B.C. to decriminalize possession of some hard drugs amid opioid crisis
Needles are seen on the ground in Oppenheimer park in Vancouver's downtown eastside on March 17, 2020. On Tuesday, B.C. was granted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for people who possess a small amount of certain illicit substances for personal use.
Teresa Wright - Yesterday - Global News
Liberal and Conservative MPs have blocked an attempt by the federal NDP to decriminalize personal possession of some illicit drugs all across Canada as a way to stem the rising death toll from substance abuse.
On Wednesday, a majority of MPs voted against the NDP's private members' bill, which would have repealed a provision in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that makes it an offence to possess certain drugs — the same exemption granted to B.C. one day ago.
Leader Jagmeet Singh said he is disappointed the government has refused to provide a national approach to the toxic drug supply crisis, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths across Canada.
"The lack of federal leadership will absolutely cost lives. It’s very disappointing that this government thinks it’s okay to download the responsibility for a national public health crisis onto premiers and municipal leaders," Singh said in a statement after the vote.
Read more:
B.C. becomes first province to remove criminal penalties for possession of some hard drugs
On Tuesday, B.C. was granted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for people who possess a small amount of certain illicit substances for personal use.
The substances remain illegal, but adults who have 2.5 grams or less of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized.
According to Singh, there is no justification to approve an exemption for just one province while the rest of the country is left with laws that continue to treat possession of controlled substances as a criminal offence.
“It literally makes no sense to exempt one province and not the rest on a matter that is a Criminal Code matter,” Singh had said ahead of the vote.
Read more:
Peterborough Public Health issues drug poisoning alert following surge in hospital visits
The Criminal Code is a national law applied uniformly in each province and territory, he said.
“To say you’re going to criminalize people if you live east of the Rockies is somehow OK, but apply a health-based approach in B.C. — as much as I love my province, and I think this is great for B.C. — it makes no sense. There is really no justification.”
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns sponsored the NDP’s Bill C-216, which aimed to mirror the exemption granted this week to B.C., and apply it to every province and territory in Canada. The bill also aimed to expunge certain drug-related convictions and to remove the criminal records of those with previous drug convictions from any federal judicial archives.
The NDP bill also called on the government to adopt a national strategy on a safe supply of drugs to address the harm caused by problematic substance use.
Video: Almost 500% increase in Narcan administrations by paramedics since 2019
During the announcement of the B.C. exemption on Tuesday, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett spoke strongly in favour of opting for more progressive approaches to help solve the opioid crisis in Canada, including embracing decriminalization and moving toward a “regulated safe supply of drugs.”
But she indicated she would not vote in favour of the NDP bill, despite the support her government has given to British Columbia in adopting a harm-reduction approach to substance abuse and drug-related deaths.
“I have some discomfort with the bill because I think it doesn’t put in place the guardrails around implementation,” she told reporters in Vancouver Tuesday.
“We just want to thank Gord Johns for all of the work he’s done in raising this conversation and making it really important. But in terms of our international obligations, in terms of what needs to be there in terms of the safeguards, I think… starting by starting with British Columbia is a prudent way to go.”
Johns took strong issue with this Wednesday, saying a national approach is needed to deal with the toxic drug supply crisis.
Read more:
Drug decriminalization unlikely to be pursued by most provinces despite B.C. approval
He noted his bill mirrors calls from an expert task force on substance use convened by Health Canada that issued a report last year saying “criminalization of simple possession causes harms to Canadians and needs to end.”
"We know incrementalism kills. We know that the current patchwork across Canada isn’t working,” Johns said.
“Policies can’t stop at the Rockies. The lives of the families of the people who have been lost on the other side of the Rockies need to be heard, they matter, their communities matter,” Johns said.
Before the vote, Johns said MPs and the prime minister would have “blood on their hands” if they voted against his proposed legislation.
The bill was defeated by a vote of 248-71, with support from Bloc Quebecois MPs and some Liberal MPs. When the final tally was announced, a supporter in the public gallery began shouting an emotional disapproval of the result.
"Shame on you," she yelled from the gallery.
Read more:
Okanagan reaction to B.C. drug decriminalization mixed
Christine Nayler, a mother whose 34-year-old son Ryan died from toxic drug poisoning, had begged MPs in the House of Commons to let the NDP bill pass, so it could go to committee for further study.
“What our country needs is not half-measures or pilot projects. We need a country-wide, comprehensive health-based approach to address this public health emergency,” she said during a press conference prior to the vote.
