QUESTION PERIOD: MLA Michelle Mungall asks about lack of mental health services in BC

The thing is that the government's own report was completed a year ago, and they've had plenty of time to act with meaningful programs since then. In fact, they've had 14 years to act. They've had 14 years to actually support people with mental illness. Instead, they've gone the other direction, and what we see on the streets of our communities around this province is people with mental illnesses not getting the supports that they need and being criminalized as a result. This is not the answer that British Columbians want in this province. They want to see meaningful action. They want to see a fulsome action going right across this province, not one-off solutions, not minimal approaches to this issue. It's being felt across the province. In Nelson last year the Nelson police department received 1,050 calls related to mental health. That's up more than 6 percent from the year before. The Liberals' failure to invest in the mental health services British Columbians need is driving up the cost of policing for communities right across this province. Worse, it's leaving vulnerable people without the supports they need. Doesn't the Minister of Justice see that there is a serious problem here that needs to be fixed and that we need to stop with the more expensive solutions and start doing things that are less expensive and better for mental health patients?