Mayor Sim accuses B.C. government of failing Vancouver on mental health crisis | Daily Hive

Mayor Ken Sim accuses B.C. government of failing Vancouver on mental health and addictions crisis

Ken Sim. (Ken Sim)

Mayor Ken Sim is accusing the BC NDP-led government of overlooking Vancouver, after the provincial government last week announced plans for 132 new involuntary mental health and addictions treatment beds in Surrey and Prince George.

The provincial government will spend up to $149 million renovating and expanding two properties into secure treatment facilities for people with severe mental illness, addictions, and brain injuries. The projects are expected to open in phases between late 2027 and the end of 2028.

However, none of the newly announced beds will be located within Vancouver’s municipal borders — the epicentre of the mental health and addictions crisis not only in British Columbia, but in Canada. This has prompted Sim to renew his demand for the provincial government to establish involuntary care capacity within the city.

You might also like:

“Once again, the Province has chosen to ignore the city carrying the greatest burden of British Columbia’s addiction, mental health, and public safety crises,” Sim said in an unusually pointed statement issued today.

The mayor argued Vancouver has been disproportionately affected by the province’s overlapping mental health, addictions, and public safety challenges, but has not received the treatment infrastructure needed to respond.

He said nearly two years have passed since Premier David Eby committed to expanding involuntary care following calls from municipal leaders, including Vancouver’s elected officials.

According to Sim, Vancouver has yet to receive any new beds arising from that commitment.

“The Province cannot continue to acknowledge the need for involuntary care while refusing to build the very infrastructure required in the community where the need is greatest,” continued the mayor.

While there is also an urgency for expanded involuntary care capacity, it will take the provincial government up to two years to fully implement the announced beds.

Under the provincial government’s announcement, an existing property at 6833-6869 King George Blvd. in Surrey’s Newton area will be renovated into a secure 60-bed mental health and addictions treatment facility. This building was previously the facility of John Volken Academy — a long-term residential addiction recovery program that was forced by the provincial government to close in 2025 due to apparent issues with its operational standards.

The Surrey project is being developed with Fraser Health Authority, Provincial Health Services Authority, and other entities, and has a budget of up to $57 million. It is expected to open in Spring 2028.

A second facility in Prince George will provide another 72 beds, including 60 within existing buildings — replacing a former youth corrections facility — and 12 in a new purpose-built addition. That project has a budget of up to $92 million. Construction is expected to begin in September 2026. The first 24 beds are scheduled to open by December 2027, followed by the remaining beds by the end of 2028.

John Volken Academy 6833-6869 King George Boulevard Surrey

Site of the former John Volken Academy at 6833-6869 King George Blvd., Surrey. (Google Maps)

Both facilities will provide treatment and rehabilitation for people with some of the province’s most complex mental health and addictions issues. Patients could enter voluntarily or be admitted involuntarily under B.C.’s Mental Health Act when they are considered too unwell to seek care themselves.

According to the provincial government, the 132 beds will supplement more than 2,000 existing mental health beds across B.C. that can accommodate people admitted involuntarily. Recently added services include beds at the Pretrial Services Centre in Surrey and Spiritwood Homes in Maple Ridge.

Eby said the new facilities are intended to give people specialized care while reducing the number of vulnerable people left untreated in public spaces.

“Whether people come to care voluntarily or are unable to ask for help, no one should be left in our streets when they are at their most vulnerable. By helping people onto a path to recovery, we can build safer communities while giving more people the opportunity to heal,” said the premier.

Sim, however, said the decision reflects what he sees as an imbalance between the provincial government’s investments in harm reduction and its commitment to treatment and recovery services in Vancouver.

Mayor asserts broken promises on relocating Granville Strip’s SRO residents

Sim’s statement also linked the issue to disputes between the municipal and provincial governments in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup.

The mayor alleged the provincial government failed to follow through on commitments to relocate residents of single-room-occupancy (SRO) hotels in Downtown Vancouver’s Granville Entertainment District before the tournament.

“The Province failed to relocate the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) population along the Granville Entertainment District that they had committed to in the lead-up to the games and as many residents and businesses had hoped,” said the mayor.

He also criticized provincial efforts to establish an overdose prevention site (OPS) at 900 Helmcken St. — immediately across the street from the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel, which is B.C.’s largest hotel, and near the temporary Granville Street Pedestrian Zone — without meaningful consultation with residents and businesses. Just weeks ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) announced the location on May 5, stating that the lease would start on June 1 and that they anticipated services to begin very shortly after.

The criticism follows the highly-documented increases in crime, public disorder, and public safety concerns stemming from the previous locations for this OPS, particularly at St. Paul’s Hospital’s Thurlow Street parking lot and the subsequent location closer to Yaletown.

In late May, in response to weeks of public backlash, the plans to open the OPS were “paused,” but that has not been enough to reassure those who remain concerned that it could open after the October 2026 civic election. The provincial government and VCH maintain that there are currently no plans to open the OPS at 900 Helmcken St.

“When it comes to locating drug consumption services, Premier Eby and the Province push to place them in Vancouver,” the mayor’s statement said.

“When it comes to providing treatment, recovery, and involuntary care for those suffering from the most severe mental illness and addiction in Vancouver, Premier Eby and the Province do nothing.”

Proposed OPS location at 900 Helmcken St., Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

900 helmcken street vancouver coastal health ops

Perspective from the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel’s courtyard; proposed OPS location at 900 Helmcken St., Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

Mayor Sim warns the City is prepared to take new measures

Sim warned that the municipal government could be forced to consider “every available option” if the provincial government continues to exclude Vancouver from its expansion of involuntary care. His statement did not specify what actions the municipal government might pursue.

“If the Province continues to exclude Vancouver from involuntary care, the City will have to consider every available option to ensure the health and safety of all Vancouverites,” said the mayor.

After receiving much political pressure, the expansion of involuntary treatment has been a growing part of the Eby government’s response to public concern about untreated mental illness, addictions, and repeated incidents involving people experiencing severe psychiatric distress.

The provincial government notes that it is also examining future bed capacity in other parts of B.C., although it has not announced whether Vancouver is among the locations being considered.

“I am calling on Premier Eby to immediately commit to establishing involuntary care beds in Vancouver and to work with the City to ensure those suffering from severe mental illness and addiction have access to treatment where it is needed most,” said Sim.

“The status quo is failing vulnerable people, failing neighbourhoods, and failing Vancouver. Enough is enough.”

You might also like: