Northern Beat’s Rob Shaw sat down with newly-elected Skeena MLA Claire Rattée during her first week at the B.C. legislature to discuss her new critic portfolio and thoughts on being elected to office.
NB: I’m interested in what it’s like for you to land here, walk into this building and take a seat in the legislature.
Rattée: It’s definitely a little bit overwhelming. I’ve been working at this for such a long time that I’m more excited than anything else.
NB: Is it what you were hoping for?
Rattée: I think that remains to be seen. After today, maybe I think it will be. It’s interesting, all the different aspects of doing this job effectively. I do think this is what I’m going to be the most excited for, is actually when the legislature is sitting and getting to speak to the government directly and ask them questions about things and try and hold them to account. That’s really what drew me towards this initially.
Personal experience ‘drew me towards politics’
NB: Your critic portfolio (mental health and additions), tell me about what it means to you and what you hope to do with it?
Rattée: Yeah, it was a big portion of why I got involved in politics in the first place was just because of my own experiences with mental health and addictions. I’m a recovered addict. I used to be homeless on the Downtown Eastside. So for me, getting out of that place, getting to where I am now, it was a really big push for me to want to get more involved with my community and to give back.
“Getting out of that place, getting to where I am now [motivated] me… to give back.”
There were two different things that really drew me towards politics. It was that, the social aspects, and then obviously the economic aspects, because I’m also an entrepreneur.
When I first was on city council in Kitimat, that was a big focus for me around affordable housing and getting an emergency weather shelter and things like that.
I just think that with the way things are going right now, with mental health and addictions in this province, in this country in general, what better time to have somebody that has lived experience that can actually speak to the struggles that people are going through, and have solutions that could work based on my experiences and what I’ve gone through.
So I was really grateful for the opportunity to have this critic portfolio. I’m grateful that John [Rustad] saw that I’d be capable.
Government has ‘tunnel vision’ on harm reduction
NB: What do you think government should do?
Rattée: The biggest thing for me right now is that they have got basically tunnel vision for harm reduction measures, and there’s really been no focus paid on harm prevention. The narrative that it’s pushing, in my opinion, is almost one of if you’re an addict, you’re always going to be an addict, and so we just need to make sure you can do it in the safest way possible. Rather than looking at it as we can help you get clean, we can help you turn your life around.
That’s where I think that my story is important, because it helps to show people that you can get there and that you can accomplish something and you can really turn your life around. If somebody would have told me 15 years ago that I’d be in this position, I don’t think anybody in my life would have believed them.
So I think that it’s important to focus on harm prevention. We don’t have enough access to treatment facilities. That’s just full stop. We do not have access to treatment facilities in this province. It’s absolutely disgusting, in my opinion. You’re just feeding people free drugs and trying to keep them high and not giving them a way out, a path out of that life. That is just not right, particularly for people in my riding, they have no access to anything…
“You’re just feeding people free drugs and trying to keep them high and not giving them… a path out of that life.”
Another big one is the way that they handle detox, because they’re not handling it properly at all. So one of the big issues right now with the system that we have is that detox and treatment are two completely separate things, and they’re not being looked at holistically as the same program. We should have ratios, bed to bed, it should be a seamless transition. You should go from detox into treatment.
NB: Without the wait times, and falling through the cracks?
Rattée: Exactly, because what happens is people go and use again. I know that from experience. I did. I got on detox. They told me it was going to be a couple weeks before I got into treatment. They said, you know, make sure you stay clean, because if they can tell that you’ve used you’re not getting into the treatment centre once your name comes up on the list.
First thing I did, I went and did drugs. Thankfully, back then, it was not nearly as dangerous as it is today. But I think that, honestly, is why we’re seeing such high rates of overdose. Because if you go through detox, you spend a couple weeks there, you’re physically non-dependent on a drug anymore, but mentally you’re still in the same place.
And then they turn you back out onto the street.
What are you going to do? You’re going to go, and you’re going to use, because you’re going to go and search out your old friends, you’re going to go to the same places as you used to go. You’re homeless in many of these situations.
You are probably going to go and use, and if you use like you did before you went into detox, guess what? You’re going to overdose.
Detox without treatment is dangerous
NB: Because your tolerance has gone down and you’re using again?
Rattée: Absolutely. So it’s actually dangerous to put in detox facilities without treatment, and that’s exactly what this government’s proposing they do in my riding, they’re saying they’re gonna fund detox and not treatment.
NB: Is that like (Premier David) Eby’s idea for an integrated, seamless (addictions) approach?
Rattée: One hundred per cent, that’s what we need. But it’s not being rolled out in my riding, it’s not being rolled out in most of this province. It’s dangerous to send people to detox without treatment afterwards in most situations. Obviously, there’ll be exceptions to that. There’ll be people that just need to get clean and they’re okay and they’re in a good mental space. Pretty unlikely. So it’s actually dangerous in a lot of ways.
Coming from a place of understanding
NB: Do you feel like we’re at a time now for change?
Rattée: I don’t know yet, because I think we’re not really going to see that until we actually get to speak to the government in the legislature.
I don’t really know at this point if they’re willing to try and work with us. I would certainly hope that, at least on this issue, which should not be – and I hate that it has to be right now to try and get something done about it, to draw attention to it – but I would hope that they would look at somebody like me and think, okay there’s somebody that’s willing, that has experience, that understands these struggles.
I continue to do outreach work, I stay involved in those communities, that’s important to me. Those are people that I care about. Those people are me. It’s not like I’m coming at it from a place of not understanding.
Those are people that I care about. Those people are me.
When they try and say that you’re fear mongering or stigmatizing or whatever, that’s not me. You can’t say that to me.
So I would hope that they would look at that and think, okay maybe she has something valid to bring to the table. Maybe her ideas might be good. Maybe we need to listen to her. I’m not gonna hold my breath. I highly doubt it.
Note: This transcript was edited for space and clarity