B.C. pauses on controversial overdose bill affecting youth

VANCOUVER— The British Columbia government has paused legislation aimed at detaining youth under 19 in care after they overdose, but the representative for children and youth joined advocates calling on the province to withdraw it altogether.

Jennifer Charlesworth said Monday the proposed changes to the Mental Health Act would deter youth from asking for help over fears they’d be forced to stay in hospital for up to seven days.

The bill would disproportionately impact Indigenous youth and many of them may have turned to drugs as a way to numb trauma that could include being removed from their families, Charlesworth said.

The current toxic drug supply, which led to a record number of overdoses in B.C. last month, requires the government to instead focus on providing early interventions and residential treatment, she said.

She said involuntary care takes away what little control youth may have so it’s up to them to choose if they want to get treatment.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy has said the goal is to stabilize youth and connect them with services in the community.

“Stabilization for what?” Charlesworth asked, noting a report issued by her office in March showed the province had no intensive community day treatment program. “There were six youth-specific intensive care management programs in B.C., but none in the Fraser or northern regions.”

Seven residential detox programs offer 27 youth beds, but six had wait lists. Out of the six publicly funded community residential treatment programs, five had wait lists, some up to three months, the report said.

“Involuntary care may have a place in some extreme situations. However, it’s not a place to begin,” Charlesworth said.

Darcy said Monday that the government ran out of time to get through the bill before the end of the legislative session.

She said it will continue seeking input from those holding a wide variety of views after getting support from some parents whose children have fatally overdosed and others who say the Mental Health Act should not be used. Consultations over several months included the First Nations Health Authority, the First Nations Health Council, First Nations health directors and the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society, which worked on a pilot project with psychiatrists at BC Children’s Hospital.

British Columbia declared a public health emergency in April 2016 as overdoses began escalating. Since then, more than 5,000 people have died.