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Following in the footsteps of other Canadian cities like Vancouver and Toronto, Edmonton will also apply for an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which would mean holding illicit substances for personal use is not a crime. The city will draw on the expertise of health care and medical experts, police, families and patients, and Indigenous peoples, in creating the application. All council members but Coun. Karen Principe and Jennifer Rice voted in favor on Tuesday.
In a second vote, councillors unanimously voted to lobby the federal government on this issue and ask the province to bring in safe supply, safe consumption sites, treatment and supportive housing.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said decriminalization is just one of the tools the city could use to deal with this “heartbreaking crisis.” A record-breaking 674 Edmontonians died of accidental drug poisonings last year.
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“These are loved ones. These are people who have families. These are people who are Edmontonians like everyone else. They deserve dignity, they deserve to live, and they deserve to have the support of the community,” he said outside council chambers. “But unfortunately, that support is lacking because we don’t have all the necessary tools.
“From harm reduction, safe supply, intervention, prevention, recovery, and decriminalization of simple possession, I hope that will allow us to look after our Edmontonians better.”
Sohi also emphasized decriminalization isn’t the same as legalizing drug use.
Discussing the motions on Tuesday, Rice and Principe wondered whether or not city hall needed to get involved in this as other levels of government were already working on this issue.
Principe said with the federal Bill C-5 — which would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for some drug-related crimes and allow for some conditional sentences — council’s work on this could be redundant.
Drug-checking programs that would detect if supply is tainted is another issue Edmonton is looking into.