VICTORIA, B.C. – In response to Friday’s announcement of new involuntary treatment beds, the BC Greens say the Province is prioritizing an unproven, coercive involuntary treatment regime, while stranding British Columbians waiting for voluntary treatment. Despite a lack of evidence that involuntary treatment is effective, most of Budget 2026’s new $131 million mental health and addictions funding appears devoted to expanding it.
“The government is betting almost its entire new investment on a coercive approach while voluntary treatment remains underfunded and difficult to access, especially in northern British Columbia,” said Jeremy Valeriote, MLA for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky. “Mental illness and addiction are not crimes. Too often, British Columbians in need are failed by a lack of affordable housing, accessible mental health care, and the wraparound supports that help people recover. The government’s investment in more involuntary treatment —rather than voluntary—fails them yet again.”
Research has found involuntary treatment for substance use disorders does not improve long-term outcomes and can increase the risk of overdose following discharge. Populations who are already subject to increased systemic violence will face an even higher risk of impact. Rather than investing in a full continuum of care, including fulsome voluntary treatment options, the Province is focusing on confinement – without sufficient regulation, oversight of facilities or explanation of what happens after people leave treatment.
“If someone is discharged back into homelessness, poverty, or the same circumstances that led them into crisis, what has actually changed?” said Valeriote. “Forced treatment is not a solution—it’s a political reaction. Yet, the Province is spinning a narrative that this is the only viable pathway, while ignoring the countless organizations on the frontlines of the mental health and addictions crisis offering and advocating for evidence-based alternatives.”
The BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, the Ombudsperson, the Representative for Children and Youth, Health Justice, and the Canadian Mental Health Association have each raised concerns about involuntary treatment without a human rights approach.
“The Province has enlisted its own medical spokesperson to justify an approach to mental health and addictions that many organizations across British Columbia have warned against,” said BC Greens Leader Emily Lowan. “Premier David Eby is reacting to political pressure rather than evidence. The Mental Health Act review he promised more than a year ago appears last on his list of priorities for British Columbians. BC deserves meaningful investments in voluntary treatment, housing, and wraparound supports, not piecemeal policies that ignore expert concerns and fail to address the root causes of the crisis.”
The BC Greens are calling for comprehensive reform of the Mental Health Act and for Premier Eby to explain why he thinks his involuntary treatment regime will survive a Charter challenge.
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Media Contact
Ryan Hook
Press Secretary
BC Green Caucus
+1 (250) 882 6187 | Ryan.Hook@leg.bc.ca