People struggling with brain injuries, addictions and mental health issues need 91裸聊视频渄ignified and humane91裸聊视频� support services if they91裸聊视频檙e committed against their will, and B.C. Premier David Eby says the government is putting its faith in a recently appointed adviser to make those services a reality.

Eby said Friday that his government is working on a strategy about involuntary care, speaking days after a deadly attack in downtown Vancouver that left one man dead.

Eby said the 2012 closure of Riverview mental health hospital in Coquitlam put vulnerable people on the streets without adequate supports, especially on Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Downtown Eastside, where he used to work.

91裸聊视频淚 watched them go downhill and die,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 horrific and tragic and I think we can do better and I think we can do it in a way that91裸聊视频檚 humane and respectful.91裸聊视频�

He said the work of Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.91裸聊视频檚 chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, will inform upcoming plans to be revealed in the near future.

Eby said there91裸聊视频檚 still a place for involuntary care in B.C., but 91裸聊视频渨arehousing people91裸聊视频� isn91裸聊视频檛 enough without adequate supports that 91裸聊视频渉opefully helps them get back on their own feet.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚 think all of us see that there are people in the community who are not able to look after themselves, who are either being exploited, or who in turn are injuring or threatening the safety of other people,91裸聊视频� he said.

Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Chief Constable Adam Palmer said this week that police were looking into whether mental health was a factor in two attacks on Wednesday in downtown Vancouver that left 70-year-old Francis David Laporte dead and another man with a severed hand. Police said the attacks were random.

Brendan Colin McBride, 34, has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault, and Palmer said the suspect was 91裸聊视频渁 very troubled man who has a lengthy history of mental-health related incidents.91裸聊视频�

Palmer said people with mental health and addiction issues need more government supports to deal with 91裸聊视频渦pstream drivers91裸聊视频� of problematic behaviours that result in clashes with police.

91裸聊视频淏ut there are also people with mental health issues who are extremely dangerous that we need to be afraid of, and we need to have institutionalized, and this person, in my estimation, is going to fall into that category,91裸聊视频� Palmer said.

Speaking at an election campaign event in Vancouver on Friday, Eby said the province was working with Vigo on a system of care to address both community safety concerns and the needs of people in mental distress.

Eby said involuntary mental health care requires a 91裸聊视频渇ull solution,91裸聊视频� which entails having the mental health professionals who can provide care and supportive programs to allow them to deliver it.

He said it was up to Vigo to 91裸聊视频渒nit all these pieces together,91裸聊视频� and said more information about such a plan will come next week.

Other politicians in B.C. have weighed in on the closure of Riverview since last week91裸聊视频檚 attacks in Vancouver.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said online that 91裸聊视频渃losing Riverview Hospital was a historically stupid decision.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭he evidence is all around us and, sadly, plays out through repeated tragedies,91裸聊视频� West said Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press