[2] In December 2015, the provincial government announced plans to replace the obsolete buildings with new mental health facilities, scheduled to open in about 2019.

In 1876, Royal Hospital in Victoria was converted to British Columbia's first facility to house mentally ill patients.

Again facing problems of overcrowding at the turn of the century, in 1904, the provincial government purchased 1,000 acres (400 ha) in then-rural Coquitlam for the construction of Riverview Hospital and the adjacent Colony Farm lands.

[citation needed] In 1911, British Columbia's first Provincial Botanist, John Davidson, established an arboretum, a nursery, and a botanical garden on the hospital lands, often with the assistance of patients, as there existed a belief in the therapeutic value of this kind of work.

Several hospital staff lived at the remote site, and by 1927, this had grown into a small community called Essondale, which included shops, a school, and a fire hall.

say that the reason for this decrease was initially due to the introduction of anti-psychotic medications and the development of psychiatric units in acute-care hospitals as well as a move toward outpatient care.

The two acts worked in conjunction so that by 1970, there were seventeen mental health centres in British Columbia, twelve of which had opened within the previous four years.

In 1969, the provincial government appointed a committee to review the role of the Mental Health Branch of social services in British Columbia.

[9] Regional clinics began drawing patients from Riverview, and both advances in treatment and eventual cutbacks in funding resulted in fewer people receiving mental health care province-wide.

[citation needed] In 1992, the report Listening: A Review of Riverview Hospital was published as an attempt to resolve the complaints of patients and their family members that had gone ignored for years.

In 2004, it was stated that by 2007, 400 new beds would open in other areas of British Columbia for mental health services, but places and dates went unmentioned.

The focus of its programs were developed to deliver specialized care for adults with severe and complex mental health and addiction challenges.

[22] It is believed to be the first large, standalone centre dedicated to treating the concurrent disorders of mental health and addictions.

Patients were assigned for instruction and training in a selected shop, which included cabinet, upholstery, furniture finishing, metal, printing, electronics, machine, mattresses, tailor, and shoemaking.

Shows and films such as Watchmen,[25] Supernatural, The X Files, Arrow, Elf, Smallville, Happy Gilmore, Prison Break, Riverdale, Motherland: Fort Salem, The Butterfly Effect, Final Destination 2, and Grave Encounters have made use of the Riverview property to form sets depicting a variety of scenes.

[26] A significant portion of Deadpool 2, including the initial and final battle sequences, was filmed at Centre Lawn.

The report states: "Implementation will involve redeveloping and reallocating existing resources applied at Riverview Hospital" (21).

The first stage was to include the development of community residential, day program, and case management/outpatient treatment resources around the province to reduce Riverview patient population to 550 over three years.

Additional beds in general hospitals and testing of medium/long-term inpatient units in urban areas were suggested to fall under the first stage.

An orderly transitional period was deemed necessary for patients to be relocated to appropriate community settings with 'sufficient mental health staff and programs to monitor, follow-up, and promote their readjustment outside the institution" (22).

[9] The report emphasizes that implementation of the plan should be gradual and orderly, with continuous monitoring to assure the system meets the needs of the mentally ill.

Suggestion 14 states that general community services should play an important role in aiding those with mental illness.

Be that as it may, recommendations still distinctly state that "The current level of financial resources at Riverview Hospital should be available for treatment, rehabilitation, and support of the mentally ill people transferred to community-based facilities and programs" (22).

[9] The report, although subtly recommending a decrease in governmental financial aid for psychiatric services, repeatedly states that sufficient funding and proper care in transfers, including previously implemented community resources and supervision by Riverview before and after discharge, are crucial.

The 1990 "Mental Health Initiative" stated that the provincial government would invest $26 million in additional funding over the following ten years.

[30] Andrew Wan, a Kitsilano mental health worker, stated that in 1992, the conditions of privately run boarding homes are often no better than others.

The stakeholders' meeting stated that by 2007, there would be 920 specialized mental health beds located in smaller hospitals throughout British Columbia, but neither dates, places, nor names were given.

At the same meeting, PHSA Mental Health Services President Leslie Arnold said, "A comprehensive transition care plan, including input from family members, is developed from each RVH patient prior to transfer'.

[15] In 2013, then-mayor of Maple Ridge stated that he was concerned with the number of people with mental illness who were living on the street in the Lower Mainland.