Pierre Poilievre weighs in on BC NDP plan to recriminalize public drug use
B.C.’s plan to reverse course on a major part of its decriminalization plan has triggered swift and sweeping reaction.
Last Friday, Premier David Eby announced the NDP requested that Ottawa recriminalize public use of hard drugs, giving police powers to seize drugs or arrest those threatening public safety.
It was a response to increasing concerns about illicit drug use in public, including in hospitals, which triggered escalating political pressure and a heated debate that continued to play out on the floor of the B.C. Legislature on Monday.
“Will the premier scrap this entire decriminalization mess today? And if not, why not?” demanded BC United leader Kevin Falcon during question period.
Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the proposed plan doesn’t go far enough and pushed for an emergency debate on the issue of decriminalization in Parliament.
“Even nurses are having to give up on breastfeeding because they’re worried their kids will be contaminated with drugs they breathe in. What the hell they thinking over there?” said Poilievre.
Eby responded Monday to Poilievre’s comments.
“To the extent that we can avoid politicizing this health crisis, the better off we're going to be. We're all looking for solutions to keep people alive,” he said.
Eby did acknowledge other jurisdictions, like Toronto, that are considering decriminalization could learn from B.C.'s stumbles, and should consider the importance of balancing public concern about public drug use with managing addiction as a health issue.
“Balancing those two things is core and I hope other jurisdictions take our lessons and don’t repeat our mistakes,” he said.
For harm reduction advocates, like Moms Stop the Harm’s Leslie McBain, the province's push to eliminate public drug use is a major step back that will cost lives.
“They will be hiding out and more deaths will happen. It's quite distressing for a lot of reasons,” she said.
The province says it expects to hear back from Ottawa about recriminalizing public drug use soon.
More than 14,000 people have died since B.C. declared a public health emergency over the toxic drug supply in 2016.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver says he got a cellphone ticket for using his points app in the drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
B.C. YouTuber ordered to pay $350K for 'relentless' online defamation campaign
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief says grave search at B.C. residential school brings things 'full circle'
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
'Endless Shrimp' just one misstep for Red Lobster as it eyes bankruptcy protection
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
B.C. man shot sex worker in the back during drug-fuelled birthday, court hears
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
'Inhumane conditions': 68 dogs pulled from Winnipeg home
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.