David Eby An organization he once led is condemning recent comments by former BC attorney general and NDP leadership candidate David Eby. During a campaign in the Okanagan last week, Eby suggested that perhaps involuntary care for mental health and addictions should be considered. He was followed by the Kelowna RCMP and Mayor Colin Basran a week later making the same call. The BC Civil Liberties Association is not happy with Eby’s comments and issued a scathing rebuke on its website. “The BCCLA condemns the Attorney General of P.K. David Eby for throwing human rights, civil liberties and evidence under the bus by suggesting that the state should be able to involuntarily detain and force drug users into treatment. As a lawyer, Minister Eby knows that such a law would violate Charter rights. Section 7 of the Charter guarantees everyone the right not to be deprived of life, liberty or security of the person except in accordance with principles of fundamental justice,” BCCLA staff counsel Megan McDermott wrote online. “The coercive treatment of people who use drugs cannot be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. He also knows that just this spring, his government abandoned a similar proposal for involuntary youth treatment because of “the trauma associated with holding youth against their will, especially Indigenous youth.” Both addictions and mental health issues are at the heart of concerns about crime and homelessness in the province’s inner cities, including Kelowna’s. Earlier this week, Kelowna RCMP commander Supt. Kara Triance called for mandatory mental health and substance use programs in the wake of the release of a prolific offender who refused treatment and offers housing assistance. RCMP arrested Justin Wayne Collins, 45, on Sunday for assault, mischief, theft of mail and violation of probation. The following day he appeared before the courts and was released on parole. The Mounties then issued a public warning. The case prompted Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran to speak out and demand systemic change from the provincial government. But the BCCLA argues that involuntary treatment is not the answer. “Health experts know that the evidence does not support Eby’s dangerous thoughts. All the evidence is clear that involuntary drug treatment can cause great harm – even death – and does not save lives,” McDermott wrote. He calls Eby’s comments an attempt to score political points for his leadership campaign “misleading, unethical and reckless.” Before being elected as MLA for Vancouver-Point Gray in 2013, David Eby was the executive director of the Civil Liberties Union of BC from 2008 to 2012.
