B.C. premier's new cabinet brings an end to stand-alone mental health and addictions ministry

Premier David Eby unveiled his cabinet Monday with fresh faces aplenty, new titles for some, and a prominent portfolio that no longer has a stand-alone ministry.

No minister for mental health and addictions was named, with the health ministry now taking the lead on those issues. Surrey MLA Amna Shah was named parliamentary secretary for mental health and addictions.

"It's about the challenge and the critical importance of delivering infrastructure related to mental health and addiction treatment centres, detox centres, the kind of infrastructure we need across the province," Eby said when asked about the end of the ministry as a stand-alone entity.

"There's no question that British Columbia sent us back to Victoria to do this work with a narrow majority. I think one of the issues, absolutely, was the toxic drug crisis and the impact on our streets."

The ministry was created in 2017 after the NDP formed government, succeeding the B.C. Liberals. It aimed "to build a seamless, co-ordinated network of mental health and addictions services that works for everyone in B.C., as well as lead the response to the toxic drug crisis."

In the seven years since, a number of other provinces have created their own counterpart ministries, as has Ottawa federally.

Political critics and advocates for people who use drugs, however, were largely unperturbed about the demise of the ministry in B.C.

Opponents back merged ministries

Surrey MLA Elenore Sturko, the Conservatives' former critic for mental health and addictions, said her hope was the change would mean a focus on the "health care issue of addiction," arguing the now-folded ministry had been "hijacked by radical ideology."

"I think that that is something that severely contributed to almost 15,000 British Columbians losing their lives in the last eight years," Sturko said.

"The experiment of decriminalization really had some terrible results for British Columbia. [There] wasn't evidence whatsoever that it actually contributed to saving any lives. There was plenty of evidence that was contributing to community level harms, harms even within health-care settings."

B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said her party welcomes the ministries being merged.

"Health and mental health are the same thing," said Furstenau. "So, let's focus on addressing both mental health and health care."

The Greens, who have two MLAs in the legislature — not including Furstenau, who failed to win her seat in the election — are in discussions with the NDP about some kind of co-operation, with Eby's party holding a majority of just one seat.

'Tacit admission of failure'

Former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe agreed the merging of the ministries made sense and was "pleased" to see it happen.

Lapointe spoke out frequently for stronger action to address the toxic drug crisis, including expanded non-medical safer drug supply access.

"Drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in those aged 10-59 in B.C. and causes life-changing harms to thousands more," Lapointe said in an email to CBC News.

"There is no health issue more urgent or more critical in our province and health is the appropriate ministry to lead a meaningful provincial response."

Garth Mullins with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users said he was optimistic about the potential of a stand-alone addictions ministry in 2017, but he and fellow advocates soon found it to be ineffective.

"The ministry didn't really have any policy-making power or budget," Mullins said. "It was to put up a nice face, sort of like a paid mourner at a graveside or a sin-eater. You know, something so the voters would think things were happening."

The NDP ending the ministry — instead of empowering it — he argues, is "kind of like a tacit admission of failure."

Overdose Prevention Society executive director Sarah Blyth argued the ministry had done good work — and regardless, one ministry can't solve the toxic drug crisis.

"It's going to take all of the ministers working together to solve a lot of the issues that cause people to be homeless and dealing with mental health crisis or just, you know, having a better life generally," Blyth said.

"I think the proof is in less people dying and more support, more housing."

Incoming Health Minister Josie Osborne pledged Monday she would be working across ministries with her added duties.

"It is time now to integrate and work together, bring this together and be able to take that more flexible approach," Osborne said.