B.C. premier defends drug decriminalization as controversy grows, feds scrutinize program
The premier of British Columbia is continuing to defend the three-year pilot program underway in his province that’s decriminalized personal possession of hard drugs, even as the federal government sends its minister responsible to discuss growing concerns and controversies.
David Eby is facing growing public frustration around open drug use and hospital safety, as critics of all stripes question his government’s planning for and response to complications from decriminalization.
CTV News pointed out that Eby is dealing with the fallout from the policy, which was championed and ushered in by his predecessor, John Horgan, and asked how long he’d uphold a measure that wasn’t particularly well-planned and he’s now stuck with.
“It's an incredibly challenging issue. We're trying to keep people alive, get them intro treatment. We've opened hundreds of new treatment beds this year alone,” Eby replied. “We have attempted to put in place a system that recognizes some of the impacts we've seen of the ongoing toxic drug crisis that we're in, including public drug use by some individuals and we're not going to let it go.”
Minister downplays federal scrutiny
CTV News asked B.C.'s Mental Health and Addiction Minister, Jennifer Whiteside, about a meeting Eby revealed would be happening with her federal counterpart, which she downplayed.
“I understand that (the federal mininster) is coming through town next week,” Whiteside said, suggesting there is nothing unusual in next week’s discussions.
The office of federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks confirmed that she will be coming to B.C. to speak with her provincial counterpart and police representatives.
“We have indicated from the outset that the B.C. exemption (to federal drug laws) would be rigorously monitored and evaluated” making special note of safety concerns for health-care workers exposed during in-hospital drug consumption.
The full context behind VPD testimony
Saks’ trip to the West Coast will come on the heels of much-discussed testimony by some of British Columbia’s top police officials at a parliamentary committee looking at “decrim,” as it’s often called.
The official opposition and opponents of the program have seized on Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson’s testimony that half of the hydromorphone pills Vancouver police encounter are safe supply prescribed to drug users and diverted to street-level drug dealers. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/safe-supply-vancouver-police-deputy-chief-says-large-amounts-of-opioids-being-diverted-1.6850520
While that fact has drawn considerable attention, particularly in the wake of the solicitor general’s insistence that there is no evidence of widespread diversion, Wilson repeatedly told parliamentarians that is not her primary concern.
“(People) aren’t dying from diverted prescription medication, they're dying from fentanyl, coke, meth,” said the veteran officer, who’s also the president of the BC Chiefs of Police. “Diversion's an important issue, it's something we're watching very closely but we know from coroner's data that that's not what's killing people in British Columbia.”
Wilson went on to explain that counterfeit pills that can be produced in massive quantities and look like pharmaceutical-grade prescription drugs pose a large-scale, life-threatening issue – so that’s where her officers are focussing their attention.
“(Diversion) pales in comparison to what organized crime are doing in terms of fentanyl production, importation, exportation,” she said, also testifying that planning for decriminalization has been insufficient and “all the concerns we had have been realized.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Board orders deportation for trucker in horrific Humboldt Broncos crash
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Group tied to Islamic State plotted fatal Ontario restaurant shooting: Crown
A gunman who is accused of killing a young Ontario man and shooting four of his family members at their small Mississauga restaurant in 2021 was allegedly part of a trio who had pledged allegiance to the listed terrorist group Islamic State, a Crown attorney said in an opening statement in the Brampton murder trial this week.
'A really bad car crash': Why health experts are raising concerns over surging syphilis cases
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was once thought to be a thing of the past is now a public health priority for North American doctors.
Purolator truck drivers from Guelph, Ont. save man walking in Hwy. 407 lanes
A pair of Purolator transport truck drivers from Guelph, Ont. are being hailed as heroes for their efforts in helping a person in crisis.
Trudeau responds to American senators calling on Canada to increase defence spending
Stopping short of offering the assurance U.S. senators are seeking, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is aware there's more work to do in order to see Canada meet NATO's defence spending target.
Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
Milk sold in Canadian grocery stores tested for avian influenza; results released
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.