“As a mother forever changed by our country’s failed drug policies, from the bottom of my heart I stand before you today and I beg you for Ryan… This is not a partisan issue. This is a public health emergency. I ask you to come together, as you did with COVID-19. The cost of not supporting this bill is too high. We are losing a whole generation of Canadians."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to leave the door slightly open on Wednesday to the notion of taking a pan-Canadian approach to drug decriminalization, saying the federal government will not pursue it with other jurisdictions without putting "the system and supports in place."
Trudeau said the government took the approach it did with B.C. by building capacity and offering many ways to support people, such as projects offering a safe supply of illicit drugs.
-- with a file from The Canadian Press.
Teresa Wright - Yesterday - Global News
Liberal and Conservative MPs have blocked an attempt by the federal NDP to decriminalize personal possession of some illicit drugs all across Canada as a way to stem the rising death toll from substance abuse.
On Wednesday, a majority of MPs voted against the NDP's private members' bill, which would have repealed a provision in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that makes it an offence to possess certain drugs — the same exemption granted to B.C. one day ago.
Leader Jagmeet Singh said he is disappointed the government has refused to provide a national approach to the toxic drug supply crisis, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths across Canada.
"The lack of federal leadership will absolutely cost lives. It’s very disappointing that this government thinks it’s okay to download the responsibility for a national public health crisis onto premiers and municipal leaders," Singh said in a statement after the vote.
Read more:
B.C. becomes first province to remove criminal penalties for possession of some hard drugs
On Tuesday, B.C. was granted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for people who possess a small amount of certain illicit substances for personal use.
The substances remain illegal, but adults who have 2.5 grams or less of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized.
According to Singh, there is no justification to approve an exemption for just one province while the rest of the country is left with laws that continue to treat possession of controlled substances as a criminal offence.
“It literally makes no sense to exempt one province and not the rest on a matter that is a Criminal Code matter,” Singh had said ahead of the vote.
Read more:
Peterborough Public Health issues drug poisoning alert following surge in hospital visits
The Criminal Code is a national law applied uniformly in each province and territory, he said.
“To say you’re going to criminalize people if you live east of the Rockies is somehow OK, but apply a health-based approach in B.C. — as much as I love my province, and I think this is great for B.C. — it makes no sense. There is really no justification.”
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns sponsored the NDP’s Bill C-216, which aimed to mirror the exemption granted this week to B.C., and apply it to every province and territory in Canada. The bill also aimed to expunge certain drug-related convictions and to remove the criminal records of those with previous drug convictions from any federal judicial archives.
The NDP bill also called on the government to adopt a national strategy on a safe supply of drugs to address the harm caused by problematic substance use.
Video: Almost 500% increase in Narcan administrations by paramedics since 2019
During the announcement of the B.C. exemption on Tuesday, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett spoke strongly in favour of opting for more progressive approaches to help solve the opioid crisis in Canada, including embracing decriminalization and moving toward a “regulated safe supply of drugs.”
But she indicated she would not vote in favour of the NDP bill, despite the support her government has given to British Columbia in adopting a harm-reduction approach to substance abuse and drug-related deaths.
“I have some discomfort with the bill because I think it doesn’t put in place the guardrails around implementation,” she told reporters in Vancouver Tuesday.
“We just want to thank Gord Johns for all of the work he’s done in raising this conversation and making it really important. But in terms of our international obligations, in terms of what needs to be there in terms of the safeguards, I think… starting by starting with British Columbia is a prudent way to go.”
Johns took strong issue with this Wednesday, saying a national approach is needed to deal with the toxic drug supply crisis.
Read more:
Drug decriminalization unlikely to be pursued by most provinces despite B.C. approval
He noted his bill mirrors calls from an expert task force on substance use convened by Health Canada that issued a report last year saying “criminalization of simple possession causes harms to Canadians and needs to end.”
"We know incrementalism kills. We know that the current patchwork across Canada isn’t working,” Johns said.
“Policies can’t stop at the Rockies. The lives of the families of the people who have been lost on the other side of the Rockies need to be heard, they matter, their communities matter,” Johns said.
Before the vote, Johns said MPs and the prime minister would have “blood on their hands” if they voted against his proposed legislation.
The bill was defeated by a vote of 248-71, with support from Bloc Quebecois MPs and some Liberal MPs. When the final tally was announced, a supporter in the public gallery began shouting an emotional disapproval of the result.
"Shame on you," she yelled from the gallery.
