With illicit drug use, homelessness and untreated mental illness reaching a crisis in parts of Canada, the governments of at least three provinces want to treat more people against their will, even as some health experts warn involuntary care for drug use can be ineffective and harmful.
This month, British Columbia’s premier, whose party is in a tight race for reelection in the province, said his government would expand involuntary treatment for people dealing with mental illness combined with addiction and brain injuries due to overdose. Some would be held in a repurposed jail.
The Alberta government is preparing legislation that would allow a family member, police officer or medical professional to petition to force treatment when a person is deemed an imminent danger to themselves or others because of addiction or drug use.
And New Brunswick has said it wants to allow involuntary treatment of people with substance use disorders, although it, too, has yet to propose legislation. A spokesperson for the governing Progressive Conservative party, which is also running for reelection, called this “compassionate intervention.”
The problem with the current program is that we did a “half Portugal” where we stopped with enforcement because it was cheaper, and also didn’t put in funding for support and treatment because because they (the goverment) thought is was cheaper.
The problem with this, knowing that our government is cheap. They’ll talk about enforcement, but will be super cheap about it. I’d actually be more worried about this endeavour if I thought they were going to fund it adequately.
The intention of the politicians expounding this isn’t even to improve outcomes, it’s to improve election performance, and they don’t care who has to be thrown under the bus to accomplish it. They don’t care whether or not it improves outcomes as long as it engages their voters. And right now, their voters want to see the right people get hurt.
What evidence do you have for this?