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Everything you need to know about involuntary care ahead of B.C.’s provincial election
About 20,000 British Columbians are involuntarily admitted each year, the highest rate in Canada.
As the B.C. provincial election enters its final stage, involuntary care continues to be a hot-button issue.
Over the last several years, the Mental Health Act has frequently made headlines as Premier David Eby expanded involuntary care in the province. At the same time, a major court decision in July ruled parts of the Act unconstitutional.
During the municipal election, involuntary care made it onto the ballot as the ABC’s plebiscite asked whether the city should ask the province to convert portions of the old St. Paul’s Hospital into a facility that would, among other things, provide 100-plus involuntary care beds. The results of the plebiscite will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
But beyond news headlines and political talking points, it’s worth exploring how involuntary care in B.C. works, who can be admitted and what the evidence shows.
What does the Mental Health Act currently allow?
Under B.C.’s existing Mental Health Act, individuals can be placed under involuntary care if they experience severe mental illness that impacts their ability to manage their lives safely. Four criteria must be met before someone can be "certified," or involuntarily admitted, under the Act.
First, they must suffer from a disorder that seriously impairs their ability to “react appropriately to the environment” or associate with others.
Second, that person requires psychiatric treatment through a designated facility. Third, they require care or supervision at that facility for their own protection or the protection of others; and, finally, they are unsuitable to be voluntary patients.
Generally, a person is brought to a hospital by friends or family, the police, or by a judge's order.
Kevin Love, the supervising lawyer for the Community Legal Assistance Society’s (CLAS) community law program, told Vancity Lookout that “[people are also certified] when they bring themselves to the hospital of their own accord,” he said. ”That happens more than people think.”
Normally, if someone is incapacitated, next of kin typically become the decision makers. However, when someone is certified under the Mental Health Act, the treating facility becomes the sole decision maker for psychiatric treatment.
There are currently nearly 80 facilities across B.C. where patients can be observed and detained involuntarily.
Who is being involuntarily detained?
Each year, an estimated 20,000 British Columbians experience involuntary admission, the highest rate in the country.
However, according to Health Justice, a non-profit that advocates for the transformation of mental health and substance use treatment in B.C., true rates of involuntary care are likely much higher.
Current reported numbers for those in involuntary care exclude a variety of circumstances, such as those detained by police under the Mental Health Act who are never admitted to an acute unit.
Involuntary care is not new, but over the last 20 years, the rate of those detained under the Mental Health Act has increased significantly, while rates of voluntary admission stagnated.
Youth detention under the Mental Health Act has climbed by 162 per cent over the same time period, and between 2008 and 2018, involuntary apprehensions involving the police increased 130 per cent.
Men and women are involuntarily treated at comparable rates (55.3 per cent and 44.7 per cent respectively). While data on race and Indigeneity in B.C.’s involuntary care regime is not widely tracked or publicly accessible, other jurisdictions (the U.K., Australia and New Zealand) have shown that racialized people are overrepresented in groups who experience seclusion and restraint while involuntarily admitted.
What is certification being used for?
It is a common misconception, Love said, that schizophrenia and similar disorders make up the majority of certifications – they only account for about 30 per cent of involuntary admissions.
He said that CLAS sees a “real range” of conditions, spanning various forms of cognitive disorders like dementia, as well as substance use disorder.
Under current laws, substance use disorder alone is not typically enough to justify certification. However, many of those admitted have multiple diagnoses which can complicate care. Further, an estimated 20 per cent of those who receive involuntary treatment have a primary diagnosis of substance use disorder.
“[There’s a lot of] assertions that we don’t currently detain people for substance use disorders, but we do… [the laws] are quite broad,” Love said.
What does the evidence show when it comes to involuntary care?
Jonathan Morris, the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association of B.C. (CMHA BC) told Vancity Lookout that the evidence surrounding the use of involuntary care for psychiatric illness is very “mixed,” and the conclusions that can be drawn from the data are highly variable.
“There isn’t a simple answer to the efficacy question for substance use disorders, concurrent disorders (mental health disorders alongside a substance use disorder) or a mental disorder alone,” he said, because it is not ethically possible to design randomized controlled trials where some people are detained and others are not, success “is really hard to measure.”
