SONIA Furstenau, Leader of the BC Green Party, on Tuesday slammed both the BC Conservative and the NDP’s mental health platforms.

She said in a statement: ““The BC Conservatives mental health platform released today is a masterclass in cruelty disguised as care. Their ‘BC Recovers’ plan claims to be ‘grounded in compassion and science,’ but it delivers neither.

“John Rustad offers a plan that plays on people’s fears and frustrations, but it won’t fix anything. All he knows how to do is break things and then complain when they’re broken.

“There is no meaningful engagement with the root causes of BC’s intersecting crises – rising homelessness, untreated mental health issues, or the deadly toxic drug supply killing six people every day. Instead of offering solutions, they ignore the decades of underinvestment in housing, mental health, and social services that brought us here.

“Rustad, who was an MLA when Riverview was closed with no plan for replacement, helped create the very conditions that led to this crisis. He was in cabinet when the BC Liberals fought teachers all the way to the Supreme Court to deprive them of funding for Educational Assistants and mental health counsellors – a battle they eventually lost.”

Furstenau said that the BC Greens were the only party offering real solutions, with regulated pharmaceutical alternatives, housing security, and meaningful investment in mental health services.

She added: “We know we can’t arrest or treat our way out of this crisis. John Rustad and David Eby fail to support the evidence-based actions needed to save lives. Their plans will only cause more harm and instability in our communities.”