Terrace – Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, is raising concerns after it was revealed that the federal government quietly extended the exemption that allows overdose prevention sites (OPS) to operate in British Columbia until 2026 without public notice, consultation, or a clear plan to address the addiction crisis.
“British Columbians deserve transparency, and they deserve real solutions,” said Rattée. “This extension was granted without any announcement, and British Columbians were kept in the dark.”
OPS were originally created as temporary, low-barrier facilities to respond to the public health emergency declared in 2016 and they were never meant to serve as a substitute for long-term treatment, recovery, and mental health services.
“Extending OPS year by year without any review of whether they are working, while failing to expand access to treatment, and recovery is not a plan, it’s managing decline,” Rattée added. “People across British Columbia are desperate for recovery options that simply don’t exist.
OPS may prevent some immediate harms, but they do nothing to address the root causes of addiction or provide a pathway forward.”
Since 2016, more than 16,000 British Columbians have lost their lives to the toxic drug crisis. Despite this staggering loss of life, access to treatment and recovery beds remains scarce.
“People talk about compassion, but compassion without accountability is failing people,” said Rattée. “If this government is serious about saving lives, it needs to match harm reduction with investments in recovery-oriented solutions. British Columbians cannot afford more delay, secrecy, or half-measures. Overdose prevention sites are not an enduring solution to the fentanyl crisis. They do not result in increased rates of sobriety. We need a recovery model that consists of treatment beds, involuntary care options, supports in rural and underserved areas, wraparound programming, integrated mental health services, and an emphasis on abstinence. And we needed it yesterday.”
