KELOWNA, BC — Conservative Party of BC candidates Gavin Dew (Kelowna-Mission) and Kristina Loewen (Kelowna Centre) issued the following statement after David Eby promised up to $90 million for mandatory care at the Okanagan Correctional Centre, a measure Okanagan municipal leaders and Conservatives have pushed for years.

Gavin Dew, Conservative Party of BC candidate for Kelowna-Mission

“For years, Okanagan municipal leaders and Conservatives in the Legislature have called for mandatory care at the Okanagan Correctional Centre. Families pleaded for help. Communities demanded action. David Eby had every chance to listen, and he failed to act.

“So what changed? Not the crisis, and not the need. The only thing that’s changed is that David Eby is losing an election.

“Of course we welcome this commitment. But this wasn’t David Eby’s idea. It was a practical, common-sense solution from local leaders who were tired of watching people suffer while existing facilities sat underused.

“Eby is now promising up to $90 million. So where’s the timeline? How many treatment beds? Where are the health care professionals to staff them? An election promise isn’t a treatment bed.

“David Eby will promise anything to anyone to hang on to power, and after years of excuses, delays and broken promises, people don’t trust him anymore. The Okanagan deserves strong leadership for serious times, not another desperate election promise.”

Kristina Loewen, Conservative Party of BC candidate for Kelowna Centre

“Behind this debate are real people and families who are struggling, often with nowhere to turn. There’s nothing compassionate about leaving someone with severe addiction or mental illness on the street, or leaving their family powerless to help.

“Real compassion means a full spectrum of care: detox, voluntary treatment, rehabilitation, and secure, medically supervised care when someone can’t make safe decisions for themselves. The goal is to help people get well, bring families back together and make our communities safer.

“Municipal leaders, health care professionals and families across the Okanagan have been saying this for years, and so have we. I’m glad David Eby is finally listening. It shouldn’t have taken an election campaign.”

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