Some experts have referred to the existing research around forced treatment for drug use in particular as “an absolute dearth” of scientific evidence. While North America studies are limited, a handful of international studies suggest that involuntary drug treatment can increase risk of accidental fatal overdose upon release.
The UN has denounced involuntary drug rehabilitation programs in China and elsewhere in Asia for violating the human rights of detainees.
When it comes to involuntary treatment for other psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder or psychotic disorders, Morris said some patients have said involuntary care “saved their life,” while others have called it “the most traumatizing and horrific experience.”
“There isn't a really widely available, approved quality framework for this form of care in British Columbia,” he said.
What do we know about transparency in B.C.’s involuntary care regime?
While some people benefit from involuntary care, the data surrounding who is being involuntarily admitted, what happens behind closed doors and following release have “concerning” gaps, that Love said “is not helpful when you’re trying to make decisions about public policy and what will work or not work.”
According to a series of Ombudsperson audits, required documentation was missing in a “significant number of patient files,” including forms outlining reasons for admission, treatment decisions, consent, and confirmation patients had been informed of their rights.
Regional health authority compliance varied significantly across the province. Vancouver Coastal Health reported the highest completion rate of required patient forms (81 per cent), but Northern Health completed just 34 per cent.
The Ombudsperson noted that the “investigation has shed light on a process often hidden from public scrutiny,” adding “even the health authorities were not aware of their facilities’ poor compliance with the Mental Health Act’s procedural safeguards.”
What was the recent Supreme Court decision on the Mental Health Act?
In July, a B.C. Supreme Court decision ruled that sections of the Mental Health Act on involuntary treatment were unconstitutional.
“There’s a difference between involuntary admission and involuntary treatment,” Love said. “This decision had nothing to do with who can be held in hospital. It has to do with what happens to them once they’re inside those walls.”
The judge found that depriving involuntary patients of their rights to consent to treatment in all circumstances resulted in unequal treatment under Section 15 of the Charter and violated Section 7 of the Charter.
While all provinces and territories have a law that authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment, no other province grants a detaining facility unilateral power over psychiatric decision-making rights, particularly without independent oversight of a physician’s assessment of someone’s capacity.
The judge gave the province six months to remedy the constitutionality issues of the Mental Health Act. Should the government fail to do so, those sections of the Act will no longer be in effect.
“The judge didn’t say that involuntary treatment is always unconstitutional… or that involuntary treatment should never happen,” said Love. “But [it needs to happen] within constitutional boundaries.”
It will be up to the next provincial government to make those required changes.
What do experts recommend?
While Love and Morris agree that the Mental Health Act needs review, there have been some positive changes in the mental health space over the last several years.
The province opened 20 Foundry Centres, offering free mental health services to youth, Morris noted. A program at St. Paul’s Hospital significantly improved wait-times for drug detox.
Earlier this year, CMHA BC helped pioneer the Independent Rights Advice Service, a trauma-informed service that provides information to people in involuntary care to understand their legal rights.
“It helps people better understand what’s happening to them,” said Morris. “It's [also] useful to have advice service in wards so that the detaining force isn’t the same force educating you on your rights.”
Ahead of the election, the CMHA BC is calling for parties to increase investment in prevention, early intervention, and community-based support to help people before their condition reaches a crisis point.
“[The high rates of involuntary admission] is an indicator that more can be done to help people avoid getting into crisis in the first place,” said Morris.
He added that while in politics there is a temptation towards black-and-white thinking around treatment approaches, “the most valuable evidence is probably those people with lived experience with involuntary care. [We need to listen to] what they have to say about it too.”
Where do the parties stand on involuntary treatment?
BC NDP: Current Premier David Eby has moved to expand involuntary treatment capacity across the province since he was elected in 2022, including (but not limited to) opening additional involuntary care beds in Maple Ridge, Prince George and Surrey. He recently pledged to invest up to $90 million to establish involuntary care in the Okanagan.
In June 2024, Eby appointed Dr. Daniel Vigo as B.C.’s first chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders. Vigo released a clinical guidance document that, while not legally binding, clarified how physicians can use the Mental Health Act when treating patients with concurrent mental health and substance use disorders.
