B.C.'s Official Opposition calls for changes to supportive housing following CBC investigation into death

Michelle Ghoussoub · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 9:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

British Columbia's Official Opposition is calling for wide changes to supportive lodging successful the province following a CBC News probe that revealed an 11-day hold successful finding the assemblage of a tenant.

Claire Rattée, the B.C. Conservative critic for intelligence wellness and addictions, said the communicative reveals the province's existent attack amounts to "warehousing addiction," and reveals greater access to cause attraction and sober surviving facilities is urgently needed. 

Diane Chandler was surviving successful Surrey's Foxglove supportive lodging building, and died of an overdose successful her country connected April 20, 2024. In the days that followed, unit astatine the installation signed disconnected connected aggregate wellness checks saying Chandler was alive.

Chandler's assemblage wasn't recovered until May 1, 2024.

Critical incident reports sent to B.C. Housing — then obtained by CBC News done state of information — reveal that unit had mixed up different nonmigratory for Chandler. When they yet discovered Chandler deceased successful her room, they past recovered the different tenant dormant of an overdose successful their room, arsenic well.

Chandler's children, Tyler and Carley Gibbs, were ne'er contacted by B.C. Housing. They yet learned of the hold successful uncovering their mother's assemblage done the cremation work that assisted successful her funeral, and later through the coroner's study into her death. 

Speaking astatine the legislature, Tyler Gibbs said his parent was "failed" by the province, and that her addiction worsened aft moving into her country astatine Foxglove.

"B.C. Housing ne'er contacted maine oregon my family, and I deliberation that's a disgrace. I privation answers and I privation change. My mum deserved better," helium said.

B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said successful the legislature connected Wednesday that successful effect to Chandler's death, the state implemented changes that necessitate wellness checks each 24 hours successful each supportive lodging facility across the province.

The state implemented changes to let for much predominant wellness checks in January 2024, 4 months anterior to Chandler's death. 

Rattée said the contented of accessing tenants' rooms does not code the contented of people dying down closed doors in provincially-funded housing. 

"There's a deeper contented present and I don't deliberation it's astir wellness checks," she said. "It's astir encouraging unfastened cause usage successful supportive lodging facilities and warehousing addiction," she said.

Not an isolated incident

CBC News later revealed a akin communicative from years earlier, and promises 1 parent said were broken. 

Cyndie Richards' lad Shawn died astatine the Princess Rooms, a RainCity Housing installation successful Vancouver, successful 2017. His assemblage was not recovered by unit for 3 days.

Richards said aft Shawn's death, a RainCity manager promised her that arsenic a effect of the mistake, wellness checks connected tenants successful the installation would beryllium performed much frequently. 

She told CBC News that Chandler's decease 7 years aboriginal proves not capable has been done. 

Rattée said the stories uncover the province indispensable urgently grow attraction and intelligence services.

"We request to person supportive lodging that is wholly sober," she said. 

"If they privation to person a mixed model, we request to marque definite we encourage attraction successful these facilities. We request to marque definite radical person an enactment betwixt the two. We request to marque definite those coming retired of attraction aren't being enactment bedewed facilities."