Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Opposition Critic for Mental Health, Addictions, and Housing Supports says the ongoing controversy surrounding the proposed overdose prevention site in Vancouver highlights a growing frustration from communities across British Columbia: government continues to repeat the same strategies while expecting different outcomes."British Columbians are exhausted,” said Rattée. "After nearly a decade under a declared public health emergency and more than 18,000 lives lost, people are asking a simple question: where is the comprehensive plan?”Rattée emphasized that municipalities must be treated as partners, not obstacles, when decisions are made about overdose prevention sites and related services."Local governments are on the ground every single day dealing with the realities of this crisis. They understand the impacts on residents, businesses, first responders, and vulnerable people in their communities. The province cannot continue to steamroll municipal leaders and dismiss legitimate concerns from the people closest to the issue.”The proposed Vancouver site has reignited debate around public safety, community consultation, and the province’s broader drug policy approach. Previous overdose prevention sites in Vancouver have faced significant pushback from nearby residents and businesses over safety and neighbourhood impacts.  Rattée said overdose prevention sites alone cannot be treated as the centrepiece of the province’s response while critical gaps in treatment and recovery remain unaddressed.  “What good is an overdose prevention site if someone survives an overdose but still cannot access detox, treatment, recovery beds, housing supports, or long-term mental health care afterward?” said Rattée. "Meeting people where they are is important, but we also need to help people move forward from where they are.”She also pointed to the lack of mandatory care capacity in Vancouver, the region most severely impacted by the toxic drug crisis, as evidence the province continues to operate without a truly integrated strategy.“We continue to hear announcements about harm reduction, but where are the mandatory care beds?” Where are the long-term treatment spaces? Where are the recovery supports for families who are desperately trying to save loved ones who are incapable of making decisions for themselves because of severe mental illness, brain injury, or addiction?”Rattée said British Columbia needs a balanced and holistic approach that includes prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery, housing, mental health services, and compassionate intervention for those who cannot seek help on their own.“This crisis will not be solved by ideology,” said Rattée. "We cannot keep cycling people through the same system while hoping for a different result. British Columbians deserve a government willing to adapt, listen to communities, and build a strategy focused not just on keeping people alive for another day, but helping them recover and rebuild their lives.”