Read more:
Okanagan reaction to B.C. drug decriminalization mixed
Christine Nayler, a mother whose 34-year-old son Ryan died from toxic drug poisoning, had begged MPs in the House of Commons to let the NDP bill pass, so it could go to committee for further study.
“What our country needs is not half-measures or pilot projects. We need a country-wide, comprehensive health-based approach to address this public health emergency,” she said during a press conference prior to the vote.
“As a mother forever changed by our country’s failed drug policies, from the bottom of my heart I stand before you today and I beg you for Ryan… This is not a partisan issue. This is a public health emergency. I ask you to come together, as you did with COVID-19. The cost of not supporting this bill is too high. We are losing a whole generation of Canadians."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to leave the door slightly open on Wednesday to the notion of taking a pan-Canadian approach to drug decriminalization, saying the federal government will not pursue it with other jurisdictions without putting "the system and supports in place."
Trudeau said the government took the approach it did with B.C. by building capacity and offering many ways to support people, such as projects offering a safe supply of illicit drugs.
-- with a file from The Canadian Press.
Liberals pressed on whether B.C. drug decriminalization could pave the way
OTTAWA — The federal Liberals faced calls Wednesday to take a national approach to decriminalization amid the mounting death toll of the opioid crisis, even as the House of Commons voted against an NDP bill to allow drugs for personal use countrywide.
After the rejection of the bill was announced, someone in the chamber could be heard crying out, "Shame on you!"
Next year, British Columbia will join a handful of jurisdictions around the world where drug users will not face charges for possessing small amounts of some illicit drugs for personal use.
"There isn’t at this stage any larger discussion on decriminalization," federal Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, noting that the issue falls under the health portfolio, not justice.
Asked in French whether Ottawa should take a pan-Canadian approach rather than considering individual jurisdictions' requests, Lametti said that is something that should be studied, but the government is not doing so now.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to leave the door open a little on Wednesday, saying the federal government will not pursue decriminalization with other jurisdictions without putting "the system and supports in place."
Trudeau said the government took this approach with B.C. by building capacity and offering many ways to support people, such as projects offering a safe supply of illicit drugs.
Carolyn Bennett, minister of mental health and addictions, left the door wider still.
She said the government will watch how decriminalization unfolds in B.C. to see if it achieves its intended goals for "both public safety and public health."
NDP MP Gord Johns said Wednesday that the federal government had an opportunity to pass his private member's bill, which would amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize personal drug possession across Canada.
Johns, who is the party's critic for mental health and addictions, said the toxicity of the drug supply is claiming Canadian lives.
"I hope they'll do the right thing," said Johns ahead of the vote.
"Otherwise they are going to have blood on their hands."
The Bloc Québécois, Greens and a handful of Liberal MPs ultimately joined the NDP in voting in favour of the bill, but it was defeated 71-248 with the Conservatives and most Liberals voting against.
Bennett said that once B.C.'s plan has rolled out, and the results can be assessed, the federal government will be able to respond to any "unintended consequences."
"I think all the other jurisdictions will be interested in learning from the B.C. experience," said Bennett.
Not every province was jumping at the chance.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday he has concerns about the federal government’s decision to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs in B.C.
The Manitoba government also said Tuesday it will not follow B.C.'s example.
Quebec Premier François Legault said Wednesday the province has no plans to pursue decriminalization, adding the government does not think it is necessary.
On Wednesday, Saskatchewan’s government said it was not considering any decision to criminally exempt substances like methamphetamine and cocaine.
“It is unknown what potential long-term effects that decriminalizing illicit drugs will have with regards to public safety. Our government is focused on ensuring that treatment services are available to help people with substance abuse issues to access recovery,” it said in a statement.
New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said she was interested to hear what B.C. has done but it was too early to comment. Her province has been working to help people affected by the drug crisis rather than criminalize them, she said.
On the campaign trail in Ontario, the New Democrats said they would work with Ottawa on decriminalizing drugs for personal use if elected, but the Liberals aren't considering a similar move. The Progressive Conservatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Separately, the City of Toronto has asked Ottawa to allow it to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.
Bennett said there has also been some interest from Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon, but they have not submitted proposals seeking decriminalization.
Trudeau has said in years past that the federal government would not pursue decriminalization as an option for tackling the toxic drug and opioid overdose crisis.
Conservative MP Brad Vis, who represents the B.C. riding of Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, said he doesn't think decriminalization will fix the crisis in the province without also improving access to addiction treatments and mental health supports.
