'THERE'S NO CHARTER RIGHT TO DEAL DRUGS': UCP ministers shred BC court decision to declare drug trafficking laws unlawful

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith and her ministers on Wednesday vehemently opposed a recent BC Supreme Court ruling that Canada's drug trafficking laws violated the Charter rights of consumers. "Just to be clear, there's no Charter right to deal drugs," said Smith to reporters during an unrelated press conference. "That's not written into the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That's made up, and we're going to make sure that we defend our position vigorously if it comes to it.".Smith's comments were in regards to a BC Supreme Court decision by Justice Catherine Murray on Tuesday, who said that denying addicts access to heroin, cocaine and crystal meth violated their rights to "life, liberty, and the security of person," and freedom from discrimination on the basis of disability. Murray's ruling was part of her decision regarding two individuals who were convicted of drug trafficking, after the pair ran a compassion club that bought heroin, cocaine and crystal meth on the dark web, tested them, labelled them, and sold them at cost to more than 40 members. They argued that there was no legal way for them to provide these drugs to addicts without violating trafficking laws. Murray agreed with them, and gave the federal government six months to rewrite trafficking laws in order to allow the "safe-supply" of such illicit drugs. .This decision has raised eyebrows around Canada, as some individuals fear that it opens the door for legalized drug trafficking. "I can say that, certainly, when I heard about this, I was completely outraged," said Alberta's Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis. "It was bad enough that the NDP in British Columbia legalized drugs, but now we've gone down a path where we're legalizing possession for the purpose of trafficking drugs.""There is not a reasonable or normal person that thinks in any way that that is a good idea." The UCP have firmly fought against drug consumption, closing down safe consumption sites, and shifting away from a "safe-supply" treatment model for illicit drug addicts and instituting a recovery-oriented system. .Ellis and Justice Minister Mickey Amery said the Alberta government intends to wait and see how their BC and federal counterparts respond to the situation, but assured Albertans that they "will do whatever it takes to keep Albertans safe." "We're going to hope that they appeal that decision, and we will dedicate every single resource available to us to assist the BC government with appealing that decision, and we will wait and see what happens there," said Amery. "But certainly, I can tell you that this cabinet and this government wholly rejects the idea of decriminalizing drugs and putting them back on our streets, and we will not waver in that position."

'THERE'S NO CHARTER RIGHT TO DEAL DRUGS': UCP ministers shred BC court decision to declare drug trafficking laws unlawful

Related Stories

Judge stays DULF convictions, finds drug trafficking ban unlawful

BC court expected to rule on DULF founders' Charter challenge

Former deputy minister who called racism a ‘Canadian reality’ named immigration museum chair

REMOVED: Daniel Robson