B.C. city councillor proposes ban on open drug use
In Maple Ridge, Councillor Ahmed Yousef is proposing a motion to ban the use of drugs in public places.
Yousef said he's seen an increase in public drug use since January, and he links that to the province's decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use.
"Anecdotally and just being on the ground as a parent myself, visiting the playgrounds, visiting the parks, being in the community we see a significant uptake in open drug use," he told CTV News.
Yousef doesn't have stats, but says many businesses and parents are also concerned. He notes a letter from local business groups was sent to city council, asking for something to be done.
He explained he's hearing from "parents of toddlers and babies that take them out to enjoy our beautiful parks ... but they can't allow their children to go crawling around in the grass for fear of encountering some paraphernalia."
He says he's also heard from "child care workers that are having to do sweeps at playgrounds."
Already, Campbell River, Prince George, Kamloops and Fort St. John are considering similar bylaws to the one Yousef is proposing. Sicamous already has one in place.
While the recent decriminalization allows people to carry drugs, you can't have them at schools or child-care facilities.
Debate at the legislature has questioned if the province should step in with a province-wide ban on using the drugs in public places.
Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe has observed the debate, and thinks it's problematic to suggest there's rampant open drug use.
"Whether there's an increase in that right now, I don't think there's any data to support that. I think there's a lot of fear and a lot of fear-mongering right now," Lapointe said.
Lapointe added she has more than 20 years' experience in the field, and "only a handful of times" has the coroners service been called to school grounds to respond to an overdose death. She said the data shows most people use indoors because of the stigma involved. Those who do use in parks, she adds, are mostly unhoused.
"So in a way it's a law against poor people," she said. "The majority of people are housed and they are using alone and they will die alone."
Lapointe and Yousef are both worried about the message sent to younger people, but for different reasons.
"Instead of being a compassion that we want to help members of our community who are vulnerable and who are experiencing substance use challenge, it's about intolerance," Lapointe said. "It's about punishing. It's about vilifying."
Yousef insisted it's not about vilifying specific groups of people.
"Places that are frequented mostly by children, youths, adults and families, seniors should not have to deal with these behaviors," he said. "I'm talking about behaviors. I'm not looking at any certain (detail like) whether a person has a fixed address or not."
The province says since municipalities have oversight over public places within their borders, they're the ones best equipped to establish rules.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.