Conservatives Urge Liberals to Ban Public Drug Use Following BC’s Decision to Reverse Decimalization Policy
The federal Conservatives are urging the Liberals to put an end to permitting drug use in public following British Columbia’s announcement that it intends to reduce its decriminalization pilot project.
Premier David Eby of B.C. is calling for an “urgent” modification to a Health Canada exemption to empower police to intervene in cases of public drug use.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre frequently highlights public drug use in cities like Vancouver as instances of a “risky experiment” conducted by Mr. Eby’s NDP government and the federal Liberals.
In January 2023, Ottawa granted B.C. permission to decriminalize small quantities of hard drugs like heroin and fentanyl as a means to destigmatize drug use and combat the overdose crisis.
Since then, health professionals and law enforcement have raised concerns about the impact of the policy on public safety.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for an emergency debate in the House of Commons on this matter.