Promises by the Green party to increase B.C.'s safe supply in response to the toxic street drug crisis and political reactions to a police bust at an overdose prevention site in Nanaimo dominated the fourth day of the provincial election campaign.
Former B.C. chief coronor Lisa Lapointe and Leslie McBain, co-founder Moms Stop the Harm, joined B.C. Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau in downtown Victoria Tuesday (Sept. 24) as she presented her party's response to the toxic drug crisis and its related issues of public safety and crime.
"People cannot seek treatment or recovery if they are not alive, which is why regulated pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic illicit drug market must be part of the response to this public health emergency," Furstenau said describing her party's plans to respond to an issue that has killed 15,000 British Columbians since being declared a health emergency eight years ago.
The Greens called for an expansion of medically prescribed safe supply and studies into a non-prescribed model for regulated pharmaceutical alternatives in collaboration with health authorities and advocacy groups. The party would also improve treatment and recovery services, and create what it calls comprehensive education and prevention programs in schools, inclusive enhanced mental support for students.
The presence of Lapointe, who identified herself as a Green supporter, was highly symbolic. While the B.C. Greens' proposal stops short of her call for a non-prescribed safe supply of drugs, she endorsed their plan.
Reliable estimates peg the number of British Columbians using unregulated substances at 225,000, Lapointe said.
"Fewer than two per cent of those people have access to a regulated supply."
She brought up the recommendations of death review panel in early January 2023 that argued the fastest way to reduce toxic drug deaths is to reduce the reliance on an unregulated supply.
Lapointe said this regulated, carefully monitored supply would not be readily available as alcohol at liquor stores. Buyers would be tracked, she added.
"Sonia and the (Greens) are the only party that recognized that (proposal) as a meaningful way to save lives," Lapointe said. "We also need to recognize that drug regulation is not drug promotion."
The current government rejected Lapointe's proposal, as well as a more recent proposal by B.C.'s public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Her review of the safe supply program not only recommended its continuation, but also called on government to expand access to "non-prescribed alternatives to unregulated drugs."
Furstenau and Lapointe also used the occasion to express their opposition to involuntary care and their support for supervised consumption and overdose prevention sites, saying they help save lives. Furstenau also challenged the idea that safe supply is not a form of treatment and Lapointe argued that increasing access to safe supply could help reduce crime in downtown cores parcelled with other needs such as housing.
The Greens' released their proposal hours after news broke of a police raid at an overdose prevention site in Nanaimo last week.
Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad, who was campaigning in Kimberley Tuesday to announce his party's plan to speed up mining in B.C., rejected the Greens' proposal. Pointing to the events in Nanaimo, he called for an end of safe supply. He had earlier promised to close all overdose and supervised consumption sites, citing their impacts on communities.
The party said in a media release that this "latest bust is yet another example" of how "so-called 'safe' drug sites have spiralled out of control, becoming havens for crime and violence in our communities."
"We need to get to a place in British Columbia where we got a heavy focus on recovery and that side of thing and that is what a Conservative government will deliver for people in B.C.," Rustad said. He added that "these safe supply drugs...are not safe" and "very dangerous." He also reiterated his plans for what he called "compassionate involuntary care" that would give more parents more power in getting their children the care they need.
Furstenau, however, said supervised consumption and overdose prevention sites are part of B.C.'s health care infrastructure and require more investment.
"Inaction on the part of government means that we create bigger and space for organized crime, for an illicit drug that is not only harming and killing people in British Columbia, but it is creating a whole industry...allowed to occupy our communities and our streets."
An investigation into the Nanaimo incident is ongoing. B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said on social media "(there's) no excuse for predators taking advantage of people struggling with addictions. Anyone trafficking drugs needs to know: police will find you, and you will be charged and held accountable."
Furstenau said police have made it clear B.C. cannot arrest itself out the situation.
"Leadership is not about trying to scare people," she said. "Leadership isn't about trying to make people angry. Leadership is about demonstrating that we can solve the problems and the crises that we face in our communities."
Premier David Eby spent Tuesday in Terrace, where he highlighted the nearly completed new hospital in that community.
“Everyone deserves access to great care in a modern hospital –whether you live in a big city like Surrey or a northern community like Terrace,” he said in a statement. “We’re building new hospital projects across the province, and we can’t stop now. We can’t afford to cut and cancel when we need to build up health care, so it’s there when you need it.”
The hospital replacement is one of 30 hospital projects currently underway. The new facility will have five floors, 82 beds, a bigger ER, a pediatric care space, the latest diagnostic equipment and four operating rooms.
More to come...
