“This Isn’t Harm Reduction — It’s Harm Denial”: MLA Claire Rattée and MLA Elenore Sturko Slam Government’s Hypocritical Stance on Recovery

Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, is calling out the provincial government for what she describes as a “dangerously defeatist” and hypocritical approach to addiction recovery — following a Ministry of Health update that confirmed patients are not told about recovery-based treatment options unless they explicitly ask.

“This government would never take this approach with cancer, diabetes, or even vaccinations — imagine if we told patients we’d only offer vaccines if they specifically requested them,” said Rattée. “By that logic, should we be launching massive education campaigns to schoolchildren warning them that if they ever try drugs, they’re doomed? That there’s no hope? That recovery isn’t even worth talking about?”

In a June 4 news release, the Ministry of Health reiterated its stance that individuals in the healthcare system are not proactively informed about abstinence-based recovery unless they request it. Critics argue that this policy — when paired with open drug use in so-called “supportive” housing — amounts to government-sanctioned hopelessness.

Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale and the Official Opposition Critic for Public Safety and Solicitor General, says the policy confirms what families have been afraid of for years.

“We’ve heard from countless parents, siblings, and friends who say the system never once talked to their loved ones about recovery. Not once,” said Sturko. “This government has abandoned its responsibility to elevate people’s health and safety, showing that they are not creating a recovery-oriented system of care.”

The BC Conservative Caucus is calling for a complete overhaul of the province’s addictions strategy — including a shift toward a treatment-first approach, a ban on drug use in government-funded supportive housing, and the immediate inclusion of recovery options in every point of care.

“This is not harm reduction. It’s harm denial,” said Rattée. “People deserve to be offered a path to healing. They deserve more than to be handed hydromorphone and left to die in a shelter hallway. This government isn’t reducing harm — it’s institutionalising it.”

The Official Opposition is demanding immediate transparency from the Ministry of Health regarding how many patients have been offered — or denied — recovery options in the past five years, and is renewing its call for compassionate intervention legislation that would support individuals unable to care for themselves due to severe addiction or mental illness.

“Our most vulnerable citizens need our help the most,” said Rattée. “It’s not compassionate to tell them there’s nothing we can do unless they beg for it. That’s not care. That’s cowardice.”