In 2020, the province attempted to amend the Mental Health Act to allow youth to be involuntarily treated following drug poisoning. However, those proposed amendments never went through due to concerns of putting youth at greater risk of overdose.
Conservative Party: The Conservative Party of B.C. has promised to expand psychiatric services, including involuntary treatment and “empower police to enforce the Mental Health Act” by amending the Act so that officers can “connect people with mandatory treatment.”
They promise to implement a “recovery-oriented system of care” focused on prevention, treatment, and recovery, and to expand detox, clinical treatment, recovery housing, and “aftercare” across B.C.
They propose to “strengthen upstream intervention for vulnerable children and youth,” through anti-drug education in schools, improved coordination between child and family services, mental health and addiction services and housing.
Finally, they promise to end what remains of B.C.’s safe supply program, deploy more police to “hardest-hit neighbourhoods,” add 500 RCMP officers and 150 civilian staff over five years in rural and regional communities and hire 50 new Crown prosecutors.
BC Green Party: The BC Green Party is the only major political party to oppose the expansion of involuntary care. It has pledged to act to bring the Mental Health Act into compliance with the Constitution, including “strengthening protections around consent, capacity, involuntary treatment and independent oversight.”
They have pledged to “examine and address disparities and any inequitable impacts of mental health legislation” based on identity and include six annual mental health professional visits under MSP.
They have proposed to integrate mental health as the fourth option in 911 emergency services to accommodate mental health crises that do not fall under traditional fire or police response options, and extend the Mobile Response Team’s psychosocial support and training.
OneBC: According to OneBC’s website, they plan to implement “involuntary drug rehab and housing for the severely addicted,” roll back all decriminalization programs, “crack down on open drug use… eliminate safe supply and drug consumption programs” and “cancel all new drug consumption sites and turn current consumption sites into drug recovery centres."
Copyright 2026, Vancity Lookout. All rights reserved.
Maddi Dellplain, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Vancity Lookout.
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Carney appoints astronaut Jeremy Hansen to advise government on new space strategy
Carney taps astronaut Jeremy Hansen as adviser
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Jeremy Hansen as a special adviser on space.
In a social media post, Hansen says he hopes to build on Canada's strengths in the field and find new ways to harness opportunities.
He says the role involves advising Carney and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly.
Joly says Hansen proposed helping the government craft a new space strategy, which she says will look to expand industrial innovation and get more Canadians into space.
In April, as part of the Artemis II mission, Hansen and three other astronauts travelled around the moon and further out into space than any humans before them.
His appointment comes as Canada looks to expand space co-operation with European countries, and as Washington warns it can also seek partners other than Canada for its space missions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Dylan Robertson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Risk to Windsor, Ont., 'very low' after Ohio chemical leak: mayor's office
Windsor, Ont., monitoring Ohio chemical leak
A spokesperson for the mayor of Windsor, Ont., says the border city is monitoring a toxic chemical leak in Toledo, Ohio that prompted evacuations on Tuesday night.
The spokesperson says the risk to Windsor residents is "very low" as the city is about 90 kilometres northeast of Toledo on the shores of Lake Erie and winds are blowing in the opposite direction.
Hundreds of Toledo residents fled their homes and sheltered in place Tuesday night after a chemical tank exploded, raising fears of an ongoing glycidyl methacrylate leak.
The industrial chemical can burn the eyes, nose, mouth and skin and is toxic if ingested, according to local officials in Ohio.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz says a police officer was injured while responding to the tank explosion and there's concern the tank could explode again.
He says officials don’t know what caused the explosion.
Director of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department Karim Baroudi is advising Toledo residents to close their windows as officials work to determine the level of toxicity in the air.
The city ordered people within a 1.6-kilometre radius of the explosion to evacuate their homes and businesses Tuesday night.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents beyond the evacuation zone within a 4.8-kilometre radius.
The Canadian Press has reached out to federal and Ontario environment ministries for comment but did not immediately hear back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
-- with files from The Associated Press
By Kathryn Mannie | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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7 « hacks » utiles au Maxi pour t'aider à économiser sur ton panier d'épicerie
Quand Maxi peut être ENCORE moins cher! 👀
Avec les prix des aliments qui font sourciller, il est bien normal de commencer à se tourner vers des façons plus créatives d'économiser à l'épicerie. Il existe une panoplie de trucs et même des applications qui te permettent de ne pas avoir à vider ton portefeuille en arrivant aux caisses.
