OTAWA –
The federal minister of addictions and mental health says it’s too early to draw conclusions about drug decriminalization, after British Columbia asked Ottawa to scale back its pilot program to help curb concerns about public drug use.
Ya’ara Saks noted Monday that the province is just one year into its three-year pilot project, which began in early 2023.
To make this happen, Health Canada issued an exemption to federal drug laws that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
“We are still evaluating the data,” the minister said.
But on Friday, British Columbia Premier David Eby asked Health Canada to modify that exemption order to recriminalize the use of those drugs in public spaces such as hospitals and restaurants.
While adults would still be allowed to use such drugs in private, they could be arrested for using them in public.
The request came after months of backlash from residents, health care workers, police and conservative politicians about the project’s effect on public safety.
Saks said he met with his provincial counterpart on Friday and the province’s amendment request is under review.
“The overdose crisis, as I have said before and I repeat, is a health crisis. It is not a criminal crisis,” Saks told reporters.
BC was the first jurisdiction in Canada to seek the decriminalization of small amounts of hard drugs.
The province declared drug-related overdose deaths a public health emergency in 2016, and the crisis worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eby told reporters Monday that other jurisdictions can learn from their experience with decriminalization to date.
He said resources must be in place to address public drug use.
“There are important lessons to be learned about where we are to date, which do not need to be repeated,” he said.
“Addressing public concerns around public use is critical to their understanding of how to take a health approach to addiction. Balancing those two things is critical, and I hope other jurisdictions learn that lesson and don’t repeat our mistakes.”
Toronto has also requested an exemption from Health Canada.
Toronto Public Health said in a statement it is monitoring B.C.’s experience. He added that in his proposed model, public drug use would remain illegal.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his call Monday for Toronto to withdraw that request.
Ford said he spoke to Eby about how things have been going in British Columbia and said “it’s become a nightmare.”
Saks said Toronto’s application is also under review and each decriminalization application will be dealt with individually.
“We work with jurisdictions on a case-by-case basis, making sure we have a full set of tools available to help vulnerable populations. That includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment and includes a full set of health considerations,” she said.
“It’s not an apples-to-apples situation and we continue to partner and work with jurisdictions.”
More than 40,000 people have died from opioid-related deaths across the country since 2016, when the Public Health Agency of Canada began collecting such data.
The agency says 22 people die every day from toxic drugs and fentanyl is the leading cause. Most deaths occur in BC, Ontario and Alberta.
Health officials and drug advocates warn that the situation is only getting worse, given the increasingly toxic drug supply.
During question time on Monday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pressed the Liberal government on BC’s about-face.
And calls for an emergency debate on the issue in the House of Commons.
“Until Justin Trudeau’s dangerous drug decriminalization policy is completely dismantled, it will continue to cause death, chaos and carnage across Canada,” he said in a letter to House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus.
Poilievre has repeatedly called public drug use in cities like Vancouver a “dangerous experiment.”
He claims it fuels addiction and promises that a future Conservative government will retreat from harm reduction strategies and focus on recovery-oriented approaches.
Advocacy groups such as Moms Stop the Harm have asked to meet with Poilievre because they are concerned that his proposal ignores evidence that harm reduction strategies work to save lives.
Its co-founder spoke Monday before a parliamentary committee that has been studying the opioid epidemic.
In a statement before her appearance, Petra Schulz said it has been “disturbing and infuriating” to see the deaths of loved ones politicized with “misinformation and outright lies.”
“I urge Members of Parliament to end angry, harmful and polarizing rhetoric and social media posts, and to listen to people who use drugs when developing drug policy.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2024.