BC Conservatives lay out plan around B.C.’s toxic drug crisis

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad has laid retired his solutions for the toxic cause situation successful the province, which see cutting hold times for voluntary treatment, a virtual programme to link radical with addiction specialists and gathering “regional betterment communities” that would let for 12-month live-in treatment.

He told a quality league Tuesday that his enactment wants to extremity the NDP’s decriminalization aviator task and that they would clasp overdose prevention sites accountable by making definite they are “meeting the highest standards” and if not, his authorities would not hesitate to unopen them down.

Rustad said if a Conservative authorities were elected connected Oct. 19, helium would guarantee determination are “no fiscal barriers to detox and treatment.”

“This is thing that’s captious successful B.C. We cannot beryllium holding radical backmost from receiving the attraction they request successful British Columbia (due to) fiscal barriers,” helium said. “We privation to adjacent that spread betwixt detox and care.”

He didn’t laic retired a timeline oregon what the outgo would be, saying his enactment would beryllium unveiling its afloat level “within the coming days.”

But Rustad noted they would person to prosecute much aesculapian and intelligence wellness professionals to enactment their plans.

“The further staffing that’s needed is going to beryllium portion of a recruitment programme that’s needed for British Columbia, arsenic good arsenic a grooming program,” helium said. “We’re going to besides look astatine however we tin present these services, what level of skills and quality that request to beryllium determination for the assorted levels of services.”

Other elements of the plan, helium said, would beryllium to proviso lodging with treatment, integrate attraction wrong the correctional wellness strategy and name an addictions specializer to oversee the government’s effect to the wellness exigency that has claimed much than 15,000 lives since 2016.

Rustad made the announcement astatine the tract of Riverview Hospital successful the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam, a provincially-owned psychiatric instauration that had been successful cognition for much than 100 years earlier it closed successful 2012.

The spot is presently the taxable of an Indigenous onshore claim. Rustad said his enactment wants to enactment with the First Nation but is “determined” to redevelop and repurpose the tract arsenic a “leading centre of excellence successful Canada for intelligence wellness attraction and addictions recovery, including unafraid treatment.”

The party’s level announcement comes arsenic leaders of British Columbia’s 3 large governmental parties are acceptable to statement the cardinal issues of the provincial predetermination connected each large TV networks tonight.

The lone televised statement of the predetermination run volition springiness viewers a accidental to size up the leaders and their policies with little than 2 weeks to spell earlier predetermination time connected Oct. 19.

Rustad, NDP Leader David Eby, and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau volition marque their lawsuit from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. astatine the lawsuit that is being moderated by Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Oct. 8, 2024