The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors support the creation of a stand-alone addictions and mental health treatment facility in Prince George.
Director Dannielle Alan put forward a motion, which received unanimous approval, calling on the district board to advocate for such a facility through a resolution to the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA). Prince George is “ideally situated” to have a stand-alone addiction and mental health facility to serve the city and region, Alan said.
“We have an enormous problem here with mental health and addictions. People are dying,” Alan said. “A stand-alone facility, long-term, would allow for Indigenous learning and care. I see that as a hole (in the health services provided) here in Prince George.”
Even if the provincial government already has new residential addiction and mental health treatment facilities planned in the Lower Mainland, treatment options are need in northern B.C., for northern B.C., Alan said.
“We need to take care of our people here, with the family supports they have here,” she said. “(And) they will be filled to capacity just with Lower Mainland people.”
Prince George Mayor Simon Yu enthusiastically supported Alan’s motion. Yu also serves as a director of the regional district.
“Without this facility, it is next to impossible to attract the skilled doctors needed (for treating addictions and mental health),” Yu said.
The Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Carrier Sekani Tribal Council should both be included in any planning for such a facility, he added.
“I am absolutely in support of us advocating for this,” Prince George city councillor and regional district director Cori Ramsay said.
City councillor and regional district director Kyle Sampson said the City of Prince George, and council’s committee on intergovernmental affairs, has already been engaging with the provincial government on the issue. One possibility which has been discussed is repurposing the youth correctional facility in the city as a mental health and addictions treatment facility, he added.
Any advocacy done by the district on this issue should be done in coordination with the city’s efforts, he added.
Regional district CAO Jim Martin said the district would engage with the city on the issue. A proposed stand-alone residential care facility would compliment the work being done by Northern Health to incorporate acute mental health and addiction treatment facilities into the proposed new acute care tower at the University Hospital of Northern B.C., he added.
“They are two separate things, accomplishing the same goals," Martin said.
Regional district staff will prepare a draft resolution for the board’s for final approval in February, before it is forwarded to the NCLGA annual convention.
