects and the spaces we occupy | Free admission

Kitsilano Marketplace Artisan Market | 2966 W 4th Ave | Thursdays to Sundays until Oct. 31 | An opportunity to check out some local artisans, listen to music, eat at some food trucks or enjoy the beer garden | Free admission

Vancouver International Flamenco Festival | Various locations | Now until Sept. 22 | Musical performances from around the world | Tickets

Street Free Lunch at Cadillac Fairview | South side of the Vancouver Art Gallery | Every Wednesday in September, 12 pm-2 pm | Get a free lunch from some of Vancouver’s best food trucks

Steveston Beer Fest | 12138 Fourth Ave. Richmond | Sept. 21, 7 pm-9:30 pm | 100 different beers from breweries across BC | Tickets $85

Brew at the Zoo | Greater Vancouver Zoo | Sept. 21, 5-8 pm | The first ever 19+ night at the zoo, featuring local breweries | Tickets $54

Flavor Camp: Single Malt Tasting | 225 West 8th Ave | Sept. 21, 7:30 pm-9 pm | Get a multisensory tasting Whiskey experience, to compare and contrast different flavours | Tickets $43

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GOOD NEWS

Start your day off with some good news:

After what appears to be months stuck in fishing gear, a humpback whale is finally free. Department of Fisheries and Oceans crews weren’t sure how to approach the animal because it was so tangled up, but they were able to free the animal after a four-day effort. Bad that it got stuck, but it’s always good to see a happy ending. [The Canadian Press]

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Flying is hell, but at least this walkway to YVR’s domestic terminal is pretty.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• A local makeup artist is winning big in Hollywood. [CTV]

• These three Vancouver hotels won a prestigious award from the Michelin Guide. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• This Vancouver restaurant is proving that late night food can be extremely good.

• A local business fought Meta — and won. [Daily Hive]

• UBC is doing some good work on food insecurity for students. [Daily Hive]

• A road connecting UBC to Vancouver is closing briefly for a film shoot. [CTV]

QUIZ

Here’s today’s news quiz, which you can find in the newsletter — what new equipment might you find along the Grouse Grind? Reply with your name and answer to be featured in the newsletter.