B.C. Conservatives release plan to address toxic drug crisis

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad has laid out his party's solutions for the toxic drug crisis, which include cutting wait times for voluntary treatment, a virtual program to connect people with addiction specialists and building "regional recovery communities" that would allow for 12-month live-in treatment.

In a reversal of an earlier announcement that vowed to shut down all overdose prevention sites, the document released Tuesday by the party says that some sites may be required "as a temporary and emergency measure." 

"Our goal is to make sure that the facilities that are open are going to be able to be focused on linking people to recovery," said Rustad, speaking in front of the former Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam. "But we will make sure there are strict standards and rules in place."

Since 2016, when a toxic drug public health emergency was declared in B.C., more than 14,000 people have died. Last year, toxic drugs were responsible for killing over 2,500 British Columbians, a rate of almost seven deaths per day.

DJ Larkin with the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition said the B.C. Conservatives' plan for toxic drugs rehashes ineffective policies, including around overdose prevention sites.

"They save lives. They are a doorway to care and treatment. They provide referrals and wrap-around services, and [the B.C. Conservative] platform mischaracterizes the nature of those services and how hard they are working," said Larkin.

Michael Crawford, president of the British Columbia Association of Social Workers, said overdose prevention sites are key to addressing the toxic drug crisis.

"[Rustad] is prepared to at least temporarily accept that they have a right to exist, and that's a good thing," he said. "Those sites save many people's lives in British Columbia. And that should be a focus of any plan — saving lives and then getting people into treatment."

If elected, Rustad said he would end the NDP's drug decriminalization pilot project that allows people to possess small amounts of certain illicit drugs for personal use and ensure there are "no financial barriers to detox and treatment." 

"This is something that's critical in B.C. We cannot be holding people back from receiving the treatment they need in British Columbia [due to] financial barriers," he said. "We want to close that gap between detox and care."

The party is also vowing to enact involuntary treatment legislation for people with addictions "who are unable to make life-saving decisions on their own."

"Focusing on legislation to increase involuntary detention and health services without informed consent is not following the best evidence and should be something of last resort, not a primary policy," said Larkin.

Other elements of the plan, he said, would be to supply housing with treatment, integrate treatment within the correctional health system and appoint an addictions specialist to oversee the government's response to the health emergency that has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2016.

Rustad did not lay out a timeline for the plan or what it would cost but said his party would be unveiling its full platform" within the coming days."

 In a news release, the B.C. NDP took shots at Rustad's record on addiction and mental health.

"Standing at Riverview — a site his own B.C. Liberal government shut down without putting in place supports for people — today, John Rustad reversed his position on overdose prevention sites for the fourth time in three weeks and announced he wants to do a series of measures that David Eby and the B.C. NDP are currently doing to expand treatment," it said. 

Riverview Hospital was a provincially-owned psychiatric institution that was closed in 2012.

The B.C. Greens also pointed to Rustad's record with the B.C. Liberals.

"Rustad, who was an MLA when Riverview was closed with no plan for replacement, helped create the very conditions that led to this crisis," said Leader Sonia Furstenau.

The leaders of B.C.'s three major political parties will meet in the only televised debate of the election campaign on Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m.