(Ottawa) Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre supports mandatory and involuntary drug and psychiatric treatment for children and prisoners deemed incapable of making decisions for themselves, he said at a press conference Thursday.
The Conservative leader said earlier this summer that he was open to the idea, but needed to study the issue more closely. On Thursday, he said he had made up his mind about certain groups.
“I believe that for children and prisoners behind bars, there should be mandatory drug treatment when they are deemed incapable of making decisions for themselves,” Poilievre said. “For adults, again, I’m still doing a lot of research on how this would work. »
Mandatory mental health and addiction care is being considered or expanded in several provinces as communities struggle to cope with a nationwide overdose crisis. Concerns have been raised about the proposals by mental health advocates who question whether mandatory treatment is effective, and civil liberties groups who fear for patients’ rights.
Mr. Poilievre’s new stance on the issue appears to have solidified after the parents of 13-year-old Brianna Macdonald testified before a parliamentary committee about her mental health issues before her death by overdose at a drug camp. -shelter in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Her mother, Sarah Macdonald, and stepfather, Lance Charles, testified before the health committee Tuesday that their daughter suffered from serious mental health issues and began experimenting with several types of prescription and illicit medications while she was only 12 years old.
“Brianna’s father and I begged the doctors to keep her in the hospital,” Mr. Charles told the committee. “The doctors ignored what we said and discharged her, sending us home with Narcan kits. »
They asked the police to invoke the Mental Health Act and take her to hospital when she threatened to harm herself, Mr. Charles continued, but the police would not take her against his will.
“There is no doubt in my mind that she should have been subjected to mandatory and involuntary psychiatric and drug treatment, rather than ending up in a homeless camp, in a tent,” Pierre Poilievre said Thursday.
British Columbia’s NDP premier announced last month that his government would expand involuntary care for people experiencing mental health and addiction crises, and that the province would open secure facilities for those in custody, because They represent a danger to themselves or to others. British Columbia is now in an election campaign.
The British Columbia chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association has expressed concerns about the plan without better oversight of the mental health system. “A movement to detain more people under current conditions and culture, without addressing significant gaps in the quality and effectiveness of care, will not lead to positive or dignified outcomes for people,” argued the association in a press release last month.
In New Brunswick, Progressive Conservative Party Leader Blaine Higgs promised, as part of his election platform, legislation that would force a person suffering from serious addiction to undergo treatment.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also asked her mental health minister to develop “compassionate intervention legislation” that would allow involuntary treatment for people who use drugs if they pose a danger to themselves or for others.
Pierre Poilevre has already promised to end federal funding for supervised injection sites and a safer drug supply, and instead focus federal support on treatment options.