Kamloops and Campbell River are pushing back on permitting open drug use, and BC United leader Kevin Falcon calls the province's program 'reckless'
Two major B.C. municipalities are set to ban open drug use in public places, a move that sparked a heated debate at the legislature this week about whether the province’s new decriminalization program is worsening disorder on city streets.
But B.C. has also been in the grips of a public safety crisis this year, as random attacks, violence, vandalism and street disorder increased in urban centres across the province. Some of that is fuelled by those feeding addictions, which in turn has led to more visible signs of drug use and homelessness.
Falcon this week accused the NDP government of a “reckless” pursuit of decriminalization, by failing to accompany it with enough addictions treatment and police resources. At first, municipalities assumed they had to get permission from local health officials, and ultimately the Minister of Health, to enact bylaws related to drug use. But they have recently discovered that if they use a nuisance bylaw instead, then they can ban public drug use without requiring permission from health officials.“The federal government has said you weren’t allowed to use drugs in the airport, or certain other areas, and nobody said anything about stigma,” said Dahl.
“We are morally bound, ethically bound, to ensure that we work to keep people alive, while we can connect them to supports and services.”
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