I did an event in Kelowna on Saturday and there was a lot of talk about involuntary care so I wrote this last night Here's my question to every politician pushing involuntary treatment: If you genuinely want people to recover, why are you more focused on forcing them into treatment than addressing the conditions that make recovery so difficult in the first place? I'm not speaking from a textbook or a political talking point. I'm speaking from lived experience. I've lived through homelessness, poverty, trauma, mental health struggles, addiction and systems that were supposed to help but too often failed. I know firsthand that you cannot simply force someone to want a different life, and I know how difficult it is to move forward when you're struggling just to survive. You cannot force someone into stability. You have to create the conditions that make stability possible. Where are your guarantees of safe, affordable housing? Where are the meaningful employment opportunities? Where is the accessible counselling, mental health care and long-term support? Treatment doesn't erase poverty, It doesn't put a roof over someone's head, it doesn't magically create employment, heal trauma or give someone a sense of purpose. And sending someone back into the same circumstances that contributed to their struggles isn't a plan for lasting recovery, it's actually insanity. So here's my challenge to every politician advocating involuntary treatment: Before you tell the public how many people you want to force into treatment, tell us how many people you're willing to help build a future for. How many homes will you provide? How many employment opportunities will you create? What long-term support will you guarantee? And most importantly, have you actually listened to the people who have lived through what you're making policies about? Because the DATA doesn't support success from forcing people. They need dignity, they need choices, they need stability, they need hope, and they need a genuine opportunity to build a better life. Stop asking how to force people into recovery. Start asking what you're doing to make recovery possible. Are you trying to change people's lives, or just remove the visible evidence of the problems you've failed to address?

Every time I say “housing is a human right,” someone screams, “I don't want my taxes paying for someone else's housing!” I hate to break it to you, but your taxes are already paying for homelessness. Emergency shelters, hospitals, policing, courts, jails, and crisis services. We're spending billions managing the consequences of people having nowhere to live. So here's my question: If you're so concerned about your tax dollars, why are you more comfortable paying to manage homelessness than investing in ending it? Refusing to fund housing doesn't mean you stop paying, it means you keep paying for the crisis. You can't call yourself fiscally responsible while ignoring the cost of doing nothing.

I’m having Déjà vu … it feels like 2024 all over again, with the new B.C. Conservative leader showing a fundamental lack of understanding about the toxic drug crisis just like John Rustad did. And his candidates are spreading misinformation just like they did two years ago. “It’s election time, better start punching down on people with mental health and substance use issues!” Here’s something different though: B.C.’s current drug policies seem to be working. Not the stellar wedge issue you think it is #BCpoli.

You’re showing your ignorance Margareta. No one is suppressing anything. The problems are well known, it’s a declared public health emergency in BC. Every province in Canada and every state in the U.S. continues to invest millions trying to solve this incredibly complex problem. There are many tools in play: enforcement, prevention, harm reduction, detox, treatment, but no place has solved it. One thing we do know: posting dehumanizing photos doesn’t help. (Well, I guess Gavin thinks it will help him get elected.)

Yesterday in Costco, I heard, “Mr. Felicella?” It was a retired judge who had dealt with me in court years ago. She told me she’d been following my recovery, called what I’ve accomplished “nothing short of a miracle,” and said she was a big fan. Years ago, I stood in front of her because my life was falling apart. Yesterday, she stood in front of me celebrating what my life had become. Never underestimate what recovery can make possible. ❤️

As a person in recovery who has changed his life and now spends his time helping others find their own pathway to recovery, I find this deeply troubling. Addiction should NEVER be used as a political weapon. Spreading misinformation about addiction, harm reduction and recovery doesn’t just score political points, it hurts real people. It stigmatizes people struggling right now, dismisses those working toward recovery and undermines the people and organizations doing this work every single day. There ARE pathways out of addiction. I’m living proof of that. We should be bringing people together around evidence, lived experience, compassion and solutions, not politicizing a crisis that is already taking far too many lives. People struggling with addiction deserve better than being used as political props! #bcpoli