B.C.'s three-year exemption from federal drug laws means people with small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use will not have their drugs seized by police.
Vis said the province already had "de facto decriminalization," in which most police officers didn't arrest people for simple possession, nor did the Crown lay charges against those individuals.
As a crisis of opioid-related overdoses and deaths rages on in Canada, advocates have long been saying that decriminalization would help to reduce stigma associated with drug use and help save lives.
Since January 2016, almost 27,000 Canadians have died from opioid-related causes, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
— With files from Mickey Djuric in Regina and Kevin Bissett in Fredericton
Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The federal Liberals faced calls Wednesday to take a national approach to decriminalization amid the mounting death toll of the opioid crisis, even as the House of Commons voted against an NDP bill to allow drugs for personal use countrywide.
After the rejection of the bill was announced, someone in the chamber could be heard crying out, "Shame on you!"
Next year, British Columbia will join a handful of jurisdictions around the world where drug users will not face charges for possessing small amounts of some illicit drugs for personal use.
"There isn’t at this stage any larger discussion on decriminalization," federal Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, noting that the issue falls under the health portfolio, not justice.
Asked in French whether Ottawa should take a pan-Canadian approach rather than considering individual jurisdictions' requests, Lametti said that is something that should be studied, but the government is not doing so now.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to leave the door open a little on Wednesday, saying the federal government will not pursue decriminalization with other jurisdictions without putting "the system and supports in place."
Trudeau said the government took this approach with B.C. by building capacity and offering many ways to support people, such as projects offering a safe supply of illicit drugs.
Carolyn Bennett, minister of mental health and addictions, left the door wider still.
She said the government will watch how decriminalization unfolds in B.C. to see if it achieves its intended goals for "both public safety and public health."
NDP MP Gord Johns said Wednesday that the federal government had an opportunity to pass his private member's bill, which would amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize personal drug possession across Canada.
Johns, who is the party's critic for mental health and addictions, said the toxicity of the drug supply is claiming Canadian lives.
"I hope they'll do the right thing," said Johns ahead of the vote.
"Otherwise they are going to have blood on their hands."
The Bloc Québécois, Greens and a handful of Liberal MPs ultimately joined the NDP in voting in favour of the bill, but it was defeated 71-248 with the Conservatives and most Liberals voting against.
Bennett said that once B.C.'s plan has rolled out, and the results can be assessed, the federal government will be able to respond to any "unintended consequences."
"I think all the other jurisdictions will be interested in learning from the B.C. experience," said Bennett.
Not every province was jumping at the chance.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday he has concerns about the federal government’s decision to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs in B.C.
The Manitoba government also said Tuesday it will not follow B.C.'s example.
Quebec Premier François Legault said Wednesday the province has no plans to pursue decriminalization, adding the government does not think it is necessary.
On Wednesday, Saskatchewan’s government said it was not considering any decision to criminally exempt substances like methamphetamine and cocaine.
“It is unknown what potential long-term effects that decriminalizing illicit drugs will have with regards to public safety. Our government is focused on ensuring that treatment services are available to help people with substance abuse issues to access recovery,” it said in a statement.
New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said she was interested to hear what B.C. has done but it was too early to comment. Her province has been working to help people affected by the drug crisis rather than criminalize them, she said.
On the campaign trail in Ontario, the New Democrats said they would work with Ottawa on decriminalizing drugs for personal use if elected, but the Liberals aren't considering a similar move. The Progressive Conservatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Separately, the City of Toronto has asked Ottawa to allow it to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.
Bennett said there has also been some interest from Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon, but they have not submitted proposals seeking decriminalization.
Trudeau has said in years past that the federal government would not pursue decriminalization as an option for tackling the toxic drug and opioid overdose crisis.
Conservative MP Brad Vis, who represents the B.C. riding of Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, said he doesn't think decriminalization will fix the crisis in the province without also improving access to addiction treatments and mental health supports.
B.C.'s three-year exemption from federal drug laws means people with small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use will not have their drugs seized by police.
Vis said the province already had "de facto decriminalization," in which most police officers didn't arrest people for simple possession, nor did the Crown lay charges against those individuals.
As a crisis of opioid-related overdoses and deaths rages on in Canada, advocates have long been saying that decriminalization would help to reduce stigma associated with drug use and help save lives.
Since January 2016, almost 27,000 Canadians have died from opioid-related causes, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
— With files from Mickey Djuric in Regina and Kevin Bissett in Fredericton
Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press
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