REGIONAL FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC CARE FACILITY (2025)
Issue
In January 2025, Premier David Eby announced the first two secure psychiatric care facilities would open by May at the Surrey Pretrial Centre and the Alouette Correctional Facility in Maple Ridge.[1] Regional forensic psychiatric care facilities are needed around the province to provide this level of care in communities outside of Metro Vancouver, particularly those in the more rural and remote areas of BC, to improve safety for business owners/operators and workers alike.
Background
Various groups across BC have banded together to form the Save Our Streets Coalition (of which the BC Chamber of Commerce is a member) to urge the provincial government to take action to reduce the rise in crime and violence seen in communities large and small.[2] A recent Simon Fraser
University study found that 72 per cent of incarcerated individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders return to jail within three years of release.[3] “Our findings highlight the urgency for correctional, health, and social services to work synergistically to reduce reincarceration and other adverse outcomes, particularly among people with substance use and co-occurring disorders,” wrote SFU criminologist Amanda Butler, the lead author of the study.[4]
In September 2024, the Province of British Columbia committed to taking action to ensure people with long-term concurrent mental-health and addiction challenges get safe, secure, and dignified treatment by opening highly secure facilities throughout the province for people requiring care under the Mental Health Act.[5]
This followed the appointment in June 2024 of Dr. Daniel Vigo as BC’s chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs, and concurrent disorder.[6] The provincial government has also stated it is working on legislation, supported by expert consultation from Dr. Vigo and others, which would support involuntary admittance to these specialized, compassionate care facilities.[7]
For the affected individuals, this level of care would not only provide better short-term and long-term health outcomes, but it would also reduce and/or eliminate their regular interactions with law enforcement officers, the criminal justice system, and social service agencies. Additionally, health care and law enforcement workers would be freed up to pursue their many existing responsibilities.
THE CHAMBER RECOMMENDS
That the Provincial Government:
- Invest in secure forensic psychiatric care facilities in regional centres outside of Metro Vancouver, in addition to the announced Surrey and Maple Ridge facilities, to better serve all of BC's communities.