B.C. opens new units in promised expansion of involuntary care for mental health, addictions, brain injury

British Columbia’s premier says the ongoing toxic drug crisis in the province has led to a cohort of people with serious brain injuries who are too deep in their addiction and mental-health crisis to ask for help.“And so, what happens is they continually cycle in and out of prisons, involvement in crime, and then back into prison and they don’t get better. They just continually struggle and often then ultimately die,” David Eby said Thursday as he announced the opening of a 10-unit facility in the Surrey Pretrial Centre that will treat people who meet that criteria, whether they want it or not.Eby said the facility is the first of its kind in Canada and will provide involuntary care for those at the jail who are in a mental-health crisis with overlapping brain injuries and addiction concerns.