Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

THIELMANN -- Build the integrated recovery-programs desperately needed to address the crises overflowing from the streets into our hospitals

The following commentary was written by Tim Thielmann, Conservative Party of BC candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill. With his permission, it is shared here:


A nurse called me last night to share her experience dealing with drug users inside a lower mainland tertiary care centre where she’s worked over the last year and a half.

Not only can patients bring their drugs inside, staff are expected to provide lockboxes for safekeeping! They then smoke or shoot up in parking lots, bathrooms, and even inside emergency rooms filled with extremely vulnerable patients.

She tells me nurses are left without any guidance or tools whatsoever to deal with the chaos.

Staff can’t take the drugs away. There are no limits to how much drugs or alcohol can be consumed, leading, naturally, to verbal abuse, physical assaults, and on-site overdoses.

Nurses are being exposed to fentanyl smoke, triggering vomiting, illnesses, and several on sick & stress leave. It’s not that they don’t care.

They do!

In fact, doctors know that there aren’t appropriate mental health and recovery facilities available, so they’re slow to release patients back to the streets. This turns hospital beds into makeshift shelters instead of addressing sure care needs.

This mayhem is EXACTLY what the NDP and the BCU asked for last year when they worked with Justin Trudeau to decriminalized hard drugs in BC.

It’s why the status quo is not helping anybody. Not the people trapped in the downward spiral of addiction, trauma and abuse. And not the nurses, doctors, and other frontline workers who haven’t been trained or equipped for it.

BC Conservatives will end the decriminalization of hard rugs. We need to protect and equip our dedicated healthcare workers. And we need to build the integrated recovery-programs desperately needed to address the crises overflowing from the streets into our hospitals.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

BC Conservatives Point to Warning Signs in BC’s Economy

While Canada posted modest job gains in July, warning lights are still flashing in British Columbia. Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, leaving too many first-time jobseekers shut out of the workforce. BC also lost 3,400 public administration jobs in July, likely as temporary Census positions ended. “BC's jobs divide remains stark. Unemployment is far higher in business-driven communities like Kelowna (9.3%) and Abbotsford-Mission (8.3%) than in Victoria (5.0%). Government should be focused on creating the conditions for private-sector investment and job growth,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission and Shadow Minister for Economic Development. “We need an economy where young people can find work, businesses can hire, and every region has the opportunity to prosper.” This comes as BC faces five straight quarters where more businesses are closing than opening, an NDP cabinet rift over job-creating projects like Tilbury LNG, and fresh signs that even the province's to...

Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries. In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction. Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue. Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said...

FORSETH: Without a strong local presence, there is NO reason for anyone to tune in to local(?) radio

LOCAL HOMETOWN RADIO IS DYING … and without serious measures put in place, it will likely never see the light of day again. For well over four decades, the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) has presided over its’ demise, and for that I say, “Shame”. Without out a word to say enough was enough, the CRTC has allowed corporate Canada to buy up one radio station after the other, and then allowed them to slash staff to the point where some so-called local radio stations do nothing more than air programming that originates from communities well outside the region in which they are located. Case in point?   On CHNL* 610 in Kamloops, the morning show hosted by Vinnie and Randi, DOES NOT originate from Kamloops -- it doesn’t even originate here in BC. It’s a program that Stingray airs across multiple radio stations in Western Canada. It doesn’t end there. Not only are Vinnie and Rando doing mornings on CHNL, but they also show up on sister station Country 103 … and of course o...

Labels

Show more