'Secret report' or standard research? B.C. government addresses safe supply allegations
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
On Monday, BC United MLAs accused David Eby of having a “secret report” on his desk from an American professor who researches and analyzes public health and drug policy. Elenore Sturko went so far as to claim it outlined “how organized crime is taking advantage of the premier’s safe supply program.”
The allegations during question period were rebuffed by Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside, who said she wasn’t “familiar with the report.” And on Tuesday, Eby said Sturko’s questions were the first he’d heard of it either, because his office had nothing to do with it.
“This is a paper that was commissioned by Dr. (Bonnie) Henry in her role as the independent public health officer and decisions about how and when she releases that information that she’s been collecting are entirely up to Dr. Henry,” Eby told reporters when questioned about the document, acknowledging mild frustration his administration was unaware of the document.
Health Minister Adrian Dix later explained that there had been a public request for proposal for analysis of the impact of pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to authorized drug users that have ended up on the illicit street market, a frequent recent talking point by opposition politicians, for which Jonathan Caulkins had been paid $11,500.
“(The report) is around the impact of a safer supply on drugs, on markets, on illicit drug markets, those are the kinds of issues,” Dix said. “Dr. Henry is looking at the issue of prescribed safe supply and what impact it has on people and the community…. she seeks lots of different perspectives, as you’d expect, and she did in this case and it seems pretty reasonable to me.”
In February, Henry presented a report urging the expansion of safer supply to curb toxic drug deaths. This second report, on the diversion of those drugs to the streets, is expected in May or June, according to Dix.
Caulkins is a researcher and professor at Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, and has described the destigmatization of drugs use as a “mistake.”
British Columbia’s New Democrat government has been championing a destigmatization path for several years, including a pilot project decriminalizing the possession of hard drugs for personal use, and Eby was defensive when asked if he felt any urgency to provide government findings and research on the toxic drug crisis to the public.
“I feel huge urgency around the issue, I couldn’t feel more urgent about this issue,” he replied. “We’ve got thousands of people dying, we’ve got serious issues of disorder in a number of communities that need to be addressed.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.