Reconnue pour ses publicités hilarantes, la bannière Maxi est bien populaire chez les consommateur.trices, car elle propose souvent des prix réduits. Si tu aimes bien magasiner dans les allées de ton Maxi de quartier, voici quelques trucs faciles qui te permettront de sauver des sous lors de tes emplettes.
Le principe des imbattables du Maxi
Savais-tu que tu peux utiliser le principe des prix imbattables chez Maxi? Eh oui, ce n'est pas pour rien que cette chaîne d'épicerie se targue d'être « le panier le moins cher ».
Maxi s'engage à proposer les prix les plus bas possibles sur une sélection de produits alimentaires, de produits ménagers et d'autres articles de la vie quotidienne. Donc, si tu vois par exemple que les fraises sont en rabais chez Super C, mais pas chez Maxi, tu peux montrer ce rabais aux caisses et l'entreprise devra alors en modifier le prix.
Les applications Flipp ou Reebee pour t'aider à comparer les prix
Si tu ne sais pas trop comment faire ou qu'est-ce que ça mange en hiver « les imbattables », n'aie crainte, il existe maintenant des applications qui font la recherche pour toi!
Eh oui, Flipp et Reebee te permettent de voir rapidement les différents prix des produits dans les épiceries du Québec et effectue même la comparaison à ta place. Tu peux donc aisément entrer un produit dans la barre de recherche puis voir quelle épicerie propose le meilleur coût. Tu pourras ensuite montrer ton application à la caisse lorsque tu effectueras les imbattables au Maxi pour prouver que tu peux bien le trouver pour moins cher ailleurs.
L'application Flashfood
La société Loblaw Companies Limited, à qui appartient Maxi, a mis en place une application, Flashfood, qui permet à la fois de profiter d'aubaines en épicerie et de lutter contre le gaspillage alimentaire. Flashfood te permet de voir les produits qui approchent de leurs dates de péremption au Maxi, Provigo ou Loblaw près de chez toi, de les acheter via l'app puis d'aller les chercher dans les frigos du commerce. Faire des aubaines tout en aidant la planète, c'est toujours oui!
Regarder les circulaires
Les circulaires d'épicerie te permettent de voir rapidement les rabais et de préparer ta liste en avance. Pour économiser, tu peux donc commencer à regarder les circulaires, concevoir ta planification des repas de la semaine et tes achats en fonction des items en promotion. Trois étapes, certes, mais ça peut te permettre d'épargner chaque semaine. En plus, en sachant déjà tout ce dont tu as besoin, faire ton épicerie te prendra moins de temps.
Avoir un poulet rôti gratuit
Si tu te rends en succursale entre 15 h et 19 h et qu'il n'y a plus de poulet rôti dans le présentoir, tu peux te rendre à la caisse pour demander un coupon qui te permettra d'en avoir un gratuitement lors de ta prochaine visite. Un.e commis devra toutefois aller vérifier au préalable qu'il n'y a réellement plus aucun de ce poulet.
C'est d'ailleurs la même chose pour les baguettes de pain cuites sur place.
Privilégier les marques maison
Il peut être tentant d'acheter ta marque préférée de biscuits, de chips ou de tortilla, mais les marques maison des épiceries proposent bien souvent des prix réduits. Chez Maxi, tu pourras trouver les produits sans nom et Le Choix du Président.
Choisir avec soin ses produits
La page TikTok @eezly.quebec s'applique à effectuer une panoplie de tests en comparant le goût des différentes marques en épicerie. Ça peut donc être une bonne idée de visionner quelques vidéos pour t'aider à faire des choix plus rapidement. Parce qu'au final, si tu achètes un produit pas cher, mais qu'il finit dans ton congélateur durant deux ans, tu n'économises pas beaucoup d'argent.
Tu peux aussi visionner les tests de bouffe pour savoir si les marques maison compétitionnent avec les grandes compagnies, malgré leurs petits prix.