Safe consumption at forefront of countering the overdose crisis, prime minister says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Columbia Premier David Eby shook hands, pledged to work together then posed for the media on Friday, two weeks after Eby was sworn in as premier.
Trudeau said it was a “real pleasure” to meet with the premier. The two men spoke privately before the media was allowed to take photos.
“It's a great opportunity for us to really dig into the many things you've hit the ground running on,” Trudeau said of their meeting.
He said they spoke about several things, including the housing shortage, child care, climate change, public safety, mental health, addictions and the overdose crisis.
Eby said he was glad to hear Trudeau talk about issues related to public safety and building a cleaner economy.
”I'm excited to work with you and get to work on those priorities (in which) we share responsibility and I think it'll be a great day,“ he said.
Their meeting came just a few days after B.C.'s coroner released the overdose death toll for October of 179 people, saying the illicit drug supply has created an environment where everyone who uses substances is at risk.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe urged the government to ensure access to a safer supply of drugs was available across the province.
Trudeau told a crowd in Richmond, B.C., where he and Eby spoke about investments in child care, that they are working with provincial governments to ensure science and data are used to counter the epidemic.
“We were happy to move forward with B.C. in landmark steps on drug supply just a number of months ago, but we know there's much more to do. We'll continue to work hand-in-hand with the province to ensure people are kept safe,” he said.
The coroner said more than 1,800 people died of illicit drug overdoses in the first 10 months of this year, while almost 10,700 have died since the province declared a health emergency in April 2016.
Trudeau called the Opposition Conservative leader's recent video “incredibly ignorant,” referring to Pierre Poilievre's claim that a safe supply of drugs for addicts is a failed experiment.
Poilievre used a homeless camp in Vancouver's Crab Park as a backdrop in a video posted to social media to say that B.C. was on track to have over 2,000 drug overdose deaths for this year.
“This is deliberate policy by 'woke' Liberal and NDP governments to provide taxpayer-funded drugs, flood our streets to easy access to these poisons,” he said.
Poilievre said the experiment has been tried in other countries with the same results: major increases in overdoses.
Eby said during questions from reporters that the province has an important partnership with the federal government in trying to separate people from those who are selling toxic drugs.
“We have a lot of work to do in our health-care system, which was key in our conversations, and mental health and addiction response is part of our health-care system,” Eby said of his earlier meeting with Trudeau.
“I've already talked with too many parents who have lost kids, too many families who have been hurt by the overdose crisis.”
The premier said a new model of care that he announced days after he was sworn in will allow someone recovering from an overdose to go immediately from the emergency room to detox and on to treatment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2022.
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.
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.
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.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
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.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
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.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.