A member of the Commons Health committee says the cabinet should stop its "safe supply" drug policy because it's killing people.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Conservative MP Todd Doherty (Cariboo-Prince George, BC) struggled to hold back tears as he shared with the committee he had tragically lost a brother-in-law to an accidental fentanyl overdose. He also expressed his heartbreak over being unable to help another brother “who lives on the street.”“We are powerless, powerless to stop this,” said Doherty. “Somebody has to answer this.” Dealers were “buying illicit drugs on the black market and selling them or giving them away on the streets” of his home province, added Doherty.“I sit with so many families that ask us to do something,” said Doherty. “I don’t have the answers, but I don’t believe taxpayers’ dollars should be going to fund these drugs. We should be doing everything in our power to make sure we can get someone into a bed for a recovery. Recovery is always possible.”As of August 31, the BC Coroners Service has recorded 1,645 overdose deaths in the province. In 2022, there were 2,383 overdose deaths in BC.“This so-called safer supply strategy is a failure making the opioid crisis worse,” said Doherty.“I have a brother who lives on the street. We have struggled to get him off the street. I have gone into the dens of evil to pay off his debts, to save my brother, to save someone we love.”“We have rescued him in the middle of the night on a bridge from gang members that were threatening to throw him over if he didn’t pay the debt,” said Doherty. “Two years ago, he was shot twice in a drug deal gone bad.”“There are businesses in my province that are buying illicit drugs on the black market and selling them or giving them away on the street,” said Doherty. “How far have we fallen that you can perpetuate somebody’s addiction, but we can’t get them into a bed for recovery?”Doherty sponsored a motion asking “that the committee call for an immediate end to the government’s so-called safe supply funding.” MPs adjourned debate on the motion without a vote.Opposition MPs have calculated that more than $800 million in federal funding has been allocated to safe supply programs since 2017. On May 29, the House of Commons upheld the policy with a vote of 209 in favour and 113 against.Cabinet last January 31 granted BC a waiver under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to suspend criminal sanctions for possessing up to 2.5 grams of opioids and other narcotics in the province. It was the first cabinet order of its kind since Parliament criminalized cocaine and opium in 1911.A study done by the Privy Council found that most Canadians do not support the policy.“Participants were mostly negative in their reaction to this decision and believed the federal government should instead be focused on discouraging opioid use, including implementing greater penalties for those using and distributing these substances,” said a March 10 report Continuous Qualitative Data Collection of Canadians’ Views.
A member of the Commons Health committee says the cabinet should stop its "safe supply" drug policy because it's killing people.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Conservative MP Todd Doherty (Cariboo-Prince George, BC) struggled to hold back tears as he shared with the committee he had tragically lost a brother-in-law to an accidental fentanyl overdose. He also expressed his heartbreak over being unable to help another brother “who lives on the street.”“We are powerless, powerless to stop this,” said Doherty. “Somebody has to answer this.” Dealers were “buying illicit drugs on the black market and selling them or giving them away on the streets” of his home province, added Doherty.“I sit with so many families that ask us to do something,” said Doherty. “I don’t have the answers, but I don’t believe taxpayers’ dollars should be going to fund these drugs. We should be doing everything in our power to make sure we can get someone into a bed for a recovery. Recovery is always possible.”As of August 31, the BC Coroners Service has recorded 1,645 overdose deaths in the province. In 2022, there were 2,383 overdose deaths in BC.“This so-called safer supply strategy is a failure making the opioid crisis worse,” said Doherty.“I have a brother who lives on the street. We have struggled to get him off the street. I have gone into the dens of evil to pay off his debts, to save my brother, to save someone we love.”“We have rescued him in the middle of the night on a bridge from gang members that were threatening to throw him over if he didn’t pay the debt,” said Doherty. “Two years ago, he was shot twice in a drug deal gone bad.”“There are businesses in my province that are buying illicit drugs on the black market and selling them or giving them away on the street,” said Doherty. “How far have we fallen that you can perpetuate somebody’s addiction, but we can’t get them into a bed for recovery?”Doherty sponsored a motion asking “that the committee call for an immediate end to the government’s so-called safe supply funding.” MPs adjourned debate on the motion without a vote.Opposition MPs have calculated that more than $800 million in federal funding has been allocated to safe supply programs since 2017. On May 29, the House of Commons upheld the policy with a vote of 209 in favour and 113 against.Cabinet last January 31 granted BC a waiver under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to suspend criminal sanctions for possessing up to 2.5 grams of opioids and other narcotics in the province. It was the first cabinet order of its kind since Parliament criminalized cocaine and opium in 1911.A study done by the Privy Council found that most Canadians do not support the policy.“Participants were mostly negative in their reaction to this decision and believed the federal government should instead be focused on discouraging opioid use, including implementing greater penalties for those using and distributing these substances,” said a March 10 report Continuous Qualitative Data Collection of Canadians’ Views.
