"New" British Columbia Eschews: The Fate of B.C.'s Riverview Hospital

Sometimes it can take years for politicians to come to their senses on issues - for example if we look to the Evergreen Line, and the long delays in linking Coquitlam to Vancouver.  The fate of Riverview Hospital is yet another prime example of lasting political folly.  So it is about to close.  And then what?  Generations from now some local residents might remember this rare public space, with its 244 acres of land,  the stream,  the arboretum, the historic architecture, and, most importantly, the fact that there once was a central hospital that served people’s critical needs from across the province.

As I gather, James Moore, our local area MP and Minister of Canadian Heritage, is on target here when it comes to Riverview at least– something can be done to preserve its integrity.  Mind you, in the recent electoral past, Moore has demonstrated little compassion on the topic of autism.  Years ago, as a former area MLA, Christy Clark gave over to feckless bureaucrats and was simply not forthcoming in any way of her own when responding to enquiries on the fate of Riverview.  Despite the passage of time, and the fact that she is in a position to make a remarkable contribution to the life of B.C.’s schizophrenics, among other neglected groups, she has done and learned nothing in this respect as Premier.

 

Clark is, in fact, following the position on Riverview of her predecessor Gordon Campbell, who placated the public with his own personal story, as if to say he held the ill close to his heart, while they clustered and festered in the Downtown East Side, only to have their situation eased somewhat by an Olympic-sized embarrassment as the international media glared at our homeless population.  Provincial leadership in B.C., such as it is, cannot comprehend the notion of preserving spaces and facilities for the mentally ill, the least represented sector of the population on the planet, because the prospect of making a fast buck on real estate here looms as simply too great.

 

If Riverview Hospital gets torn down, allow me to predict two more diseases: medical and historical amnesia. First, some people in B.C. will begin to think that our political elite have actually solved the problem of mental illness.  Secondly, the Coquitlam area will become ever more a cultural wasteland.  A third consequence is that there will be even less appreciation than there is now for things “public”.  A society without meaningful landmarks is just that: meaningless, with the result that B.C.’s ill will feel further marginalized, trumped by greed, fear and misunderstanding.  It is not too late to enlighten the Premier before Riverview Hospital drifts from our collective memory.  Perhaps some therapy would help.