Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
VANCOUVER – BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has outlined his solutions for the province’s 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” and which would allow for 12 months of live-in treatment.
He told a news conference Tuesday that his party wants to end the NDP’s decriminalization pilot project and would hold overdose prevention sites accountable by making sure they “meet the highest standards” and if they don’t , his government would not hesitate to close them. .
Rustad said that if a Conservative government was elected on October 19, it would ensure that “there are no financial barriers to detoxification and treatment.”
“This is something that is critical in BC. We cannot be holding people back from receiving the treatment they need in British Columbia (because of) financial barriers,” he said. “We want to close that gap between detox and care.”
He did not set a timeline or what the cost would be, saying his party would unveil its full platform “within the next few days.”
But Rustad pointed out that they would have to hire more medical and mental health professionals to support their plans.
“The additional staffing that is needed is going to be part of a recruitment program that is needed for British Columbia, as well as a training program,” he said. “We are also going to look at how we can provide these services, what level of skills and ability need to be there for the various levels of services.”
Other elements of the plan, he said, would be to supply houses with treatment, integrate treatment within the correctional health system and appoint an addiction specialist to oversee the government’s response to the health crisis that has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2016.
Rustad made the announcement at the site of Riverview Hospital in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam, a provincially owned psychiatric institution that had been in operation for more than 100 years before it closed in 2012.
The property is currently subject to a native land claim. Rustad said his party wants to work with the First Nation but is “determined” to redevelop and repurpose the site as a “leading center of excellence in Canada for mental health care and addiction recovery, including safe treatment.”
The announcement of the party’s platform comes as the leaders of British Columbia’s three major political parties are scheduled to discuss the key issues of the provincial election on all major television networks tonight.
The only debate broadcast on the election campaign will give viewers a chance to gauge the leaders and their policies with less than two weeks to go before election day on October 19.
Rustad, NDP Leader David Eby, and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau will present their case between 6:30 pm and 8 pm at the event moderated by the president of the Angus Reid Foundation, Shachi Kurl.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on October 8, 2024
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://canadanewsmedia.ca/b-c-conservative-leader-reveals-plans-to-address-toxic-drug-crisis-ahead-of-debate/
