The opioid crisis has touched many British Columbians in every community in the province. Unfortunately, opioid-related deaths in 2019 are forecasted to remain higher than when the crisis was first declared in 2016 and actual overdoses remain at record high levels.

While significant challenges exist, since the crisis was first acknowledged, the B.C. Liberal caucus has pushed to ensure resources are going toward saving lives, including new policies to help end the cycle of addiction. Meanwhile, the NDP government is continuing to push a seemingly narrow harm-reduction strategy year-after-year that has failed to produce significant results.

As the critic for mental health and addictions, I have long advocated for the need of a full spectrum of care. A mental health system that would serve youth and adults equally, that would focus on early intervention, and that would help those dealing with addiction into treatment that will eventually lead to recovery.

Part of looking at much-needed solutions is the obvious gap in access to recovery and treatment. Every person who wants to access recovery should have the opportunity, but so many are limited by high costs and red tape. There are recovery beds available, yet without funding from government, they remain too expensive for many seeking treatment.

As critic, I have also tabled two private members’ bills to aid in saving lives—the Safe Care Act, to help save youth in crisis, and the Welfare Payment System Reflection Act, to stagger welfare cheques to alleviate the burden on first responders in the days following cheque day.

Until British Columbia gets to the point of having programs available that are easily accessible, affordable, and provincewide, which offer a complete continuum of care from detox to treatment and recovery, and until we actually address the root of the addiction such as trauma or mental illness, we are never going to be able to turn the tide on the addiction crisis.

There is much more that can be done, and that has been advocated for as a priority by myself and the B.C. Liberal caucus. The opioid crisis is an unmitigated and unprecedented situation that deserves the government’s full attention and demands more than a single response strategy.

It’s clear the issue is not a lack of caring about the crisis—but is anyone really listening to solutions that involve a system of wrap-around care that will finally end the cycle of addiction?