B.C. SCRAPS HOUSE RULES

The province is scrapping strict laws that regulate alcohol and drug
recovery homes - a move that unravels years of work by the city and region.

The Leader has learned that recently crafted legislation governing recovery
homes will be axed, as part of the province's deregulation initiative.

"We felt it was a piece of over-regulation that didn't make sense," B.C.

Minister of Health Services Colin Hansen told The Leader Monday. "It wasn't
producing the results that people want."

The news surprised city officials and the chief licensing officer with the
South Fraser Health Region.

Paul Hundal, responsible for enforcing the legislation, said he hadn't been
informed about the pending change.

"All I knew is that it was under active consideration."

However, Hansen said he made the decision a month and a half ago, and the
health region should be aware of that.

Hundal said he'll continue to enforce the legislation until the province
tells him to stop.

Coun. Dianne Watts said Hansen's decision undoes two and a half years work
by the city and the region to bring recovery homes under control.

"You've got to be kidding, are they really going to go through with that?"
Watts asked Tuesday. "Unbelievable ... to scrap that whole program just
takes us a giant step backwards."

The regulations ensured the city had an effective recovery system in place,
according to Watts. Without it, addicts and alcoholics will return to their
drugs.

"There needs to be effective programs in place," Watts said. When people
return to drugs, " that's the core of your property crime, vehicle crime
and your prostitution."

The province vowed to end unregulated recovery homes in 1998, when Surrey
was home to more than 50 recovery homes. Watts says many of those were
mismanaged, failing to feed clients properly or evicting them after
accepting their housing cheques.

The following year, the province made alcohol and drug recovery homes
subject to regulations under the Community Care Facilities Act.

The law required operators to provide proper staffing levels, acceptable
menus and a professional nurse on site, along with building requirements.
Hardev Randhawa spent $50,000 bringing Cloverdale's Path to Freedom up to
regional health standards.

He's still paying off a $30,000 mortgage for the upgrades, which are no
longer required by law.

"That's not good news," Randhawa said Tuesday. "I didn't even pay all my
debt yet."

Other recovery home operators felt the regulations were unnecessary and
onerous. In fact, the number of drug and alcohol recovery homes in Surrey
has dropped in two years from 54 to about a dozen.

Only four homes, including Path to Freedom, have been licensed by the
health region.

Hansen says the cumbersome regulations are wrong.

"I guess the whole approach initially was that it was sort of adding more
regulation to deal with a problem," Hansen said, adding "regulations in
themselves do not produce results."

Local recovery homes will still have to clear the city's rezoning process,
but the local legislation can only limit size, location and other land use
issues.

Watts says the local zoning law isn't adequate.

"It's very narrowly scoped," says Watts. "We rely on the province to assist
us when we have difficulties that are under their jurisdiction - they just
can't throw it in our laps - we have no mandate within our municipal act to
deal with this."

Richard Schmold, operator of Cornerstone's four recovery homes in North
Surrey, welcomes Hansen's position.

"I think it's about time, they had no business in there," Schmold said
Tuesday, adding recovery homes should be regulated by the B.C. Drug and
Alcohol Association.

Hansen agrees that the ministry of health had no place in the recovery
business.

"We feel that the facilities that are in question around this regulation
are in fact housing issues and board issues primarily and not issues around
health care delivery," Hansen said.

The legislature resumes next spring when it's expected the recent recovery
home regulation will be eliminated.