Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA A'aliya Warbus tells heart-breaking personal story in B.C. legislature

Warbus spoke in question period about her two brothers, a niece and a nephew who died from toxic drugs – This is the full text of the exchange today between Warbus and Health Minister Josie Osborne

New MLA A'aliya Warbus, who is also the Opposition House Leader, put new Health Minister Josie Osborne in an awkward spot in the B.C. legislature a few hours ago as she recounted her own family's personal stories of loss to the ongoing toxic drug crisis.

Warbus, who is the daughter of former lieutenant-governor Steven Point, spoke during question period about what she called the “failed experiment of safe supply” and she called for a public inquiry.

In addition to the death of two brothers, she said her niece “died alone in a tent” while her 13-old-nephew found a wallet with drugs in it, which he took and died while his mother was asleep in the next room.

“He was not an addict.”

The following is the full exchange between Warbus and Osborne at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. These are taken from the blues published quickly on the government's website, so there may be some errors in transcription.

• Á’a:líya Warbus: Last week I attended a memorial for my brother who died one year ago from a lethal dose of drugs. He lost his life because this government has not only failed to stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities; they then inflated the market with so-called safe supply or safer supply. Or is it prescribed alternatives?

The fact is, no matter how this government chooses to rebrand today or tomorrow, all drugs are lethal in the hands of vulnerable people who need real solutions now. Empty words by this Premier.

The fact is that no matter how this government chooses to rebrand today or tomorrow, all drugs are lethal in the hands of vulnerable people who need real solutions now.

Empty words by this Premier will not bring back my loved ones. So instead, my question is: will the Premier take action and call a public inquiry into the failed experiment of safe supply?

• Hon. Josie Osborne: First, I want to pass on my sincere condolences to the Opposition House Leader. It's unbelievable. It's so difficult to imagine what it must be like to go through losing a family member. I am so sorry to hear about it.

I think this is the kind of impact we are hearing here in this House, that we know has touched the lives of so many families and people, communities across British Columbia, which is why we take this issue so seriously and have made it one of our top priorities as a government to bring down the rate of deaths and to stop the harm of the toxic drug supply and the impact that it has on people.

Prescribed alternatives are one way of helping people get the medicine that they need to stabilize their lives, to get access to more supports that they need to move into different forms of therapy, and to ultimately get a treatment bed to get the recovery and work on the healing that they need. Evidence supports this approach.

We have made changes, as announced yesterday, around how this program will work so that we can continue to work with the best evidence possible, working with clinicians and prescribers, with community service organizations, to make patient-centred, people-centred decisions and to help people get the care and the support that they need.

• Á’a:líya Warbus: Respectfully, my family has already paid an unsurmountable price during this crisis. Not only did it take two of my brothers, but also my niece, who died alone in a tent in one of the tent cities from an overdose by herself. And just last fall, we buried my 13-year-old nephew because he found a wallet with drugs in it, which he did that night in his bed while his mom slept in the next room. He was not an addict.

We are not alone in this. We know that 16,328 people have died. Do not round the numbers down when you're talking about lives. Sixteen thousand, three hundred and twenty-eight families that will not get their loved ones back, their children, their parents and their spouses. Our children and our youth are our future, and they are dying because of this crisis.

Again, to the Premier, will you call a public inquiry to expose who knew what when, be truly transparent and accountable to the family members and the communities that deserve to know and prevent the massive loss of precious life that we are experiencing as a community and as British Columbians?

• Hon. Josie Osborne: Once again, the Opposition House Leader is revealing very personal details around the impact on her family. I want to acknowledge that this crisis has touched Indigenous peoples in particular in a very disproportionate way and that the trauma that Indigenous people have lived with and the difficulty of accessing health care altogether is all part of this and why we have to stay focused on the work that we are doing with everybody, to support them in substance use disorders, in addiction issues, mental health issues, all together.

Yesterday we made a decision to make changes to the prescribed alternatives program specifically to prevent diversion, to prevent these medicines from getting into the wrong hands and being used in the wrong way. They are intended to be used by the people for whom they are prescribed only. In using this program, we know that people are being better connected to services, being stabilized, finding housing, finding work.

This morning, I met with AVI Health and Community Services Society, and I heard directly from them about the 400 people that they have helped here on Vancouver Island through witnessed consumption of prescribed alternatives. They told some very compelling stories and very heartwarming stories.

Health Services Society, and I heard directly from them about the 400 people that they have helped here on Vancouver Island through witnessed consumption of prescribed alternatives. They told some very compelling stories and very heartwarming stories around what this has meant for people.

We have to act on evidence. We have to act with compassion. We're going to continue to do this work to get people the supports they need.

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Paul J. Henderson
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