Under the heavy gray skies that often blanket Vancouver in December, nearly 300 protesters gathered outside the provincial legislature last week. Their voices carried across the rain-slicked grounds as they challenged Bill 92, which would expand British Columbia’s involuntary treatment laws for people experiencing mental health and substance use crises.
“They’re calling it care, but forced treatment is violence,” said Samantha Chen, who held a sign reading “Consent Matters in Healthcare Too.” Chen spent three weeks under involuntary psychiatric care in 2021. “I wasn’t allowed to refuse medication that gave me tremors so bad I couldn’t hold a pen. Nobody listened when I tried to explain what I was experiencing.”
The demonstration marked the largest organized resistance to date against the province’s controversial mental health reform package introduced this fall. The coalition of protesters included disability rights advocates, civil liberties organizations, and people with lived experience of mental health challenges and substance use.
The new legislation, if passed, would lower the threshold for involuntary admission, extending the ability to detain individuals to paramedics and specialized crisis response teams. It would also lengthen allowable detention periods from 48 hours to 14 days for initial assessment.
Provincial Health Minister Dr. Eleanor Richards defended the bill in a press conference, citing a provincial health authority report showing emergency room visits for mental health crises have increased 38% since 2020.
“Families are desperate. They’re watching loved ones deteriorate while struggling to access timely care,” Richards said. “This legislation provides the tools to intervene earlier and prevent tragedy.”
But Dr. Mei-Ling Wong, psychiatrist and professor at the University of British Columbia, questions this approach. “The evidence simply doesn’t support that coercive treatment leads to better long-term outcomes,” she explained when I spoke with her at her campus office. “In fact, studies from jurisdictions with similar expanded powers show increased trauma and healthcare avoidance afterwards.”
Wong referenced a 2024 systematic review in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that found involuntary treatment often led to damaged therapeutic relationships and higher rates of future service avoidance.
The debate extends beyond medical efficacy into legal territory. The BC Civil Liberties Association has publicly stated the bill likely violates protections under both the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Canada ratified in 2010.
For Indigenous communities, the legislation carries additional concerns. “This continues colonial patterns of control over Indigenous bodies and minds,” said James Williams, health coordinator with the First Nations Health Authority, who attended the protest. “Our communities already face disproportionate rates of involuntary treatment. Expanding these powers without addressing systemic racism in healthcare will only deepen harm.”
Williams noted Indigenous people are twice as likely to be involuntarily admitted compared to non-Indigenous patients, according to Health Authority data from 2023.
The protesters presented a different vision for mental health reform. Their coalition released a detailed alternative proposal emphasizing expanded voluntary services, peer support networks, and housing-first approaches.
“When I was in crisis, what helped wasn’t being forced into treatment—it was finally getting stable housing and community supports,” explained Darius Mirza, now a peer support worker who helps others navigate mental health challenges. “I was lucky to find a program with open beds. Most people aren’t.”
British Columbia currently has approximately 2,800 mental health and addiction treatment beds—a number mental health advocates say represents less than half the needed capacity. Waitlists for voluntary residential treatment average 3-6 months according to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions’ own reports.
As rain began falling more heavily, the protesters moved their rally into the covered courtyard. Inside, they formed discussion circles, sharing stories of both harmful experiences with forced treatment and positive encounters with community-based care models.
Seventy-two-year-old Margaret Wilson described how her son, diagnosed with schizophrenia, thrived after finding a supportive housing program that didn’t make medication compliance mandatory. “They treated him like a whole person with agency, not just a collection of symptoms to manage,” Wilson said, wiping tears. “That respect made all the difference in him choosing to engage with treatment.”
The province’s approach comes amid a broader national conversation about mental health care reform. Three other provinces—Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec—are considering similar involuntary treatment expansions, while Nova Scotia recently pivoted toward increasing voluntary outreach services after public consultation.
“We’re witnessing a critical moment that will determine whether Canada moves toward more coercion or more compassion in mental health care,” said Leila Ahmadi, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Rights Coalition. “The evidence strongly suggests compassion works better.”
Bill 92 enters committee review next week, with a final vote expected before the holiday recess. Both sides expect continued debate, with health officials promising amendments to address some concerns while maintaining the bill’s core provisions.
As the protest dispersed, Chen carefully folded her sign. “I’m not against all treatment—I take medication now, voluntarily,” she emphasized. “I’m against losing your rights because you’re in crisis. That’s when we need more care and dignity, not less.”
