A former RCMP officer now elected to the B.C. legislature is set to introduce a private members’ bill on Wednesday in response to the tragic death of a Vancouver police constable.
Global News has learned the family of VPD Const. Nicole Chan will be in Victoria to watch BC Liberal South Surrey MLA Elenore Sturko introduce the bill.
The bill is expected to propose changes to the Mental Health Act aimed at better protecting people in crisis and helping to prevent suicide deaths.
Chan, a nearly 10-year member of the VPD, took her own life in January 2019.
She was apprehended under the Mental Health Act the night before her death, but was released from Vancouver General Hospital’s Access and Assessment centre after about just 80 minutes.
An inquest into her death in January heard from her then-boyfriend paramedics and police, who testified they thought her release was a mistake given her previous history of suicide attempts.
One officer told the inquest that Chan, as an experienced police officer, knew what to tell hospital staff to get them to release her.
The attending psychiatrist testified that he didn’t have access to all of the relevant information about her case, and that he couldn’t legally hold her against her will.
The coroners inquest made a dozen recommendations in response to Chan’s death.
Among them were a call for the Access and Assessment Centre to ensure admitting doctors have direct contact with police, paramedics or family and friends in attendance when someone presents to the facility.
The inquest also recommended the hospital ensure doctors’ ability to access patients’ historical information from all sources, noting testimony suggesting better access to Chan’s file might have helped her assessment.
And it recommended the facility develop a process to make sure the attending doctor can take phone calls from community health providers, after hearing evidence from witnesses that connecting with attending physicians this way is difficult.
Sources say Sturko’s bill, if passed, would require an admitting doctor to take reasonable steps to consult a relative or another person with first-hand knowledge before making the decision to release someone who is in crisis and was admitted under the Mental Health Act.
The bill, however, will likely face significant hurdles. It is extremely rare for private members bills to be called for debate, and even more rare for them to become law.
With files from Rumina Daya
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 9-1-1 for immediate help.
For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention at suicideprevention.ca.
Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.