BURSTThe B.C. NDP has pledged up to $90 million to open 75 involuntary care spaces at the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver if the party forms government in the upcoming provincial election, just eight days away.
NDP candidates Loyal Wooldridge (Kelowna Centre), Niki Sharma (Vancouver-Hastings), Binny Boparai (Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream), Harwinder Sandhu (Vernon-Lumby), and Tina Lee (Penticton-Summerland) gathered at Kerry Park in downtown Kelowna to make the announcement on Friday, Oct. 16.
The spaces would be for people experiencing severe mental health and addictions challenges along with complex brain injuries.
People experiencing these concurrent disorders may not be in a position to ask for help and need specialized, compassionate care, according to the B.C. NDP.
“We’ve heard from residents who are tired of seeing street disorder, and we know that vulnerable populations in care and to be connected to the services that they need,” said Wooldridge.
During his two terms as a Kelowna city councillor, Wooldridge added he’s been involved in conversations about proposing the Oliver-based facility to higher levels of government. He also praised regional mayors and First Nations leaders for their efforts to prepare the Okanagan facility for use as an involuntary care centre. This includes the mayoral incumbent for Kelowna, Tom Dyas, who was in attendance on Friday.
“We’ve chosen this site because there’s space available and we can bring it online most quickly,” added Wooldridge. “To build brick and mortar, a different facility would take many years… the regional mayors have done an exceptional job of bringing forward this option.”
The timeline to open the 75 involuntary care spaces at the Oliver facility is early 2028. The proposed dollar figure of up to $90 million is part of the NDP’s current operational plan.
“This is part of a province-wide plan that is about adding more involuntary compassionate care in our system,” added Sharma. “The outcomes are heavily monitored by the professionals there for those individuals to make sure they’re stabilized, they get the support they need… but the real measure of success will be to make sure that people can see a noticeable difference on the streets that they live in.”
Currently, there are involuntary care facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge. A second facility is expected to open in Surrey, as well as one in Prince George.
“I know that’s a concern for many people, and that we can have compassionate outcomes for people that we’re seeing suffering right now,” added Sharma.
Soon after the announcement, Kelowna Centre and Kelowna-Mission Conservative candidates Kristina Loewen and Gavin Dew stated in an email that they welcome the involuntary care spaces at the Okanagan Correctional Centre, but it should’ve happened years ago.
“Of course we welcome this commitment. But this wasn’t David Eby’s idea,” said Dew. “It was a practical, common-sense solution from local leaders who were tired of watching people suffer while existing facilities sat underused.”
Loewen added that there’s nothing compassionate about leaving someone with severe addiction or mental illness on the street, or leaving their family powerless to help.
“Municipal leaders, health care professionals and families across the Okanagan have been saying this for years, and so have we,” said Loewen. “I’m glad David Eby is finally listening. It shouldn’t have taken an election campaign.”