The MLA for Vancouver-Burrard is defending a drug rehabilitation centre he's running in northern B.C.

Lorne Mayencourt opened the New Hope Recovery Society in a former army barracks outside Prince George. The plan was to have addicts spend three years learning new skills while kicking their habits.

But since the program opened four months ago, it has faced several setbacks.

The executive director resigned after just one month, forcing Mayencourt to spend most of his time at the addiction centre to keep it operating.

Since then, almost half the original 30 clients have left — or been kicked out — and one client stole a truck from the program to drive into Prince George on a drug binge.

But Mayencourt is undeterred, saying most treatment programs face similar challenges.

"Very well-established treatment facilities also have problems and also continue to learn from those programs and continue and grow … and that's what New Hope is about. We're not expecting to be perfect," he told CBC on Wednesday.

Modelled after Italian program

New Hope is funded entirely by private donations and is modelled after the San Patrignano program in Italy, which claims to have an 85 per cent success rate.

And despite the challenges, Mayencourt insists the program is strong and growing, pointing out that few of the clients in more conventional drug treatment programs manage to stay clean in the long run.

"[Other programs] have a 15 per cent success rate. And so we have to find a new way. And when we're trying to find a new way, we're going to have learning experiences. We don't expect to be perfect," he said.

Mayencourt was first elected in Vancouver-Burrard in the 2001 provincial election.

The well-known MLA has said he won't be running in the next provincial election, but is considering a run for Vancouver city council or a federal seat for the Conservatives. Before becoming an MLA, he worked as a sales manager in the software industry.