The chances of Prince George or the region getting a dedicated mental health and involuntary care facility are “100 per cent,” BC’s premier says.
Speaking to The Citizen before the kickoff of the 2025 BC Natural Resources Forum on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Premier David Eby discussed his priorities for Prince George over the next few years.
Though the BC NDP hasn’t had any MLAs elected in Prince George for many years, Eby said he thought his government has been “working well” with both mayor and council and Lheidli T’enneh First Nation on social issues.
“It’s our shared goal to close the Moccasin Flats encampment, to get people inside (housing) and to put the services in place to prevent the establishment of another encampment,” Eby said.
“Part of the work that we need to do and that we’re doing together is not just about housing, it’s also about mental health, addiction and brain injuries — making sure that those people are looked after.”
The City of Prince George intends to return to the BC Supreme Court to lift the injunction preventing it from evicting residents at the flats. A new transitional housing facility at 397 Fourth Ave. has been built to help house those who lived there.
Some of the local conversations, Eby said, have been with Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan and her vision to establish a centre for excellence in mental health to support families and prevent them from ending up in encampments like Moccasin Flats.
Province-wide, Eby said, his government is working with Dr. Daniel Vigo on the establishment of a strategy to help people with brain injuries and serious addiction issues and get them the care they need. That includes involuntary care.
Last June, UBC professor Vigo was appointed at BC’s chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders.
When asked about the PG or the region getting a dedicated care facility, Eby said it was 100 per cent.
“We understand that the people who work at the local hospital in this area have called for additional expansion of the beds as the hospital has called for bed expansion generally, to make sure that people get the services they need,” Eby said.
“We’re going to partner with Prince George to make sure that happens.”
On the economic front, the premier said his government is working with the city to try and clear the way for opportunities it identifies.
Though Fortescue’s proposed hydrogen production facility in Prince George was cancelled last year, which Eby attributed to “global reasons,” he said his government has issued the company a letter guaranteeing that BC will make power available for any further projects that come forward.
“We know they’re using that to solicit interest in different proposals for the province as well as for the city and we’ll be working closely with them on that,” he said. “Prince George is the gateway to the north, we need this community to be prosperous and successful and if Prince George is successful, so will BC be successful and that’s our shared goal.”
