Gas delivery hikes and the lack of local addictions treatment were the top concerns raised at town halls hosted this week by Skeena MLA Claire Rattée in Kitimat and Terrace.
“It seems to be one of the things I’m getting the most emails about right now,” Rattée said of the Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) rate increases. “People can’t afford an increase. They just can’t.”
The PNG delivery charge hike, which took effect May 1 on an interim basis, could raise average residential bills by about $23 per month. While the company says a federal carbon tax rollback will reduce the net impact to around $1, municipal leaders and residents across the region have voiced frustration. PNG describes the change as the start of a three-year rate “reset”, projecting a 53 per cent total increase through 2027.
“I’m going to be reaching out to PNG about this to get a little more clarity,” Rattée said. “I’ve got concerns around the timing—after the carbon tax pause, is this just the industrial carbon tax finding its way into our pocketbooks?”
Kitimat council has gone further, passing a motion to explore forming a municipally owned utility and potentially leasing PNG infrastructure.
In both town halls, Rattée—who also serves as the Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions—said residents raised deep concerns about access to treatment.
“We just don’t have access,” she said. “There are only seven treatment beds in Prince George for the entire Northern Health region, and they’re all supportive recovery beds. We don’t have any clinical treatment beds.”
Supportive recovery beds, she said, are generally non-clinical and peer-led. “They can work for some people, but for most, they’re not enough. And detox without follow-up care? That’s contributing to overdoses. People relapse and it’s often fatal.”
Rattée said she obtained provincial data during budget estimates that confirms the gaps in care. “For the whole region, there’s no access to evidence-based, structured treatment,” she said. “And what’s even more unacceptable is the idea that people from the North are expected to go to the Island for care.”
She said families in her riding have contacted her directly, looking for help. “I’ve had families from the area reach out asking where they can send someone for help, because they know there are no nearby options.”
Even when publicly funded beds are available, Rattée said the financial structure puts low-income residents at a disadvantage. “The province pays for just part of the cost—anywhere from a third to two-thirds—so treatment centres have to find other ways to cover the rest. That’s why clients who can pay privately are often admitted first.”
Despite raising the issue multiple times in the legislature, Rattée said responses from the government have been limited. “I get a lot of, ‘Yes, we’re aware,’ or, ‘We need to do more,’ but that’s about it.”
Still, she said, she intends to keep pressing the issue. “I’m not about to stop now,” she said. “I’m just getting started.”
