The initial involuntary care beds at Surrey Pretrial Services Centre are expected to open this month despite pushback from many in the community.
Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, which is a high-security provincial remand centre for men awaiting trial, will host 10 beds to treat individuals with severe mental-health, substance use and addiction challenges being held in custody, while Maple Ridge's Alouette Correctional Centre (Monarch Homes) will host 20 beds for individuals needing long-term care and housing.
In an email to the Now-Leader, a communications spokesperson for the Ministry of Mental Health said the beds at Surrey pretrial are only for people being held on judicial matters such as remand or being sentenced to custody. "The focus will be on treatment of people in provincial correctional centres who require care for mental health and substance use issues and acquired brain injury and meet the criteria for involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act," the ministry said.
In a Ministry of Health news release Wednesday (March 12), the province said it is "taking action to improve care for people who suffer from severe, overlapping mental-health and substance-use challenges, including brain injuries from toxic-drug poisonings, ensuring they have the right care to meet their needs."
On Wednesday (March 12), Dr. Daniel Vigo – appointed by Premier David Eby in June 24 as B.C.'s first chief scientific adviser on psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders – issued guidelines to clinicians on how the Mental Health Act "can be used to provide involuntary care for adults when they are unable to seek it themselves."
New B.C. guidelines too vague: advocacy group
Moms Stop the Harm is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance use-related harms and deaths who advocate for changes to drug policy. Board chair Traci Letts said the new guidelines are too vague, only fuelling misinformation.
"What this type of announcement does is instill fear in people. Every drug user thinks they are going to get picked up and held involuntarily and forced into treatment," Letts said.
The Langley resident noted that it is important to understand that the Mental Health Act has not been changed. The announcement yesterday was just guidance for clinicians, and those guidelines are so vague that they could be interpreted a number of different ways, she said. The guidelines are also not binding.
"It's very concerning for advocates. It's very concerning for our organization and our members. It goes against what we believe is a harm reduction focus," Letts said.
She encourages politicians to stop taking such a reactionary approach to a complicated and complex issue.
"We need to stop being just reactive to public opinion and to really put some thought and effort into how are we going to approach people in a compassionate way and actually have services available for people when they're ready for services, because we know that's where success comes in."
Letts acknowledges there are individuals who have severe mental illness and use substances as a form of self-treatment. But she doesn't believe the form of involuntary care being rolled out now is the way to go – rather, each individual needs their own treatment plan that is specific to them and their history.
"I think that the biggest thing we have to do, and especially when you're looking at things from a harm reduction lens, is you have to treat each individual as a very unique case, and everybody has individual needs when it comes to care," Letts said. "You have to look at the origin story of the person that you're dealing with. How did they get there? Where are they at now? Is this due to the drug supply? The psychosis that people are experiencing — is that due to what's in the drug supply, not necessarily a mental illness."
Mental Health Act sets out 'stringent criteria' for involuntary care
Letts added that the Act outlines all the "stringent criteria" a person has to meet before they are involuntarily admitted.
These conditions are: "the person is a person with a mental disorder which requires treatment; the disorder seriously impairs the person’s ability to react appropriately to their environment or associate with others; the person requires care, supervision and control in or through a designated facility to prevent their substantial mental or physical deterioration, or for the protection of the person or for the protection of others; the person requires treatment in or through a designated facility; and the person cannot suitably be admitted as a voluntary patient."
Vigo, in the guidance to clinicians, notes that a person will not be involuntarily admitted if their decision-making or actions are "unrelated to a state of mental impairment."
"Involuntary treatment can be a tool to preserve life and treat the source of impairment in people with combinations of mental disorders, substance use and acquired brain injuries from toxic-drug poisonings," Vigo said. "Dispelling misconceptions about the use of the act is a first step to support this population, in addition to creating new services, including mental-health units in corrections, approved homes, in-patient beds and community teams supporting the most complex patients and under-served areas."
The chief executive officer of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society, Faydra Aldridge, said the Mental Health Act is used as a "last resort" when a person cannot make a decision for themselves. "This guidance will improve care for this incredibly vulnerable population, so they can receive help for their unique needs," Aldridge said.
Groups call for more clarity, oversight on involuntary care
Letts added that more work must be done to clarify how someone can be admitted involuntarily and that more oversight is needed.
The Vancouver based non-profit Health Justice noted in a Jan. 28 post that "B.C.’s Mental Health Act has some of the weakest oversight and accountability safeguards in Canada – for example, B.C. is the only province or territory in Canada that has no form of automatic review of detention built into its mental health legislation."
It also notes that there has been an "over-reliance on involuntary services" in B.C. when many people ask for help but cannot access it.
"The way the Mental Health Act is structured and used makes involuntary treatment a primary way to provide care. This becomes a reinforcing negative cycle. If people can’t get services when they ask for help, their health may worsen until they are in a crisis. And detention and involuntary treatment itself can create negative or traumatizing experiences that alienate people from services in the future."
The non-profit outlines what mechanisms should be built in for oversight and accountability in the mental health system. Health Justice does not advocate for the complete removal of involuntary care.
"Health Justice advocates for laws, policies, and systems to promote trauma-informed, culturally safe health care services that respect human rights and dignity. We believe the starting point for that work is that involuntary health care should be used as an absolute last resort with access to voluntary, community-based services prioritized," reads a post on healthjustice.ca.
The non-profit says that B.C.'s Mental Health Act "removes health care consent rights and excludes families."
Families must be involved: Surrey MLA
On Wednesday (March 12) Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko introduced the Mental Health Amendment Act of 2025 in the legislature. These proposed changes would require clinicians to consult with a relative or the person "who provided information leading to an apprehension, before certifying a person under the Act."
“Families play a crucial role in supporting their loved ones during mental health crises, yet they are often denied the opportunity to share valuable insight into the health of their loved one,” Sturko said. “This bill ensures that health-care providers receive important contextual information that can improve care decisions, prevent suicide and self-harm, and ultimately protect public safety.”
Sturko said these changes to the Act are especially needed after several violent home invasions in South Surrey.
Police were called around 1:30 a.m. on Feb. 26 to the area of King George Boulevard and 160 Street about a man breaking into several homes and assaulting people. Two people were on scene with what police described as minor injuries, which they were transported to hospital for.
A suspect was located and arrested by the RCMP officers in what seems to be a "random" incident, which is still under investigation.
David Williams Charles Hoffman, 38, was charged on Feb. 26 with two counts of break and enter, one count of assault, two counts of mischief under $5,000 and one count of failing to comply with a release order.
After being arrested, Hoffman was taken to Peace Arch Hospital.
Just before noon that day, the individual was involved in a "serious incident" that involved police, Fraser Health staff and medical staff, the health authority reported. According to online court services, Hoffman has appeared in court on several occasions dating back to 2008.
Sturko said that a member of Hoffman's family reached out to her office days after the home invasion, stating they had "crucial information about the individual's escalating mental health crisis … information that was never sought by police or medical professionals."
-With files from Sobia Moman
