Liberal and Conservative MPs have blocked the federal NDP’s attempt to decriminalize personal possession of some illicit drugs across Canada as a way to curb the rise in substance abuse deaths.
On Wednesday, a majority of MPs voted against the NPD Private Members Bill, which would have repealed a provision in the Controlled Substances and Drugs Act that considers possession of certain drugs a crime, the same exemption granted to BC ago one day.
Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was disappointed that the government had refused to offer 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 cost absolutely lives. It is very disappointing that this government thinks it is right to discharge responsibility for a national public health crisis to prime ministers and municipal leaders,” Singh said in a statement after the vote.
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Read more: BC becomes the first province to eliminate criminal sanctions for possession of some hard drugs
On Tuesday, BC received a three-year waiver under the Drugs and Controlled Substances Act for people who owned a small amount of certain illicit substances for personal use.
Substances remain illegal, but adults with 2.5 grams or less of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged, or confiscated from drugs.
According to Singh, there is no justification for approving an exemption only for one province while the rest of the country is left with laws that continue to treat the possession of controlled substances as a criminal offense.
“It literally makes no sense to exempt a province and not the rest in a matter that is a matter of the Penal Code,” Singh had said before the vote.
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The Penal Code is a national law applied uniformly to every province and territory, he said.
“Saying you will criminalize people if you live east of the Rocky Mountains is fine, but applying a health-based approach to BC, no matter how much I love my province, and I think that’s great for BC, does without There is really no justification. “
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Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns sponsored NDP Bill C-216, which was intended to reflect the exemption granted this week to BC and apply to all Canadian provinces and territories. The bill also aimed to remove certain drug-related convictions and remove the criminal record of those with previous drug convictions from any federal court records.
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.
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During the announcement of the BC exemption on Tuesday, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Carolyn Bennett, was strongly in favor of more progressive approaches to help resolve the opioid crisis in Canada, including the adoption of decriminalization and moving towards a “secure regulated supply of drugs”. ”
But he said he would not vote in favor of the NDP bill, despite his government’s support for British Columbia in adopting a harm-reduction approach to substance abuse and drug-related deaths.
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“I’m a little uncomfortable with the bill because I don’t think it’s putting the railings in place for implementation,” he told reporters in Vancouver on Tuesday.
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“We just want to thank Gord Johns for all the work he has done to lift this conversation and make it really important. But in terms of our international obligations, in terms of what needs to be in terms of safeguards, I think … starting in British Columbia is a prudent path to follow. “
Johns has been very serious this Wednesday, saying a national approach is needed to deal with the crisis of the supply of toxic drugs.
Read more: Most provinces, despite BC approval, are unlikely to pursue drug decriminalization
He noted that his bill reflects the calls of a working group of substance use experts convened by Health Canada, which issued a report last year saying that “the criminalization of simple possession causes harm to Canadians. and it must end. “
“We know incrementalism kills. We know the current mosaic across Canada doesn’t work,” Johns said.
“Politics cannot be stopped in Les Rocalloses. The lives of the families of people who have been lost on the other side of the Rockies need to be heard, they care, their communities matter, ”Johns said.
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Before the vote, Johns said MPs and the prime minister would have “blood on their hands” if they voted against his bill.
The bill was defeated by a vote of 248-71, with the support of members of the Bloc Quebecois and some Liberal MPs. When the final count was announced, a supporter of the public hall began to shout an emotional disapproval of the result.
“You’re embarrassed,” he shouted from the gallery.
Read more: Okanagan’s reaction to the decriminalization of BC drugs is mixed
Christine Nayler, a mother whose son Ryan, 34, died of toxic drug poisoning, had asked House of Commons lawmakers to pass the NDP bill so he could go to a commission for further study.
“What our country needs are not half measures or pilot projects. We need a comprehensive nationwide health-based approach to addressing this public health emergency, “he said during a pre-vote press conference.
“As a mother forever changed by the failed drug policies of our country, from the bottom of my heart I present myself to you today and ask you for Ryan … It’s not a partisan issue. This is a public health emergency. I ask you to join me, as you did with COVID-19. The cost of not supporting this bill is too high. We are losing a whole generation of Canadians. “
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seemed to leave the door slightly open on Wednesday to the idea 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 the supports.” . ”
Trudeau said the government has taken the approach it took with BC by building capacity and offering many ways to support people, such as projects that provide a secure supply of illicit drugs.
– with a file from The Canadian Press.
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