Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he supports children and prisoners who are incapable of making decisions for themselves getting mandatory, involuntary drug and psychiatric treatment.
That comes after the parents of a 13-year-old girl from B.C. testified at a parliamentary committee about her mental health struggles before her overdose death in an encampment of homeless people in Abbotsford, B.C.
They said their daughter was discharged from care despite their repeated attempts to keep her in treatment.
“There is no question in my mind that she should have been in mandatory, involuntary psychic and substance abuse treatment rather than in a homeless encampment in a tent,” Poilievre said.
He said earlier this summer he was open to the idea, but needed to study the issue more closely.
The Conservative leader says he’s “still researching” how mandatory treatment would work for adults.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland emphasized to Global News that compassion needs to take precedence when dealing with cases of addiction, but she agreed that sometimes individuals cannot make informed treatment decisions.
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“We need to take a science based approach, we need to listen to our doctors and health care professionals, and we also need to take a public safety based approach,” Freeland said at a Toronto press conference. “We have to be sure people get the treatment they need – and sometimes a person can be too sick to really recognize what treatment they need.”
The deputy prime minister stopped short of clarifying whether she believes those who are “too sick” to decide for themselves should attend involuntary treatment.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized the Conservative position, but did not answer as to whether he would support involuntary treatment when asked by Global News.
“In general, the approach that the Conservatives are taking, I think, is in terms of a lack of awareness of the experts, a lack of recognition of the evidence,” Singh said. “And so what I would look to for any guidance around what is the best way to help people that are in desperate need [is] to look for the expert advice.”
Singh added that any treatment decisions should be rooted in compassion and evidence as to what is the best way to get people the best treatment possible.
Involuntary drug treatment for those struggling with substance abuse raises serious civil liberties issues and could be unconstitutional, according to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Meanwhile, compulsory mental health and addictions care is being contemplated or expanded in several provinces as communities struggle to cope with a countrywide overdose crisis.
There were 1,906 opioid-related deaths, or an average of 21 deaths per day, between January and March 2023 in Canada, according to the federal government.
With files from The Canadian Press
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