Ottawa approves B.C. request to recriminalize public possession of illicit drugs

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Ottawa has approved British Columbia’s request to once again prohibit possession of illicit drugs in public spaces, in a significant policy reversal of the province’s drug-decriminalization pilot project.

Ya’ara Saks, federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, announced the development on Tuesday on Parliament Hill. The change is effective immediately.

“We always said from the get-go, we would be analyzing, we would be monitoring, we would be assessing as we go along – and also be flexible,” Ms. Saks told reporters. “This is the first time this has been done in Canada. There are a lot of lessons to be learned.”

The three-year pilot project began on Jan. 31, 2023, as part of an effort to turn the tide on a toxic drug crisis that has killed thousands. It permitted British Columbians 18 and older to carry up to a cumulative total of 2.5 grams of illicit opioids, crack and powder cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA without criminal penalties, and police were not to seize the drugs. The production, trafficking and exportation of these drugs remain illegal.

Police will now have the discretion to tell drug users to leave an area, to arrest them or to seize their drugs.

Mayors, hospitals and opposition critics had called for the province to reverse course, citing increased public drug use and disorder.

The B.C. government had said it was hopeful decriminalization would lessen the stigma of addiction and shift drug users away from the criminal justice system, encouraging them to seek help.

Data provided to Health Canada in February showed that visits to overdose prevention sites and use of drug-checking services continued to trend upward in the first year of decriminalization, while uptake of medications for opioid-use disorder (such as methadone and Suboxone) did not change. The number of possession offences decreased by 77 per cent compared to the previous four-year average, and the number of possession drug seizures under the 2.5-gram threshold decreased by 96 per cent over the same period.

Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson, who is also president of the British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police, testified at the House of Commons health committee that officers don’t believe arresting drug users will save their lives or solve the drug crisis. But, she said, decriminalization went ahead without adequate guardrails against public consumption.

Ms. Saks said Tuesday that “health supports need to be readily available in a timely manner” for those seeking help, suggesting B.C. did not have sufficient supports in place.

“That being said, B.C. has committed and continues to grow and scale out their health services and we’re supportive of that,” she said.

The decriminalization pilot launched with few exceptions, including possession on K-12 school premises and childcare facilities, and expanded in the fall of 2023 to include playgrounds, splash pads, wading pools and skate parks.

Tuesday’s change, made through amendments to B.C.’s exemption from the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, means that possession of small amounts of illicit drugs will again be illegal in all public places.

Possession in private residences or other places where someone is legally sheltering remains decriminalized, as it does at overdose prevention and drug-checking sites.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Tuesday while addiction should be treated as a health matter, not a criminal justice one, “that doesn’t mean that anything goes.”

“Parks and beaches have to be safe and welcoming for families, the doorways of small businesses have to be free for customers, and hospitals have to be places where people can work and get care safely,” he said.

Mr. Farnworth said he would be sending a letter to police that day to inform them that the changes are in effect and that further guidance would be provided in coming days.

The B.C. government had attempted last fall to introduce legislation to prohibit illicit drug use in public spaces including parks and beaches. The Harm Reduction Nurses Association successfully challenged the bill. A B.C. Supreme Court judge agreed that it could cause “irreparable harm” by driving drug users into the shadows, and granted a temporary injunction pending a broader constitutional challenge expected this summer.

That matter remains before the courts, Mr. Farnworth said.

Corey Ranger, president of the nurses’ association, said his group was concerned and frustrated by Ottawa’s approval, which it viewed as an improper circumvention of the court order that will jeopardize the health and safety of the province’s most marginalized.

“There is no evidence to support this decision,” said Mr. Ranger, calling for Ottawa to reconsider. “We know what criminalizing drug use does, we know this will lead to irreparable harm, and we know that oftentimes irreparable harm means death.”

Also on Tuesday, the BC Coroners Service announced that another 192 people had died from illicit drugs in March. At least 14,629 people have died since 2016, the year the province declared a public health emergency in response to rapidly escalating overdoses and deaths.