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B.C. Premier David Eby provided a long-awaited update Friday on his promise to expand options for involuntary care , revealing that a former youth detention facility in Prince George will be turned into a treatment centre, and a site in Surrey will be renovated to provide a range of services.
The news follows Eby’s announcement at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in September that new involuntary care facilities would be coming to Surrey and Prince George, following the development of services at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre and the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge.
Involuntary care is designed for people with substance use or mental health challenges and whom a doctor or nurse practitioner has deemed unable to help themselves. They are admitted to involuntary care under the Mental Health Act and can be kept indefinitely if their doctor deems it necessary.
At the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, the services are designed for individuals in the correctional system, while the facility at Alouette is for those admitted under the Mental Health Act.
“We’re going to ensure that we’re opening beds everywhere across the province,” said the premier at UBCM. “We’d like people to be able to receive this kind of care that they need close to home, where family and friends can get support.”
According to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Infrastructure, the site in Prince George will have 72 beds, including 60 existing beds and 12 new purpose-built beds. The province and Northern Health have partnered with the Lheidli T͛enneh First Nation on the facility, with a total budget of $92 million.
The first 24 beds are expected to open in December 2027 with the remainder coming online in 2028.
In Surrey, the new facility on King George Boulevard will have 60 beds, a budget of $57 million and is expected to open in spring 2028.
Conservative MLAs have been asking for an update, with Prince George-North Cariboo MLA Sheldon Clare questioning the government’s lack of transparency about the facility in his home community.
“Families and businesses across northern B.C. are dealing every day with the consequences of severe addiction, untreated mental illness, brain injuries, homelessness, and repeat offending,” said Clare in May.
“The NDP government announced this facility with significant fanfare, but months later communities are still waiting for basic information. Northerners deserve transparency, accountability, and action.”
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