Ottawa approves B.C.'s request to recriminalize use of illicit drugs in public spaces
Minister of Addictions and Mental Health Ya'ara Saks said Tuesday the federal government has approved the B.C. government's re‐ quest to recriminalize the use of illicit drugs in public spaces.
The province is just over a year into a pilot program that allows adults to carry up to 2.5 grams of drugs for per‐ sonal use without facing criminal charges. The pro‐ gram was made possible through an exemption granted by Health Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
B.C. Premier David Eby asked nearly two weeks ago for an adjustment to the ex‐ emption order to recriminal‐ ize the use of those drugs in public spaces, such as hospi‐ tals and restaurants.
Saks told reporters out‐ side the House of Commons that she has approved the re‐ quest and it will take effect "immediately."
"We've moved forward with B.C. on this with a clear lens on public health and public safety, because we know that we need to ad‐ dress the opioid crisis and the overdose deaths that we're seeing as a public health issue," she said.
"That being said, commu‐ nities need to be safe."
While adults would still be allowed to carry small amounts of illicit drugs and use them in private, they could be arrested for using them in public.
B.C.'s Public Safety Minis‐ ter Mike Farnworth wel‐ comed Ottawa's decision.
"Addiction is a health mat‐ ter, not a criminal justice one, but that doesn't mean that anything goes," he told re‐ porters in Victoria.
The pilot, which began in January of last year, is part of B.C.'s response to the public health emergency declared eight years ago in response to a rise in deaths from toxic, illicit drugs.
More than 14,000 people have died in B.C. since the emergency was declared in 2016, largely due to the opi‐ oid fentanyl. At least 42,000 people have died of opioid overdoses right across the country in that same time pe‐ riod.
By reducing the stigma as‐ sociated with drug use, offi‐ cials say they hope to provide better access to lifesaving care along with a less deadly safe supply.
Concerns about public safety
But this approach has come with criticism about a lack of guardrails.
On April 15, Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson testified at a House of Commons health committee hearing about how the pilot is limiting police response to problematic public drug use, including inside hospitals and at bus stops.
"In the wake of decrimi‐ nalization, there are many of those locations where we have absolutely no authority to address that problematic drug use, because the per‐ son appears to be in posses‐ sion of less than 2.5 grams," Wilson said.
"So, if you have someone who is with their family at the beach, and there's a person next to them smoking crack cocaine, it's not a police mat‐ ter."
WATCH | Decriminaliza‐ tion 'not impacting drug supply': Vancouver deputy police chief
Farnworth was pressed Tuesday to say whether the new policy effectively puts an end to decriminalization in the province.
"What we've done is re‐ spond to community con‐ cerns," he said.
"They shouldn't have to put up with open drug use. That's never what decriminal‐ ization was about and that's the changes that have been made."
The federal Conservatives have seized on the issue in recent weeks, arguing that B.C.'s request is a sign that drug decriminalization has failed. Leader Pierre Poilievre has called the Liberal govern‐ ment's approach to the opi‐ oid crisis "extremist" and "wacko."
When asked Tuesday if the government should con‐ sider going further and by completely scaling back the program, Saks argued that the government has not made hard drugs legal.
"Decriminalization is about ensuring that people don't have to face stigma and actually go to get help," she said.
WATCH | Minister ac‐ cuses opposition of pur‐ suing a dehumanizing de‐ bate on opioid crisis
Saks railed against what she called the "politicization" of the opioid crisis.
"I'm frustrated that the opposition has made this a dehumanizing debate for those who actually need our help and that they don't rec‐ ognize we need a full suite of tools to actually save lives," she said.
After Saks' announcement Tuesday, Poilievre continued to take aim at the Liberals over the decriminalization is‐ sue. He asked Prime Minister Trudeau about the state of a similar request to decriminal‐ ize possession in Toronto.
"Will he … rule out de‐ criminalization in Canada's biggest city?" Poilievre asked.
Toronto put forward its re‐ quest in 2022 but it has yet to be approved.
Responding to Poilievre's question on Tuesday, Trudeau said the government will only work with provinces on approving any legal ex‐ emptions that could lead to decriminalization.
WATCH | Ottawa ap‐ proves B.C.'s request to amend drug decriminaliza‐ tion pilot program